Delaware Cape Region History in Photographs

Delaware Cape Region History in Photographs, published every Tuesday in the Cape Gazette, features historical photos from Delaware's Cape Region - particularly - and from throughout Sussex County and Delaware generally.

Readers are invited to submit photos of historic interest. They can be mailed to the Cape Gazette at PO Box 213, Lewes, DE 19958, or via email to newsroom@capegazette.com.

Otis Smith created workplace for all

1 year ago
During the time of segregation, Otis Smith ensured people of all races had a place to work at his...

Allen, Daisey families integrate Lewes schools

1 year ago
Ten years after the end of the Civil War, Delaware legislators passed a Jim Crow law that...

Cape Region’s connection to Philadelphia Maritime...

1 year ago
In 1875, a group of prominent maritime and business leaders, recognizing the strategic importance...

Rabbit’s Ferry was one of Delaware’s last one-room...

1 year ago
Rabbit’s Ferry School educated Native American and African American students of the Robinsonville...

Polar bears prepare to plunge in 1999

1 year ago
The Lewes Polar Bear Plunge has become one of the largest fundraising events in Delaware over the...

Habitat moves home in 1993

1 year ago
The recent death of former President Jimmy Carter shined a light on the great work he did after his...

Ground broken for Kmart in 1994

1 year ago
The stretch of Route 1 between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach has changed a lot over the last 30 years...

Snow covers state capital in 1985

1 year ago
Dover is the center of the Delaware universe this month. On Tuesday, Jan. 7, Gov. John Carney ends...

Epworth church predates Clear Space Theatre Company

1 year ago
Before moving out to Holland Glade Road in 2008, Epworth United Methodist Church was located on...

A Lewes Christmas in 1996

1 year ago
The Christmas season is always festive in the Cape Region, particularly in Lewes. The First Town...

An informational map of Fort Miles

1 year ago
This is an informational map of Fort Miles in what is today’s Cape Henlopen State Park. As most...

Pink Pony Club thrives on Rehoboth Boardwalk

1 year ago
Those tapped into today’s pop music may have heard the song “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan. The...

Kalmar Nyckel docks in Lewes

1 year ago
Delaware’s tall ship, the Kalmar Nyckel, is a replica of the original sailing vessel that first...

Bird’s-eye view of Rehoboth in early 1900s

1 year ago
Ever wondered what Rehoboth Beach looked like in its earliest days? Well, here’s a bird’s-eye view...

City of Lewes docks in First Town

1 year ago
A vessel by the name of the City of Lewes was built as a commercial fishing boat in 1912 by W.G...

Midway Drive-In opens in 1953

1 year ago
This photograph of the Midway Drive-In was recently shared by Jack Travis in the Growing Up in...

Ox roast is tradition at Return Day

1 year ago
Sussex County’s unique post-election tradition continues this week, as Return Day will welcome...

Cape May-Lewes Ferry in 1964

1 year ago
The Cape May-Lewes Ferry is in the news after Delaware’s congressional delegation announced $20...

The Royalton Hotel predates Royal Treat

1 year ago
The Royalton Hotel on Wilmington Avenue was once a popular place for family reunions and social...

Lewes High crowns Homecoming queen in 1966

1 year ago
It’s Homecoming season across the country. Cape Henlopen crowned its king and queen Oct. 4, while...

The early days of Milton High School

1 year ago
Well before the new and improved Milton Elementary School opened on Federal Street, teenagers of...

Lewes of the past

1 year ago
This undated aerial photograph in the Delaware Public Archives collection gives us a window into...

Long-lost Fort Miles barracks at The Point

1 year ago
Those who frequent Cape Henlopen State Park are familiar with the barracks at Fort Miles on the way...

Indian River Inlet has always been challenging

1 year ago
Gov. John Carney recently announced a major replenishment project to build up the beach and dune...

Schwartzkopf elected for District 14 in 2002

1 year ago
The day the print edition of the Cape Gazette is published is primary day in Delaware. Registered...

Lewes High football goes undefeated in 1951

1 year ago
In the fall of 1951, the Lewes High School football team put together a 9-0 record to be the only...

Catching flounder in Lewes

1 year ago
Mike Bowman recently submitted this photograph of his grandfather Clarence Klepper of Lebanon, Pa...

Dewey Beach: A Way of Life in 1940s

1 year ago
The Dewey Beach way of life in the 1940s was likely much different from how it is today, 75-plus...

Bottle & Cork has been rockin’ since 1936

1 year ago
The Bottle & Cork is one of the establishments synonymous with Dewey Beach; after all, it...

