Quarantine Station

Lewes * Maritime History Trail

In 1880, the fear that foreigners were bringing epidemic diseases to the United States led the federal government to create the National Quarantine System. Around the country, from stations like the one that was here, doctors ...

Riversville / Battle of Secessionville

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Riversville

Riversville, an antebellum village of fourteen acres, with seven lots on Savannah (later Secessionville) Creek, was established here in 1851 by Constant H. Rivers (1829-1910), who believed that the sandy soils and marsh breezes of James Island ...

Union Station

Union Station was originally designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and built in 1885. Union Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was saved, restored and adaptively reused through the efforts of:

Union Railroad Station Trust, Inc.

Union Station ...

Federal Expedition on John's Island / Battle of Burden's Causewa

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Federal Expedition on John's Island

The Battle of Burden’s Causeway was the climax of a Federal expedition against John’s Island, July 2-9, 1864. 5000 Federals under Brig. Gen. John P. Hatch crossed the Stono River and advanced along ...

German Submarine at Cape Henlopen

The Surrender of U-858

On May 14, 1945, the officers and crew of the German submarine, U-858 gave themselves up to U.S. Marines after hearing of Germany's surrender to Allied troops. They and their vessel were escorted here to the Fort ...

The Charlie Tayler Waterwheel

Charlie Tayler used this waterwheel to power a stamp mill at his gold mining operations on Ute Creek. Tayler, who attributed his good health to the fact that he never kissed woman or took baths, built the waterwheel in 1893. ...

Breakwaters

Lewes * Maritime History Trail

Two massive breakwaters shield Lewes Harbor from the punishing seas where Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean meet. They create an 800-acre anchorage that is nearly empty now, but in the early 1900s it was capable ...

Navigating the Golden Gate - Bonfires, buoys, and foghorns

Deep channels make San Francisco’s remarkable harbor accessible to immense ships. On the other hand, a narrow entrance, swift currents, high winds, rocks, and fog make navigating the Golden Gate treacherous. Early mariners looked for on-shore bonfires, painted rocks, ...

Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse

Located on the eastern end of the Delaware Breakwater, this brown conical structure was built in 1885. The tower is composed of four tiers of cast iron plates lined with two feet of brick. It is twenty-two feet in diameter ...

Historic Shipwrecks - Lost at the Golden Gate

Swift tides, treacherous rocks, dense fog, and a narrow harbor entrance have always made San Francisco’s coast and port difficult to navigate. Over 300 known vessels have failed to make the passage and sank in the cold, treacherous waters.