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Cape Henlopen is the southern cape
Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment....
 of the Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay

Delaware Bay is a large estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean....
 along the Atlantic coast of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. It lies in the state of Delaware
Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the East Coast of the United States in the Mid-Atlantic States region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named....
, near the town of Lewes, Delaware
Lewes, Delaware

Lewes is an incorporated city in Sussex County, Delaware, Delaware, United States of the Delmarva Peninsula. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,116....
. Off the coast on the bay side are two lighthouse
Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to Maritime pilot at sea....
s, called the Harbor of Refuge Light
Harbor of Refuge Light

The Harbor of Refuge Light is a lighthouse built on the ocean end of the outer Delaware Breakwater at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, just off Cape Henlopen....
 and the Delaware Breakwater East End Light
Delaware Breakwater East End Light

The Delaware Breakwater East End Light is a lighthouse located on the inner Delaware Breakwater in the Delaware Bay, just of the coast of Cape Henlopen and the town of Lewes, Delaware....
.

Early History
Originally spelled Cape Hinlopen, Cape Henlopen is named after Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen who was a prominent Dutch
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 trader in corn from the Baltic
Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53?N to 66?N latitude and from 20?E to 26?E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Denmark islands....
 carrying on trade to Genoa
Genoa

Genoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000....
 and Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
.






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Cape Henlopen
Cape Henlopen is the southern cape
Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment....
 of the Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay

Delaware Bay is a large estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean....
 along the Atlantic coast of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. It lies in the state of Delaware
Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the East Coast of the United States in the Mid-Atlantic States region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named....
, near the town of Lewes, Delaware
Lewes, Delaware

Lewes is an incorporated city in Sussex County, Delaware, Delaware, United States of the Delmarva Peninsula. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,116....
. Off the coast on the bay side are two lighthouse
Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to Maritime pilot at sea....
s, called the Harbor of Refuge Light
Harbor of Refuge Light

The Harbor of Refuge Light is a lighthouse built on the ocean end of the outer Delaware Breakwater at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, just off Cape Henlopen....
 and the Delaware Breakwater East End Light
Delaware Breakwater East End Light

The Delaware Breakwater East End Light is a lighthouse located on the inner Delaware Breakwater in the Delaware Bay, just of the coast of Cape Henlopen and the town of Lewes, Delaware....
.

Early History


Originally spelled Cape Hinlopen, Cape Henlopen is named after Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen who was a prominent Dutch
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 trader in corn from the Baltic
Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53?N to 66?N latitude and from 20?E to 26?E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Denmark islands....
 carrying on trade to Genoa
Genoa

Genoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000....
 and Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
. He also was an insurer and a director of the Northern Company, involved in whaling
Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales and dates back to at least 4,000 BC. The evolution of traditional Arctic whaling developed with increasing rapidity with early organized fleets in the 17th century; competitive national whaling industries in the 18th and 19th centuries; and the introduction of factory ships along with the concept of whale "har...
 and participant in the New Netherland Company, interested in fur
Fur

Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
s. Cape Hinlopen was New Netherland's most southern border on the 37th parallel.

In 1620, Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen became Cornelis Jacobsen Mey's (the now washed out Cape Cornelius and the incorrectly spelled Cape May) business partner in the ships Blijde Boodschap (en. "Joyful Message") and Bever which focused on exploration and trade with the Indians in the Zuidt Rivier (Delaware River) in 1620.

The area between the 38th and 40th parallels (i.e., the Delaware Bay area) as well as the Delaware River from north to south had previously been surveyed and charted by Cornelis Hendricksz from Monnikendam on the ship "Onrust" in 1614, 1615 and 1616. From August until November 1616, the New Netherland Company, which had an exclusive trading patent for the New Netherland
New Netherland

File:Seal of new netherland.jpgNew Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the seventeenth-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the Eastern Seaboard of North America....
 territory between 40 and 45 degrees latitude, had tried unsuccessfully to obtain an exclusive patent from the States General of the Dutch Republic for the territory between 38 and 40 degrees latitude.

Cornelis Jacobsz May was also unable to trade in the South River (Delaware River) at the exclusion of competing Dutch companies. Those Dutch companies came in conflict with one another but were eventually able to reach agreement in New Netherland. Discord arose again which was settled, finally, by a judgment of arbitrators at Amsterdam on December 23, 1623. The 38th and 39th parallels region came under the final jurisdiction of the Dutch West India Company on behalf of the States General with the delivery of the first settlers to Governors Island
Governors Island

Governors Island is a 172-acre island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel....
 in New Netherland
New Netherland

File:Seal of new netherland.jpgNew Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the seventeenth-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the Eastern Seaboard of North America....
 in 1624. Those settlers were subsequently spread out onto Verhulsten Island (Burlington Island) in the Delaware, at Fort Orange (now Albany) in the Hudson River and at the mouth of the Connecticut River in order to finalize the claim to New Netherland as a North American province according to the Law of Nations (Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius

Hugo Grotius worked as a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law....
).

