Rehoboth-Indian Beach Club thrived before WWII
Rehoboth-Indian Beach Club was once a popular destination for the Delaware elite in the southern end of today’s Dewey Beach. It was located in what is known as Indian Beach, which runs from Collins Avenue south to Delaware Seashore State Park. According to a 1944 article in the Wilmington Morning News, the Rehoboth-Indian Beach Club had a modernistic clubhouse built in 1939 for about $40,000. A May 1939 Evening Journal article updated the construction progress of the beach club, which featured a swimming pool, dance hall and indoor tennis. According to the article, some of the notable patrons and patronesses included Mr. and Mrs. R.R.M. Carpenter, who purchased the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943. Carpenter married Margaretta Lammot du Pont, the sister of company president Pierre S. du Pont. Du Pont’s brother Lammot du Pont Jr. and his wife were also on the early list of patrons and patronesses.
The club was a place to be seen in the Rehoboth area. A June 1939 article says G. Prew Savoy, daughter of Sen. John G. Townsend Jr., entertained the wives and daughters of U.S. senators at the club. It was also a popular place for themed parties and extravagant balls. It only lasted a few years, though, as it was abandoned due to World War II. It sold at auction on Christmas Eve 1943. It was turned into a summer vacation school for near-draft age boys at St. James School of Lydia, Md. In 1947, the clubhouse building was moved from Indian Beach to the Rehoboth Juniors’ Swimming and Sailing Club on Rehoboth Bay. Very little other information is available about Rehoboth-Indian Beach Club, including the exact location of the club, and no photographs are available besides postcards. If anyone has additional information or photographs, email newsroom@capegazette.com.
