Founding
city in Sussex County, Delaware, United States of America
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Lewes ( LOO-əss) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 3,303. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delaware's rapidly growing Cape Region. The city lies within the Salisbury, Maryland–Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lewes proudly claims to be "The First Town in The First State."
Lewes was the site of the first European settlement in Delaware, a whaling and trading post that Dutch settlers founded on June 3, 1631, and named Zwaanendael (Swan Valley). The colony had a short existence, as a local tribe of Lenape Indians killed all 32 settlers in 1632.
The area remained rather neglected by the Dutch until, under the threat of annexation from the Colony of Maryland, the city of Amsterdam made a grant of land at the Hoernkills (the area around Cape Henlopen, near the current town of Lewes) to a group of Mennonites for settlement in 1662. A total of 35 men were to be included in the settlement, led by a Pieter Cornelisz Plockhoy of Zierikzee and funded by a sizable loan from the city to get them established. 41 persons came with Plockhoy from the Netherlands to the Hoernkill on board the Dutch ship the Sint Jacob, one of whom was Otto Wolgast from the town of Wolgast, Pomerania. The settlement was established in 1663, and lasted until the very next year; in 1664, the English captured New Netherland from the Dutch, and they ordered the settlement razed with reports indicating that "not even a nail" was left there.
The Dutch colonists proved slow to regroup, but a new settlement gradually regrew around the Hoernkills. In late December 1673, when the area was briefly held again by the Dutch, the settlement was attacked and burned down again by a group of Maryland colonists. In 1680, under the authority of the Duke of York, who had been granted such authority by his brother, King Charles II, the village (and county) was reorganized and known for two years as New Deale, Deale County, Delaware. A log courthouse was authorized to be built at this time. An Anglican congregation was established by 1681 and a Presbyterian church was built in 1682.
In 1682, the Delaware colonies were given to William Penn by King Charles II as payment for a family debt. When Penn arrived in the New World later that year, he renamed the county as Sussex and the Hoernkills settlement as Lewes, in commemoration of the county and town in England. Lewes became and remained the county seat of Sussex County until 1791, when it was moved to a more west-central county location, the current town of Georgetown. The town was also known as "Lewistown" or "Lewestown".
On April 6 and 7, 1813, during the War of 1812, Royal Navy vessels led by HMS Poictiers under the command of Captain Sir John Beresford briefly and ineffectually bombarded the town. A cannonball from the bombardment is lodged in the foundation of Cannonball House, which now serves as the town's maritime museum.
Lewes was incorporated by an act of the state assembly on Feb. 2, 1818. The act provided for five persons to be chosen as commissioners to be known as "Trustees of the Town of Lewes."
In 1941, the United States built Fort Miles on Cape Henlopen, immediately east of Lewes, to defend Delaware Bay and the Delaware River and the oil refineries and factories on its shores, as well as the city of Philadelphia.
Fort Miles never saw any major action; except for range practice, it fired its guns only once between its establishment and the end of World War II. Fort Miles ceased operation altogether in 1991 and was deeded to the State of Delaware.
In addition to Fort Miles, the Cape Henlopen Archeological District, Coleman House, Cool Spring Presbyterian Church, De Vries Palisade, Delaware Breakwater and Lewes Harbor, Fisher Homestead, Fisher's Paradise, Col. David Hall House, Hopkins Covered Bridge Farm, Lewes Historic District, Lewes Presbyterian Church, Lightship WAL 539, Maull House, National Harbor of Refuge and Delaware Breakwater Harbor Historic District, Pagan Creek Dike, Roosevelt Inlet Shipwreck, William Russell House, St. George's Chapel, Lewes, Townsend Site, and Wolfe's Neck Site are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Six men who served as Delaware governor were born in or made their home in Lewes. Three of those men lived on Lewes' Second Street. Brothers Daniel and Caleb Rodney, sons of John Rodney, first cousin of Caesar Rodney, each served as governor of Delaware. Each a member of the Federalist Party, Daniel served from 1814 to 1817, while Caleb served as acting governor from 1822 to 1823. Ebe Walters Tunnell moved to Lewes in 1873 to enter the drug and hardware business in part of the old Caleb Rodney House on Second Street. Tunnell worked his way up the state government hierarchy before unsuccessfully running for governor in 1892. Four years later, the Democrat won the election, and served from 1897 to 1901.
