page_title: National Harbor of Refuge and Delaware Breakwater Harbor Historic District
section_title: National Harbor of Refuge
hierarchical_section_title: National Harbor of Refuge and Delaware Breakwater Harbor Historic District / National Harbor of Refuge
caption_attribution_description: English: Inner harbor in Lewes, Delaware on the NRHP
context_page_description: The National Harbor of Refuge and Delaware Breakwater Historic District encompasses a series of seacoast breakwaters behind Cape Henlopen, Delaware, built between 1828 and 1898 to establish a shipping haven on a coastline that lacked safe harbors. The Harbor of Refuge is at the mouth of the Delaware Bay estuary where it opens into the Atlantic Ocean, at Lewes.
  The district is almost entirely offshore, touching land only at the former United States Coast Guard station. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
context_section_description: In 1896 Congress authorized a new, larger program of breakwaters, the National Harbor of Refuge. Located 6,500 feet (2,000 m) to the north of the original breakwater on a shoal known as The Shears, the new breakwater used much larger stone.  The dressed and fitted masonry used individual pieces of up to 13 tons. The new breakwater was 8,040 feet (2,450 m) long at low water and 40 feet (12 m) wide.  Ten icebreaker piers were built 1,250 feet (380 m) to the north of dressed stone in a 1,300 feet (400 m) line.  Compared with the earlier effort, steam-powered equipment allowed the use of larger stones and sped construction. The project cost $2,090,765.82 and was completed in 1901.
  The first Harbor of Refuge Light was built on this breakwater and began operation in 1908. Damaged in 1920 by storms, it was replaced by the current structure in 1926. This light effectively replaced the 1767 Cape Henlopen Light, which was abandoned in 1924 and fell into the sea in 1926.
caption: Inner harbor
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "COOLPIX S4100", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.7.1", "Image DateTime": "2012:07:11 15:51:18", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.7.2", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "270", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "58210", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3690", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/400", "EXIF FNumber": "49/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:07:10 11:52:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:07:10 11:52:00", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "17/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "67/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4320", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3240", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "37", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Landscape", "EXIF Saturation": "Hard", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}