|
CAMPnote: A new feature in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth,
LEWES Lips is the creation of a troika of residents of Lewes, Delaware,
the “First Town” in the “First State.”
With the canal, the bay, a state park and the ocean all
within or abutting Lewes, this small town has more options for water
sports than many nearby towns. But it is more than water sports that have
kept the people of Lewes busy. The water’s edges in and near Lewes have
been sites of conflict over the years while today the conflicts look more
like heated controversy about their uses. We’ll talk about some of the
ongoing controversies in future columns. But for now, we’ll give you a
brief tour of the areas near the water’s edge, and invite you to a happy
hour in Lewes to see it for yourself.
The Lewes-Rehoboth canal is the focus of much activity here,
with the center of town nearby. This is in stark contrast to how our
sister town, Rehoboth Beach, focuses more on its access to the ocean. Of
course, Rehoboth Beach DOES sit directly on the ocean, and Lewes does not.
In Lewes, therefore, we have learned to make the most of this little
waterway.
Lewes history is tied closely to the canal and the bay,
though the town’s proximity to water has not always been fortunate. The
Dutch established the original settlement as a whaling station in 1631.
Those first Dutch settlers were massacred within a year by the Lenni
Lenape Indians because of disputes over the Dutch coat of arms the
settlers were displaying. (This no doubt foreshadowed the many quarrels
between design control queens in Lewes beach houses over which rainbow
flag to display, that continue to the present.) Many pirates, including
Captain Kidd himself, arrived from the sea and tormented the town through
subsequent years.
During the War of 1812, cannonballs fired from British ships
hit Lewes. The only casualty was a hen, though a pig reportedly suffered
serious wounds! Cannonball House Marine Museum, with an embedded British
cannonball still visible in its façade, sits on Front Street. Across the
street is 1812 Memorial Park, from which you have a terrific view of the
Lewes harbor. The small memorial park commemorates the successful
(well—except for the hen) defense of Lewes during the British attack.
The harbor that it overlooks, which opens to Delaware Bay, is the northern
end of the Lewes-Rehoboth canal. From Lewes Harbor you can charter small
fishing boats, or jump on a small tour boat that leaves periodically from
the landing in front of the Lighthouse Restaurant.
If you want to know more about Lewes history, stop by the
nearby Zwaanendael Museum. The museum was built in 1931 by the state of
Delaware in memory of the original Dutch settlement. The museum sits at
the crossroads of Savannah Road
and King’s Highway, just two blocks from the canal.
You can’t miss it: Modeled after the town hall of Hoorn, The
Netherlands, it looks like nothing else in Lewes (and maybe nothing else
in Delaware!). Admission is free. The book “Lantern on Lewes” is an
entertaining collection of articles on Lewes history, written by Hazel D.
Brittingham and published by Lewestown Publishers. It’s available in
local bookstores, or look for it on the web at http://www.lewestown.com.
A short distance past the canal is Lewes Beach. Our town
beach sits on the Delaware Bay, not the ocean. The shoreline curves gently
out, both north and south, creating a lovely, extended vista in both
directions. To the north, this includes glimpses of the many stately,
historic homes sitting behind the dunes that line the bay. To the south
are views of the pier and Cape Henlopen lighthouse.
Lewes Beach seems a quiet throwback to earlier times, with
its vintage Dairy Queen nearby. There is little other commercial activity
near the water’s edge. In spring and fall, when the winds at ocean side
beaches make them too brisk for sunbathing, our more protected town beach
can be just right. Though there are no primarily gay beach areas here, we
have never seen even an eyebrow raised when we have held hands with our
respective partners here—or anywhere else in Lewes.
Just down the road, past the Cape May-Lewes ferry buildings,
is the entrance to Cape Henlopen State Park. The park extends around the
bay from Lewes all the way to Rehoboth’s North Shores, covering more
than 3,700 acres. It includes extensive bike paths and hiking trails,
which wind their way by the ocean and bay beaches, across dunes, through
pine forests, and by World War II bunkers, a salt marsh, freshwater
wetlands and Gordons Pond. The Point is the name given to the extended
area of land where the bay meets the ocean. With broad expanses of water
to all sides, the Point can feel like the end of the earth, particularly
on a quiet spring or fall day off-season.
Most Rehoboth beach-goers are familiar with the WWII-era
observation towers on the shore just past North Shores. Cape Henlopen has
more of them, including one that is open to visitors. From atop its
observation deck, enjoy panoramic views of the park, ocean and bay, south
to Rehoboth Beach, and back, of course, to Lewes, where we started this
journey.
What’s
Happening in Lewes?
July 14 & 15:
• 42nd Lewes Antique Show and Sale at Bethel United
Methodist Church, 4th & Market, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. $3.
• Stones, a new play by local playwright Kristen Foery,
presented by Henlopen Theater Project. Cape Henlopen High Little Theater.
8 p.m. Tkts: $3 - $10. Call 226-4103.
July 17:
• J For J, a play by Jenny Sullivan stars Academy Award
nominee Bruce Davison, John Ritter & Sullivan. Based on diaries of her
father, the late Barry Sullivan. Tkts: $30 - $40. Call 226-4103.
July 19 - 22:
• Another American: Asking & Telling, written &
performed by Marc Wolf, winner of the 2000 Obie Award. Performance on
Wed., 7/19 benefits CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Project & includes
Meet the Cast Party at Celsius following. Tkts: $25 for 7/19 (includes
party), $15 - $20 7/20, 21 & 22. Call 226-4103.
July 19 - 22:
• Join us for Lewes Lips’ First Unofficial Roving Happy
Hour. Our first stop will be aboard the S.S. Minnow at Gilligan’s
Restaurant on the canal at Market Street, Saturday at 6 p.m.
|
Back to Top of Page 
