By David Maull
TV Times

Rendered nearly obsolete by the modern age of high-tech navigational equipment, lighthouses live on as historical mementos of centuries past.

Their beacons may now be useless, but they were once a matter of life and death on the sea. And their mere presence along the coast illustrates the impact shipping once had on the nation's economy.

Most lighthouses in Southern Delaware are more than a hundred years old but all played an important role in helping ships avoid deadly shoals off the Atlantic coast and rough sea conditions at the mouth of the Delaware Bay.

Locally, the area most rich in lighthouse history is Cape Henlopen State Park near Lewes.

The current park property, which was the Fort Miles military base during World War II, once contained three lighthouses. Two of those structures remain but are only accessible by boat.

The lighthouses sit at the tips of "breakwaters," which are long strips of stones extending through the ocean and bay. The purpose of the breakwaters was to keep waves from pounding ships that docked in the bay on their way to Philadelphia.

The inner breakwater sits in the Delaware Bay west of the Cape Henlopen point. The outer breakwater is stationed in the ocean east of the point.

"It (breakwater) was put there to keep the ocean waves from banging the ships," local historian Dale Clifton said. "It gave a protective harbor. This wall was kind of like having a fort wall built."

Large ships en route to Philadelphia often anchored in the bay near Lewes to wait for optimal sailing tides and to allow doctors to inspect passengers. Those passengers with contagious diseases were transported to a nearby quarantine station.

Clifton noted in the 1820s, it wasn't unusual to see 100 ships anchored in what become known as the "Harbor of Refuge."

To make conditions safer for those ships, the inner breakwater was built to absorb waves from some of the roughest sea conditions on the Atlantic Coast.

The original lighthouse at the east tip of the inner breakwater was named the Strickland Lighthouse after its designer. It was completed in 1838 but replaced in 1885 by the steel structure that stands there today. It is still known as the Strickland Lighthouse.

The inner breakwater was also home to a pair of telegraph stations, one operated by Western Union and the other by the Philadelphia Maritime Exchange. The maritime exchange station was destroyed in a storm, however, and relocated to the lighthouse, where it remained until 1942.

The lighthouse was operational until 1903, when it was closed by the Philadelphia Maritime Exchange and Federal Lighthouse Service. Its light is no longer in use.

By 1901, large steam ships were being used and this required deeper water in the bay and further protection from the ocean.

The 8,000-foot-long outer breakwater was built that year using 13-ton stones. Its lighthouse sits at the east tip and is still used as a marker for the southern tip of the bay.

Both lighthouses are visible from locations throughout the state park, including the fishing pier and an old World War II observation tower.

Sadly, the most historic lighthouse at Cape Henlopen no longer exists.

The old Cape Henlopen lighthouse was built in 1767 and stood on what is known as the "Great Dune."

Designed to warn ships of dangerous sand shoals off the Atlantic coast, the lighthouse was gradually undermined by shifting sands and collapsed more than 70 years ago.

Cape Henlopen has some of the most rapidly shifting sands in the United States, causing the dune where the lighthouse stood to gradually erode.

Efforts to forestall the erosion failed and the lighthouse was condemned shortly after being decommissioned in 1924.

"They knew it was going to fall eventually," Clifton said.

Finally, on April 13, 1926, the lighthouse toppled over onto the beach.

"You could hear it fall in the town of Lewes," Clifton said.

After the collapse, hundreds of people descended on the beach with wagons to collect stones from the fallen lighthouse. Those stones now comprise chimneys, walkways and house foundations throughout Sussex County.

Another historic Delaware lighthouse a few miles south near the state line.

The 87-foot-high Fenwick Island lighthouse was built in 1859 when it was discovered the Cape Henlopen light wasn't sufficient enough to warn ships of the deadly sand shoals located about six miles off the coast.

Paul Pepper, who served 17 years as president of the Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse, estimates there were about 1,500 shipwrecks caused by the shoals, which he compared to a "sunken island."

The Fenwick lighthouse was built by the federal government at a cost of $23,748.96. A two-story house for the lighthouse keeper and his assistant was also erected. In 1882, a second house was built, allowing the keeper and assistant to have separate quarters.

"They had to man the lighthouse every day, all night long," Pepper said, noting the oil light had to be constantly monitored.

The federal government turned the lighthouse over to the United States Coast Guard in the 1940s and the light was changed from oil to electric. The switch to electric meant the lighthouse no longer had to be manned.

In 1978, the Fenwick lighthouse was decommissioned by the Coast Guard, its light turned off and all its equipment removed.

Shortly after the closing, the Friends of the Fenwick Lighthouse began a movement to have the structure reopened.

Their work paid off in 1982 when the state assumed ownership of the lighthouse and leased it to the Friends for $1 a year. A new electric light was installed and the lighthouse was again operational. The new light is about one-third as powerful as the original.

"It's one of the oldest pieces of history around here," Pepper said. "I feel very proud that we're able to set it up that way."

Each year, the Friends raise funds to maintain the lighthouse and surrounding property.

This winter, the state funded a $400,000 repair project that gave the structure a new coat of paint and improved metal work inside.

The lighthouse is open for tours twice a month although insurance concerns prevent visitors from being taken to the top. It will be open again on Aug. 19 and Sept. 2 from 2-4 p.m.

Equally impressive as the lighthouse is the old transpeninsula marker located at the base of the structure.

The marker was placed on the site in 1751 and was used to denote the boundary between Delaware and Maryland. An imaginary line stretches inland from the marker and similar monuments are located in Williamsville and Selbyville.

The landmark is one of many that make the property one of the most historically significant on the Delaware coast.

"Historically, it's very important," Pepper said.