Family fishing trip at Indian River Inlet

1 year ago
Fishing trips out of the Indian River Inlet area have been happening for many decades. In this...

Getting a cone in Lewes in the 1960s

1 year ago
There are few summer pastimes better than getting an ice cream cone on a hot and humid evening. The...

Seeking thrills at Delaware State Fair

1 year ago
The 2024 edition of the Delaware State Fair began July 18 and runs through Saturday, July 27, in...

Sketching the Boardwalk in 1991

1 year ago
The benches along the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk have long provided a place to rest while companions...

Funland is a staple of Rehoboth Beach

1 year ago
Funland has been the source of lasting memories for thousands of families visiting Rehoboth Beach...

Fourth of July traffic in 1996

1 year ago
One thing all Cape Region residents have become accustomed to is traffic. With the continued growth...

Rehoboth’s Belhaven Hotel in 1920s

1 year ago
The Belhaven Hotel was once one of Rehoboth Beach’s premier hotels. Located at Rehoboth Avenue and...

Lewes’ almost forgotten Kings Highway businesses

1 year ago
The stretch of Kings Highway between the library and the Zwaanendael Museum is full of beautiful...

Sea Air from the air in 1960s

1 year ago
Back in the 1960s, the stretch of Route 1 (then Route 14) wasn’t much but farm fields. To see what...

Visitors welcome at Rehoboth Laundry in 1936

1 year ago
When this picture was taken in 1936, Rehoboth Laundry was a thriving business – among many of its...

Indian River Yacht Basin in 1940s

1 year ago
The Indian River Inlet area has been a popular destination for a long time. This postcard from the...

Docking in downtown Milton

1 year ago
With Memorial Day weekend looming, boating season is upon us. In Milton, docks in the center of...

Lewes Little League barbecue in 1994

1 year ago
This photograph was recently found on a film roll in the Cape Gazette archives. It shows a Lewes...

Milton looks like Mayberry

1 year ago
The residents of Milton often refer to their town as Mayberry, a nod to the simpler, slower setting...

Queen Anne’s Railroad connected Milton with big cities

1 year ago
In February 1885, the Delaware Legislature authorized the Queen Anne's Railroad, a Maryland...

Ames thrived outside Rehoboth for decades

1 year ago
The lone remnant of the Ames department store outside Rehoboth Beach is Ames Drive in the Rehoboth...

Rehoboth lighthouse razed, rebuilt in 1996

2 years ago
The Cape Henlopen Lighthouse replica in the center of the Rehoboth Avenue roundabout has...

Cape Henlopen Lighthouse stands in 1926

2 years ago
Ninety-eight years ago April 13, the iconic Cape Henlopen Lighthouse fell from its perch on top of...

Zion Methodist Church burns near Milton in 1943

2 years ago
Just an hour before weekly Sunday service Oct. 10, 1943, Zion Methodist Church two miles east of...

Lewes High School baseball, softball takes field in...

2 years ago
Major League Baseball teams will take the field across the country to kick off the 2024 season this...

Maull House dates back to 18th century

2 years ago
The Maull House on Pilottown Road in Lewes is believed to have been built by Samuel Paynter, a...

First Street Station rises in Rehoboth

2 years ago
First Street Station has been a fixture in Rehoboth Beach since opening in 1997. Groundbreaking for...

Wyatt’s grocery store in Lewes

2 years ago
Walter Wyatt owned and operated a store at 123 Second St. in Lewes for a long time in the early to...

Nassau School served students until 1965

2 years ago
The Nassau School was built in 1922 near the current-day Five Points intersection outside Lewes. It...

William C. Jason High School served Black students

2 years ago
William C. Jason Comprehensive High School in Georgetown served the Black students of Sussex County...

St. Paul Church once thrived for African American...

2 years ago
In 1882, Charles Dunning Sr. and Charles Steward Sr. met with a group of inspired Christians and...

Jolly Jills parade draws big crowds to Lewes

2 years ago
The Jolly Jills Social Club, in conjunction with Lewes Junior High and William C. Jason...

UD wind turbine under construction in 2010

2 years ago
Offshore wind is a highly debated topic in the Cape Region right now. However, in the months...

Construction of Roosevelt Inlet’s jetties

2 years ago
This 1994 aerial photograph shows construction of the jetties at Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes...

Lewes theater thrived in mid-20th century

2 years ago
Rehoboth Beach had its share of movie theaters over the years, but many don’t know Lewes also had...

Route 1 before proliferation of shopping centers

2 years ago
This aerial photograph from the early 1990s shows Midway Shopping Center surrounded by open fields...