In the early part of the Nineteenth Century, coastal shipping, along with inbound traffic from Europe, increased dramatically in the Delaware Bay. As ships made their way into the Bay, they were faced with a deadly obstacle, the Fenwick Shoals, lying just off Fenwick Island. Mariners complained bitterly that there were no lighted navigational aids to guide them safely into the Bay.

Finally in 1856 acting upon recommendation from the Lighthouse Board, Congress authorized funding for a light station. Two years later a ten-acre tract of land was purchased near the Maryland-Delaware border. Rather than building the lighthouse near the water’s edge, engineers chose a strategic location, three-tenths of a mile inland, the highest point in the area. A handsome keeper’s dwelling was completed in 1858 and the tower a year later. Standing 87 feet tall, the sturdy tower is actually two towers in one. The outer tower is conical-shaped, while the inner is cylindrical. On August 1, 1859, the 15,000-candlepower light was illuminated for the first time, casting its much-needed beacon to mariners fifteen miles away. In 1878 a second dwelling was added to accommodate the growing keepers’ families.

In 1978 the Coast Guard deactivated the beacon and prepared to dispose of the station. Public outcry convinced the government to turn over control of the sentinel to a non-profit organization, “Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse.” In 1982 the beacon was relit. Although the keepers’ dwellings are now privately owned, the tower is open to the public during the summer months.