Delaware Cape Region History in Photographs

Delaware Cape Region History in Photographs, published every Tuesday in the Cape Gazette, features historical photos from Delaware's Cape Region - particularly - and from throughout Sussex County and Delaware generally.

Readers are invited to submit photos of historic interest. They can be mailed to the Cape Gazette at PO Box 213, Lewes, DE 19958, or via email to newsroom@capegazette.com.

Bird’s-eye view of Rehoboth in early 1900s

9 hours ago
Ever wondered what Rehoboth Beach looked like in its earliest days? Well, here’s a bird’s-eye view...

City of Lewes docks in First Town

1 week ago
A vessel by the name of the City of Lewes was built as a commercial fishing boat in 1912 by W.G...

Midway Drive-In opens in 1953

2 weeks ago
This photograph of the Midway Drive-In was recently shared by Jack Travis in the Growing Up in...

Ox roast is tradition at Return Day

3 weeks ago
Sussex County’s unique post-election tradition continues this week, as Return Day will welcome...

Cape May-Lewes Ferry in 1964

4 weeks ago
The Cape May-Lewes Ferry is in the news after Delaware’s congressional delegation announced $20...

The Royalton Hotel predates Royal Treat

1 month ago
The Royalton Hotel on Wilmington Avenue was once a popular place for family reunions and social...

Lewes High crowns Homecoming queen in 1966

1 month ago
It’s Homecoming season across the country. Cape Henlopen crowned its king and queen Oct. 4, while...

The early days of Milton High School

1 month ago
Well before the new and improved Milton Elementary School opened on Federal Street, teenagers of...

Lewes of the past

1 month ago
This undated aerial photograph in the Delaware Public Archives collection gives us a window into...

Long-lost Fort Miles barracks at The Point

2 months ago
Those who frequent Cape Henlopen State Park are familiar with the barracks at Fort Miles on the way...

Indian River Inlet has always been challenging

2 months ago
Gov. John Carney recently announced a major replenishment project to build up the beach and dune...

Schwartzkopf elected for District 14 in 2002

2 months ago
The day the print edition of the Cape Gazette is published is primary day in Delaware. Registered...

Lewes High football goes undefeated in 1951

2 months ago
In the fall of 1951, the Lewes High School football team put together a 9-0 record to be the only...

Catching flounder in Lewes

2 months ago
Mike Bowman recently submitted this photograph of his grandfather Clarence Klepper of Lebanon, Pa...

Dewey Beach: A Way of Life in 1940s

3 months ago
The Dewey Beach way of life in the 1940s was likely much different from how it is today, 75-plus...

Bottle & Cork has been rockin’ since 1936

3 months ago
The Bottle & Cork is one of the establishments synonymous with Dewey Beach; after all, it...

Family fishing trip at Indian River Inlet

3 months ago
Fishing trips out of the Indian River Inlet area have been happening for many decades. In this...

Getting a cone in Lewes in the 1960s

3 months ago
There are few summer pastimes better than getting an ice cream cone on a hot and humid evening. The...

Seeking thrills at Delaware State Fair

4 months ago
The 2024 edition of the Delaware State Fair began July 18 and runs through Saturday, July 27, in...

Sketching the Boardwalk in 1991

4 months ago
The benches along the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk have long provided a place to rest while companions...

Funland is a staple of Rehoboth Beach

4 months ago
Funland has been the source of lasting memories for thousands of families visiting Rehoboth Beach...

Fourth of July traffic in 1996

4 months ago
One thing all Cape Region residents have become accustomed to is traffic. With the continued growth...

Rehoboth’s Belhaven Hotel in 1920s

5 months ago
The Belhaven Hotel was once one of Rehoboth Beach’s premier hotels. Located at Rehoboth Avenue and...

Lewes’ almost forgotten Kings Highway businesses

5 months ago
The stretch of Kings Highway between the library and the Zwaanendael Museum is full of beautiful...

Sea Air from the air in 1960s

5 months ago
Back in the 1960s, the stretch of Route 1 (then Route 14) wasn’t much but farm fields. To see what...

Visitors welcome at Rehoboth Laundry in 1936

5 months ago
When this picture was taken in 1936, Rehoboth Laundry was a thriving business – among many of its...

Indian River Yacht Basin in 1940s

5 months ago
The Indian River Inlet area has been a popular destination for a long time. This postcard from the...

Docking in downtown Milton

6 months ago
With Memorial Day weekend looming, boating season is upon us. In Milton, docks in the center of...

Lewes Little League barbecue in 1994

6 months ago
This photograph was recently found on a film roll in the Cape Gazette archives. It shows a Lewes...