As Lewes was the earliest settlement in the state, and Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, the town refers to itself as "The First Town in the First State." Lewes is named after the town of Lewes in England, which is situated in a county named Sussex (from which Sussex County, Delaware, takes its name). Lewes, Sussex, England, also has the same seal.
Lewes is located at 38°46′28″N 75°08′22″W / 38.77444°N 75.13944°W (38.7745565, –75.1393498).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.3 square miles (11 km2), of which 3.7 mi2 (9.6 km2) is land, and 0.6 mi2 (1.6 km2) (14.7%) is water.
Situated on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Lewes's weather is moderated by the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay. Lewes has a mild humid subtropical climate (Cfa) consisting of hot, humid summers and mild winters. The average daytime high in July is 87.7 °F (30.9 °C) and a low of 70.6 °F (21.4 °C); in January, the average high is 46.2 °F (7.9 °C) with an average low of 30.2 °F (−1.0 °C). The month of highest average rainfall is July with 4.95 inches (125.7 mm) of rain, while February is historically the driest month, receiving an average of only 3.17 inches (80.5 mm) of rain.
The highest official temperature ever recorded in Lewes was 102 °F (38.9 °C) in 1997. The lowest official temperature ever recorded in Lewes was −11 °F (−23.9 °C) in 1982.
As of the 2020 census, Lewes had a population of 3,303. The median age was 65.3 years. 9.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 50.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 85.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 83.2 males age 18 and over.
99.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,672 households in Lewes, of which 10.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.5% were married-couple households, 14.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 3,085 housing units, of which 45.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 32.8%.
As of the 2000 census, there were 2,932 people, 1,338 households, and 797 families residing in the city. The population density was 801.5 inhabitants per square mile (309.5/km2). There were 2,368 housing units at an average density of 647.3 per square mile (249.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.3% White, 9.9% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.0% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.
There were 1,338 households, out of which 15.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.53.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 13.6% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 18.0% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 33.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $66,387, and the median income for a family was $72,605. Males had a median income of $39,500 versus $35,227 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,685. About 3.1% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
Lewes is served by the Cape Henlopen School District. The Lewes School District was consolidated into the Cape Henlopen district in 1969. Lewes is zoned to:
Sussex Consortium, a school for students with autism previously in the former Lewes School, is now in an unincorporated area with a Lewes address.
The University of Delaware's Hugh R. Sharp Campus is also within the city. This is home to the university's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment.
Lewes students are also eligible to enter Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences, which is not in the city but is in the nearby city of Georgetown.
The Lewes School first opened as a multi-grade school in 1921 and became Lewes High School by 1946. It initially held Cape Henlopen High School when it opened in 1969. Lewes School will be repurposed as the new Richard A. Shields Elementary.
Lewes serves as a vacation and resort spot popular with residents of Washington, D.C., and the surrounding suburbs. Even though the city limits primarily sit on the lower reach of the Delaware Bay, it is nonetheless considered an ocean resort, particularly as the ocean is nearby at Cape Henlopen. Lewes is among those communities which have banned smoking in its public parks.
Lewes is the home of the Zwaanendael Museum, which features exhibits about Delaware's history. Savannah, Second and Front Streets are the town's main streets and have many shops, restaurants, parks and historical venues. Fisherman's Wharf is a dock that stretches along the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal. It features multiple restaurants and bait shops, and in season the dock hosts hundreds of boats from all over.
The Lewes Historical Society promotes the preservation, interpretation and cultural enrichment of the Lewes region through museum exhibits, educational programs, historical research and publications. Visitors can try colonial cocktails at the recreated Sussex Tavern, sing shanties at shanty nights, and learn about the town's rich history at the Historic Lewestown Campus.
Lewes in Bloom is an organization that promotes and maintains the beauty of Historic Lewes. Lewes in Bloom won America in Bloom's contest in 2003, 2005, 2010 and 2015 for cities with population under 5,000. In 2012 and 2015 Lewes in Bloom was honored in the AIB "Circle of Champions".
United States Lightship Overfalls (LV-118/WAL-539), one of nine surviving lightships at museums in the United States, is moored in Lewes along the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal
Lewes is home to several iconic Lighthouses in the Delaware Bay. Just offshore lies the National Harbor of Refuge which is home to the Delaware Breakwater East End Light and the Harbor of Refuge Light.
Lewes is adjacent to Cape Henlopen State Park. Lewes also maintains several parks within the city limits:
DNREC maintains a boat ramp just outside the city limits along the Broadkill River, adjacent to the Roosevelt Inlet.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Lewes, Delaware”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.