• Delaware Lighthouses on the Internet.

Postal Card from a 
1911 Photo of Cape Henlopen. From the collection of Rod 
Watson

Publicity Photo

• Pronunciation
  hen-LOW-pen

 

Cape Henlopen, Delaware

Gone But Not Forgotten Series
Harbour Lights Limited Edition #243

In the early nineteenth-century, Philadelphia was a central port of commerce in the New World and a vital harbor for trade. However, the entrance to Delaware Bay was particularly hazardous to vessels. To help guide mariners away from dangerous shoals, the Cape Henlopen lighthouse was completed in 1767 with money raised from a series of lotteries.

The 93-foot tall octagonal tower stood on a shifting, sandy dune and from the beginning caused concern for the structures. 

When first built, Cape Henlopen was a mile from the shoreline. By 1915 it was within 150'  of the turning sea. Daring adventurers would pose for a picture beneath the teetering structure. On April 13, 1926, it crumpled and fell onto the beach below.

Click on each image below to view a larger size in a new window.

* Cape Henlopen DE was available to order from 1/1/2000 until 4/13/2001 or until 8,000 have been ordered.

Other Cape Henlopen DE Lighthouses by Harbour Lights

LL173 Little Light

Photographs by Paul L. Brady  © Harbour Lights 
March 13, 2004