Milton looks like Mayberry

6 months ago
The residents of Milton often refer to their town as Mayberry, a nod to the simpler, slower setting...

Queen Anne’s Railroad connected Milton with big cities

6 months ago
In February 1885, the Delaware Legislature authorized the Queen Anne's Railroad, a Maryland...

Ames thrived outside Rehoboth for decades

7 months ago
The lone remnant of the Ames department store outside Rehoboth Beach is Ames Drive in the Rehoboth...

Rehoboth lighthouse razed, rebuilt in 1996

7 months ago
The Cape Henlopen Lighthouse replica in the center of the Rehoboth Avenue roundabout has...

Cape Henlopen Lighthouse stands in 1926

7 months ago
Ninety-eight years ago April 13, the iconic Cape Henlopen Lighthouse fell from its perch on top of...

Zion Methodist Church burns near Milton in 1943

7 months ago
Just an hour before weekly Sunday service Oct. 10, 1943, Zion Methodist Church two miles east of...

Lewes High School baseball, softball takes field in...

8 months ago
Major League Baseball teams will take the field across the country to kick off the 2024 season this...

Maull House dates back to 18th century

8 months ago
The Maull House on Pilottown Road in Lewes is believed to have been built by Samuel Paynter, a...

First Street Station rises in Rehoboth

8 months ago
First Street Station has been a fixture in Rehoboth Beach since opening in 1997. Groundbreaking for...

Wyatt’s grocery store in Lewes

8 months ago
Walter Wyatt owned and operated a store at 123 Second St. in Lewes for a long time in the early to...

Nassau School served students until 1965

8 months ago
The Nassau School was built in 1922 near the current-day Five Points intersection outside Lewes. It...

William C. Jason High School served Black students

9 months ago
William C. Jason Comprehensive High School in Georgetown served the Black students of Sussex County...

St. Paul Church once thrived for African American...

9 months ago
In 1882, Charles Dunning Sr. and Charles Steward Sr. met with a group of inspired Christians and...

Jolly Jills parade draws big crowds to Lewes

9 months ago
The Jolly Jills Social Club, in conjunction with Lewes Junior High and William C. Jason...

UD wind turbine under construction in 2010

9 months ago
Offshore wind is a highly debated topic in the Cape Region right now. However, in the months...

Construction of Roosevelt Inlet’s jetties

10 months ago
This 1994 aerial photograph shows construction of the jetties at Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes...

Lewes theater thrived in mid-20th century

10 months ago
Rehoboth Beach had its share of movie theaters over the years, but many don’t know Lewes also had...

Route 1 before proliferation of shopping centers

10 months ago
This aerial photograph from the early 1990s shows Midway Shopping Center surrounded by open fields...

Cape Henlopen High School in 2007

10 months ago
The has been a lot of talk recently about the continued growth of the Cape Henlopen School District...

Dwight Howard wows at Slam Dunk 20 years ago

11 months ago
In its heyday, Slam Dunk to the Beach drew the very best of high school basketball talent. And...

Kathie Lee lights up the Rehoboth Christmas tree

11 months ago
Rehoboth Beach was center stage in 1996 when Kathie Lee Gifford brought a crew from her show, “Live...

Dewey Beach landmark transforms on Route 1

11 months ago
The historic Walsh property at the corner of Route 1 and Saulsbury Street in Dewey Beach is...

Five Points in the 1990s

11 months ago
These aerial photographs show the Five Points intersection near Lewes in 1994 and 1997. So much has...

Rehoboth Avenue Christmas scene of yesteryear

11 months ago
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we are firmly in the holiday season. This holiday scene shows...

Queen Anne Pier in early 20th Century Lewes

1 year ago
The Queen Anne Railroad was formed in 1894 to connect passengers from Baltimore, Md., to Cape May,...

Welcome to Lewes Beach

1 year ago
Lewes is embroiled in controversy two years after city officials named the two guarded beaches –...

Rehoboth water fountain in the mid-20th century

1 year ago
For nearly a century, a water fountain has stood at the east end of Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth...

Oak Orchard was the place to be on Big Thursday

1 year ago
Oak Orchard has been in the news lately, as a developer is proposing to build 123 homes on a 57-...

Bird’s-eye view of early 20th century Lewes

1 year ago
This is most likely the second-earliest bird’s-eye view of Lewes ever made, according to the book...

Breaking ground for outlet shopping

1 year ago
It’s hard to imagine that the stretch of Route 1 between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach was once mostly...

Historic map shows lots for sale in Rehoboth Heights

1 year ago
In the 1920s, Rehoboth Beach was an up-and-coming community along Delaware’s coast. Founded as a...