Cape Henlopen State Park
Delaware state park near Lewes, Delaware, United States
Cape Henlopen State Park is a Delaware state park on 5,450 acres (2,210 ha) on Cape Henlopen in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. William Penn made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public lands established in what has become the United States in 1682 with the declaration that Cape Henlopen would be for "the usage of the citizens of Lewes and Sussex County." Cape Henlopen State Park has a 24-hour and year-round fishing pier as well as campgrounds. The remainder of the park is only open from sunrise to sunset, and includes a bathhouse on the Atlantic Ocean, an area for surf-fishing, a disc golf course, and bicycle and walking paths. The beach at Herring Point is a popular surfing spot. The park is a stop on Delaware's Coastal Heritage Greenway.
History
Cape Henlopen, on Delaware Bay, has long been a public use area although it did not officially become a Delaware state park until 1964. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania and early leader of Delaware, decreed that Cape Henlopen and its natural resources be set aside for the use and enjoyment of the citizens of the Delaware Colony. Penn's decree established Cape Henlopen as one of the first public use parcels of land in the Thirteen Colonies.
The cape was an important strategic location for the U.S. Navy and Army during the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Cape Henlopen Light, the sixth lighthouse built on the Atlantic Coast, was constructed from 1767-1769. This lighthouse was in operation until 1924 when it was abandoned after it was extensively damaged in 1920 by a storm.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Cape Henlopen State Park” is delaware state park near Lewes, Delaware, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Cape, Henlopen and State, not as a finished interpretation.
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The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1034435. Authority coordinates are 38.767, -75.096. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1682, 1964, 1812 and 1767.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cape Henlopen State Park” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.