By David Maull
TV Times

Any attempt to explore the history of Rehoboth Beach must begin at a tree-shaded cottage on Christian Street.

The small two-story structure houses the Anna Hazzard Museum and offers more about the town's roots than any other building in the resort.

As one of only a few tent structures remaining from Rehoboth's days as a religious camp meeting destination, the house dates back to the late 1890s and has been maintained in its original state by the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society.

"We've tried to keep things at least the style that is typical of that era," Museum Curator Irene Simpler said.

HISTORIC REHOBOTH BEACH photos clockwise from left: the Rehoboth Train Station, The Lingo Store and the Anna Hazzard Museum

Inside the cottage are hundreds of photographs and documents chronicling the town's evolution from a religious seaside resort to a booming vacation destination. One highlight is a large and detailed aerial photograph of Rehoboth taken in the 1930's.

But perhaps the most impressive historical display is the house itself. Rare is the relic that offers physical proof of a town's origin.

"Personally, I feel history is terribly important," Simpler said. "We try to keep it (museum) limited only to the history of Rehoboth Beach."

Rehoboth was founded in 1873 by the Rev. Robert W. Todd of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington.

The previous year, Todd visited the Ocean Grove camp meeting on the New Jersey Shore and found it to be the perfect cure for a severe case of exhaustion. He soon became consumed by the idea of having his own Christian seaside resort.

When cottage prices at Ocean Grove proved too expensive, he explored the idea of establishing a resort on the Delmarva Peninsula between Cape Henlopen and Cape Charles, Md. He was already aware of the Rehoboth Bay and previous attempts to establish a "watering place" there and decided to explore the area himself.

The location was to his liking and he purchased 400 acres of land for about $10,000.

On Jan. 27, 1873, the Rehoboth Beach Camp Meeting Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church was established for the purpose of hosting religious assemblies during the summer months. A number of one-room tent cottages were constructed around a tabernacle building near where the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal and the Grove Park stand today.

The association also sold lots surrounding the camp, a move that ultimately proved damaging.

Many of the people who purchased those lots were not members of the camp meeting association. They were required to abide by its laws but eventually the association wasn't able to govern the large number of outsiders now coming into town. The completion of a railroad line to Rehoboth only hasted the changes.

By 1881, camp meetings were discontinued and Rehoboth was well on its way to becoming one of the East Coast's top beach resorts.

A second camp meeting association was briefly established in the mid-1890s by a Rev. Adams, whose first name is unknown. This short-lived camp was located closer to the ocean on Baltimore Avenue.

Adams lived in Hazzard Museum house. Originally located at 59 Baltimore Avenue, the tent structure had a front porch, a downstairs room and two small upstairs rooms. Adams added a second downstairs room to the rear of the house and a small kitchen was built years later by local realtor William H. White.

Anna Hazzard was White's niece and assumed ownership of the tent in 1927. After her death in 1968, it was inherited by Mr. and Mrs. Ronald James, who donated it to the city. It was moved to Christian Street in 1975 and turned into a museum.

Simpler noted other camp meeting tents on Baltimore and Oak avenues have been remodeled and converted into businesses and private residences. Many are not recognizable.

History shows that perhaps the biggest reason for the demise of the camp meeting association was the arrival of the railroad.

In 1878, a railroad line from Harrington to Rehoboth was completed, meaning visitors were no longer forced to take the train to Lewes and then travel south by horse and buggy to Rehoboth.

A railroad station was built on Rehoboth Avenue the following year and more people with no affiliation to the camp meeting association were brought to town.

Also in 1879, the town's charter name was changed to Rehoboth Beach Association, eliminating all references to the camp meeting group. The town's first municipal charter was granted by the Delaware legislature in 1891 and its name changed to Cape Henlopen City.

Two years later, the name was changed to "Rehoboth" and in 1937 to "City of Rehoboth Beach."

The arrival of paved roads spelled the end of passenger train service to Rehoboth in 1928 and freight train operations ceased a few years later.

While the face of Rehoboth has changed drastically during the past century, there are still plenty of historic structures that harken back to its younger days.

Here are a few:

The boardwalk. This one-mile wooden walkway runs parallel to the beach and is perhaps the town's most famous attraction. Built in 1905, it is the center of activity for merchants and visitors. It was destroyed by storms in 1914, 1962, 1992 and 1998 and rebuilt each time. Shorter versions of the boardwalk were thought to have existed in the late-1890s.

Rehoboth Train Station. Built in 1879, the station originally stood on Rehoboth Avenue a block from the beach. In 1988, it was remodeled and moved to the west end of Rehoboth Avenue near the canal. It now serves as the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce Office.

Lingo Store. Located at the corner of 1st Street and Baltimore Avenue, the Lingo Store celebrates its 100th anniversary in 1998. Established by John Lingo, it was originally housed inside the Atlantic Hotel on the same site but destroyed by fire in 1913. It was rebuilt in 1915 as part of a building containing a number of other merchant spaces. The building remains there today and is owned by Lingo's grandson, Archie Lingo.

Henlopen Hotel. First built in 1879, this hotel has had a number of different look during the past 119 years. It originally was a four-story structure with large, wrap-around porches. Stationed at the north end of the boardwalk, the hotel has been destroyed by fires and storms but rebuilt each time. Changes have been so frequent that photos taken just 30 years ago show a completely different look. The Hazzard Museum contains an exhibit on the history of the historic hotel.

Railroad clubhouse. Located on the boardwalk between Grenoble and Virginia Avenues, the clubhouse was built in the 1920s and resembles an oversized beach cottage. It serves as a private club for retired Pennsylvania Railroad workers and is often rented out for parties and events.