Milford chronicle., 1927-05-27
LEWES AS A SHIPPING CENTRE

Editorial in Every Evening, May l6)
The legislature having, at the re-
cent session, appropriated 100000 for
the purchase or building of a state
owned pier at Lewes, to be used in
connection with the state highway
system, the way seems to have been
opened for making Lewes a shipping
centre of considerable Importance.
The Chamber of Commerce of that
town, having been an aggressive
factor in the project, its hopes In
that behalf ought soon to be realized.
According to Every Evenings Lewes
CORRESPONDENT, at least two boat
lines are already looking toward the
use of this pier as soon as it is
available and terms can be agreed
upon. One is the proposed new ferry
service from Cape May, N. j., and the
other is the New York, Philadelphia
and Southern Steamship Corpora
ton. Transient shippers also doubt
less will find the pier convenient
stopping point. 1t is likely, there
fore. that the undertaking will begin
to Weld revenue from the start, and
interest nthe investment ought to
be readily met, in addition to the
cost of maintenance and upkeep.
Lewes is not only connected
with the state highway system, with
concrete roads to all parts of the
Peninsula, but it is also a railroad
terminal, with connections all over
the State and Peninsula, as well as
uotlets on the Chesapeake Bay. Con-
sequently, there will be ample facil-
ity for handling passengers and
freight. especially farm produce, to
and from the whole territory be-
tween the two bays. The outlook is
promising, and there is no doubt that
the business interests OF Lewes VIII
give all of the encouragement pos
sibIe to those who can advantage
ously avail themselves of the service.
Half a century ago Lewes was
shipping centre of no mean lmpor-
tance, with regularly established
lines of rail and water facilities. At
that time the Old Dominion Steam
shin Co. maintained a regular ser
vice by ocean-going steamship be
tween Lewes and New York. This
line was operated in conjunction
with the junction & Breakwater
Railroad Co.. which built "a rail line
from Harrington to Lewes, via Mil
ford and Georgetown. While there is
no definite information at hand re-
garding the revenue from this rail-
and water service from central Del
aware to New York, the fact that 1t
was maintained for some time, lnd1-
Gates that those who were respon-
sible for the service were at least
encouraged. However, the rail line
between LeweS and Harrington,
where there was connection with the
Delaware railroad, subsequently pas
sed into the control of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad and was operated as
part of the Pennsylvania system.
The Old Dominion Co. abandoned the |
water service and much freight that |
had been going out of Lewes by wa
ter was diverted by rail. The name
of the junction and Breakwater rail- |
road was changed, after a spur had |
been built from Georgetown to |
Franklin City, Va, to the Delaware,
Maryland and Virginia railroad.
In those days Delaware had no i'm
proved roads, while the railroad ser
vice. was very crude. In fact, wood |
was the fuel used on the locomotives
operated on the Junction and Break
water railroad in those days. This |
made the service slow, protracted |
stops at scheduled points being nee
essary to refuel and water the en-
gines. Now things are vastly differ
ent. With a network of concrete
roads all over the peninsula and i'm
proved railroad service, land hauls
to and from the Lewes pier can be
much more quickly made, which will
better enable Delaware and Mary
land produce growers to compete for
the trade offered in the northern
markets.
Thus Lewes ought soon to come |
back into it's own as a shipping CEN
tire of consequence after a period of
half a century.