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DELAWARE BAY LIGHTS 302-644-7046 If no answer, please call 717-350-4206 P.O.Box 708 Lewes, DE 19958
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DELAWARE BAY LIGHTS 302-644-7046 If no answer, please call 717-350-4206 P.O.Box 708 Lewes, DE 19958
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Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation
Dedicated to the preservation of The Harbor Refuge Lighthouse
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| The Delaware River & Bay
Lighthouse Foundation (DRBLHF) is an all-volunteer organization that
is the caretaker of the Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse. What We Do... "A Brief History" Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse-100 Years of Service On November 15, 2026, Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse will celebrate its 100th anniversary guiding commercial, recreational and military vessels in and out of the Delaware Bay. This iconic black and white lighthouse is located on the eastern end of the outer breakwater wall of the National Harbor of Refuge. The lighthouse was manned continuously from November 1926 through December 1973, and to this day, continues to be an Aide to Navigation currently maintained by the United States Coastguard at Chincoteague, VA. In 2002, the Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation (DRBLHF) assumed responsibility of caretaking and ownership of Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse. When the Foundation volunteers started the preservation effort, Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse had not been occupied for 29 years. It became obvious that the preservation of this structure was going to be a daunting task. From the beginning, it became apparent that the weak link of this project was the landing dock which was subject to all the forces of the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Another challenge is the cost of transportation for accessing offshore Lights which must be incurred for each trip and can only be accessible in calm weather. Over the period of seven years from 2002 through 2009, the Lighthouse Foundation volunteers rebuilt the dock 13 times due to storm-related conditions. In November of 2009, Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse took a direct hit with two back-to-back Nor’ easters which wiped out the upper and lower decks rendering the lighthouse inaccessible. At this point in time, the Foundation Board of Directors decided in 2010 to go on a fundraising campaign to raise money to rebuild a dock that could hold up to the harsh marine environment. Several years later, Hurricane Sandy put the finishing touches on the fragile dock at Harbor of Refuge. One year later, the State of Delaware notified the Lighthouse Foundation that the Department of the Interior had federal grant money for historic properties damaged by Hurricane Sandy. We applied for a grant to rebuild the dock and were awarded $781,000. The Foundation also had raised $50,000 towards the completion of the new dock. This project lasted three years and was completed in November of 2016 when the Lighthouse had its 90th birthday. Finally, after 7 years, the Lighthouse Foundation resumed preservation efforts in 2017 and started their tours in 2018 which continued through 2019. We cancelled tours in 2020 due to COVID but resumed the sold-out tours in 2021. Another successful initiative from 2013 to 2021, the Foundation worked with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to be selected for 7th and final series of Lighthouse Forever Stamps. In 2022, the Coast Guard replaced the old flashing light with a new VRB-25 LED rotating optic which provides brighter light and uses less energy which allowed the solar powered batteries to stay charged for a longer period so that the foghorn would be activated on a 24/7 basis. The current challenge that the Lighthouse Foundation is now facing since taking ownership is the deterioration of the stone breakwater wall. The Corps of Engineers has been working with the Foundation to address this major problem. In 2022, the Corp did side scan surveys and developed a Major Maintenance Report (MMR) with a cost estimate to repair the wall at $100 million. The report stated that the wall is 95% effective except for the section supporting and in close proximity to the Lighthouse. As a result, we were notified that public tours and work trips were to be cancelled beginning in 2023. The Corps continued to monitor the breakwater wall conditions and the Lighthouse Foundation was told restoration work trips could resume in 2024. The Corps of Engineers in 2025 installed a GPS unit to track any possible movement of the structure. This information will be tracked by the Corps of Engineers until a decision can be made about its future stability. We are hopeful that tours may resume in the future. The Lighthouse Foundation is very proud of its accomplishments over the past 24 years. Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse has been restored to much of its previous glory thanks to the thousands of volunteer hours, hard work and leadership of the Board of Directors and volunteers. The Lighthouse Foundation plans to have a 100-year celebration sunset cruise in the fall of 2026. Follow us on the Facebook page delawarebaylights.org. Respectfully submitted by, Red Moulinier Past President, DRBLHF
Board of Directors
Ellen Parks, Secretary
William “Red” Moulinier |
