Cape Henlopen Lighthouse fell 97 years ago

On April 13, 1926, the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse fell into the Atlantic Ocean. Built in 1765, it was the second-oldest lighthouse in the country at the time of its collapse. When constructed, the tower stood on a shallow foundation atop a sand dune at a considerable distance from the sea. Over time, the ocean encroached on the shoreline, threatening the stability of the lighthouse. In 1914, protective works were built by the Lighthouse Service, but because of the general erosion of the coastline, they could not be done effectively except at a great cost. Pieces of the lighthouse have been incorporated into many Cape Region homes, and several replicas have been built over the years, including the lighthouse inside the Rehoboth traffic circle. This photograph from the Library of Congress was made from the water in 1891 by N.L. Stebbins of Boston. Stebbins, originally from northwestern Pennsylvania, was a noted marine photographer whose collection at his death in 1922 included about 20,000 negatives.