Smyrna times., 1926-04-14
CAPE HENLOPEN LIGHTHOUSE
TOPPLES OVER into THE SEA
FALLS PREY TO ENCROACHING
TIDES AND NORTHEAST GALES
Second Oldest Lighthouse in the Unit
ed States-MOvement to Salvage
1t and Re-Erect it at Dover

Historic Cape Henlopen Lighthouse
long venerated by Delawareans as the
second oldest lighthouse in the United
States, toppled into the sea early yes
terday afternoon. The news was
sent out from Lewes, six miles away.
Already movement is on foot to sal
wage the historic beacon and re-erect
1t on Dover green, or the campus of
the University, of Delaware at New
ark. A northeast gale-the longtime
enemy of the "Old Man of the Att
lantic," as the lighthouse was known
with the aid of an unusually high
tide encompassed the destruction of
the pre-Revolutionary structure. Hen
lopen was the second oldest lighthouse
on the Atlantic Coast. 1t was built
by the British in 1865, a few years af-
ter the construction of the light at
Cape Henry. For years the insecurity
of Henlopen light had been apparent
and unusual efforts had been made to
preserve it for historic reasons. All
night great waves from the ocean ate
into the sand foundation at the foot
the gale, the water pounded higher
and higher until they beat away the
last supports and it tumbled over. No
one was on the narrow tongue of land
to witness the losing fight against the
winds and tides. For two years Hen
lopen had been abandoned and for sew
eral months it had been leaning 18
feet out of perpendicular. Daily,
passing shippers, who many times had
been guided to a safe harbor by the
$4,000 candle power light in its tower,
have turned their glasses on the cape
to see if the ''old man" was still there.
Shortly before / o'clock yesterday
member Of the Lewes coast guard
heard a roaring sound, and training
his glasses on the cape he saw the
lighthouse fall over into the water.
The old keepers house, which was de-
tached, also is being cut away by the
waves and is expected to meet a like
fate very soon.
Fruitless Efforts to Save it From Tide
Many measures had been tried to
save Henlopen from the encroachment
of the ocean. Breal1waters served
only to hinder, never to halt, the sea.
Jetties, buttresses, brushwood growths 1
and other obstacles had cost the gov
ernment approximately $4,000 with 4
out success and it was then planned I
to sink several old hulks in the " /
shaped bite the sea had taken in the /
sand. The end came before this work I.
was started. When the lighthouse was
built it stood 400 feet from the open /
sea. 1t was constructed Of stone,
brick and steel on so foot sand dune
the highest point of land in the Vi
cinity. Its eight-sided tower was SO
feet high. During the Revolutionary
War the British seized Henlopen and
burned the interior. The United Stat
es government repaired the damage
and mounted lens manufactured in
France whose rays were visible 40
miles at sea.
Historic Light Figures in Disasters
In 1889 the English brig De Braak
carrying letters of marque and rep
risal against Napolean and equipped
for privateering expedition cap
sized in gale within sight of the
lighthouse and all her crew was lost.
The grave of the Irish captain, James
Drew, is at Lewes, his body having
been washed ashore "a hours after the
tragedy. One of the last dramas with {
in sight of the lighthouse was during
the World War in 1918 when the oil
tanker William Pratt was sunk by I
U-boat. Its rays shone for the last I
time on September 80, 1924, when the ;
government opened new steel light
house nearby.