State Park

Herringpoint
Cape Henlopen State Park is a 5,193 acre (21 kmē) Delaware state park
List of Delaware state parks

This is a list of all state parks of Delaware, operated by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation....
 on Cape Henlopen
Cape Henlopen

Cape Henlopen is the southern Headlands and bays of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, Delaware....
 in Sussex County
Sussex County, Delaware

Sussex County is a County located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2000 the population was 156,638. The county seat is Georgetown, Delaware....
, Delaware
Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the East Coast of the United States in the Mid-Atlantic States region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named....
, in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. William Penn
William Penn

William Penn was founder and "Absolute Proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania, the England North American colony and the future U.S. state of Pennsylvania....
 made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public land
Public land

In all modern states, some land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land. The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries....
s established in what has become the United States in 1682 with the declaration that Cape Henlopen would be for "the usage of the citizens of Lewes and Sussex County." Cape Henlopen State Park has a 24-hour and year-round fishing pier as well as campgrounds. The remainder of the park is only open from sunrise to sunset, and includes a bathhouse on the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, an area for surf-fishing, a disc golf
Disc golf

Disc golf is a Flying disc games in which individual players throw a flying disc into a basket or at a target. According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, "The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc."...
 course, and bicycle and walking paths. The beach at Herring Point is a popular surfing spot.

As with all Delaware state beaches, entrance is free during the off-season but costs $4 for Delaware-tagged vehicles and $8 for out of state vehicles from 1 May to 31 October. Season passes may be purchased at a cost of $27 per in-state vehicle and $54 per out-of-state vehicle. These passes provide access to all state beaches and parks in Delaware.

28apr1

Cape Henlopen school district



Timeline of Cape Henlopen


  • 1682 William Penn designates the area as public land.
  • 1767-9 Construction of the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse completed at the Great Dune - the sixth lighthouse on American soil. This construction was funded by the merchants of Philadelphia.
  • 1777 the Cape Henlopen Light
    Cape Henlopen Light

    Cape Henlopen Light was a lighthouse in Delaware,United States, on the north side of the Great Dune on Cape Henlopen, Delaware. It was the sixth lighthouse built in the colonies....
    house was gutted by fire.
  • 1784 the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse was repaired and returned to active duty.
  • 1824 The Cape Henlopen Beacon was constructed on a 45 foot (14 m) tower about a mile (1.6 km) north of the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse.
  • 1855 Construction of the Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse
    Lighthouse

    A lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to Maritime pilot at sea....
     completed.
  • 1869 Construction of the Delaware Breakwater West End Lighthouse and stone breakwater barrier completed.
  • 1885 The steel Strickland Lighthouse replaces the lighthouse on the inner breakwater.
  • 1901 Construction of the 8,000 foot (2.4 km) long outer stone breakwater barrier completed.
  • 1903 The Strickland Lighthouse is retired from service.
  • 1920 Cape Henlopen Lighthouse badly damaged by a storm.
  • 1924 Cape Henlopen Lighthouse abandoned - lens removed.
  • 1926 (April 13) Cape Henlopen Lighthouse collapsed due to movement of Great Dune.
  • 1941 U.S. Army established Fort Miles at Cape Henlopen.
  • 1950 The Delaware Breakwater Lighthouse demolished and the East End Lighthouse was automated.
  • 1964 The U.S. Department of Defense
    United States Department of Defense

    The United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Military of the United States....
     declared as surplus property and the State of Delaware established Cape Henlopen State Park.
  • 1978 The Fenwick Lighthouse is decommissioned.
  • Gordon's Pond Wildlife Area established.
  • 1982 The State of Delaware assumed ownership of the Fenwick lighthouse and it was electrified and returned to operation.
  • 1997 The State of Delaware purchased the East End lighthouse and placed it on the National Register of Historic Places
    National Register of Historic Places

    The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation....
    .
  • 2007 The two groins of Herring Point originally built in 1950 are cleaned up and rebuilt.


National Harbor of Refuge, outer breakwater off Cape Henlopen. All metal, built in 1926 and automated in 1973. Maintained by US Coast Guard. Visible from Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

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