Lewes’ key role in founding of Rehoboth is Sept. 12 topic

An engaging presentation on the surprising role that Lewes played in the founding of Rehoboth Beach will be the program topic at 5 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 23, at the Lewes History Museum, 101 Adams Ave., Lewes.

Guest speaker and author Roger Truitt, dressed as the Rev. Robert Todd, one of the founders of Rehoboth Beach, will transport attendees back to the 1870s using historical photographs to illustrate life in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach during that era. His story will begin at the close of the Civil War when Rehoboth Beach, then known as Rehoboth Neck, was simply a patchwork of farms stretching from Lewes to what is now Dewey Beach.

The story centers on the Rev. Warner of Bethel Methodist-Episcopal Church in Lewes, who inspired Todd to consider the area as a potential site for a Christian camp meeting ground. After visiting, Todd quickly acquired hundreds of acres from local farms and in 1873 established the Rehoboth Beach Camp Meeting Association, officially founding Rehoboth Beach.

Truitt, a native of Rehoboth Beach and author of the award-winning historical novel “Room Enough,” will bring these early years to life with his encyclopedic knowledge of the area.

Admission is $5 per adult and free for Lewes Historical Society members.

For more information, go to historiclewes.org/programs/night-at-the-museum.html.