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FeedDelaware Historical Society: The Lewes Historical Society formed to preserve the Cannonball House on Canal Street near the cannons that defended Lewes during the Revolutionary period
This photo is courtesy of the Delaware Historical Society. For reproductions or information, visit dehistory.org, or call 655-7161.
Lewes, 1930s
The photo is shot from the edge of Canal Street in Lewes. The photographer was standing near the Cannonball House, a landmark that has remained on one site since being built in 1765, and today serves as the home of The Lewes Historical Society’s maritime museum. The area across the canal, on the far left, is untouched. Irish Eyes and Gilligan’s Restaurant have yet to be built. The cannons, which were moved to this site, defended Lewes in the Revolutionary period and during the War of 1812, when the Cannonball House got its name. The house had deteriorated over the years. In the summer of 1961, a group of Lewes citizens set out to preserve the landmark. They met one night, devised a plan, and The Lewes Historical Society was born.
