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Mispillion Lighthouse Site
Historic Site
This site once guided vessels into the inland port of Milford and was later replaced by a steel skeletal tower. Though the original structure was destroyed by fire, a replica now stands in Shipcarpenter Square in Lewes, built using salvaged materials and original plans.
The Mispillion Lighthouse has a storied past rooted in Delaware’s maritime heritage. Originally built in 1831 at the mouth of the Mispillion River to guide vessels into the inland port of Milford, it was one of three lighthouses authorized that year to mark small rivers flowing into Delaware Bay. The structure was rebuilt in 1873 as a 65-foot square wooden tower rising from a Gothic-style keeper's house, serving mariners until 1929, when it was decommissioned and replaced by a steel skeletal beacon. Over decades of private ownership, the lighthouse fell into disrepair and was eventually destroyed by lightning in 2002. Remarkably, parts of the original structure were salvaged and used to build a replica at 20 Shipcarpenter Square in Lewes in 2004, preserving its legacy for future generations.
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Contact Information
Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife
90 Kings Highway
Dover DE 19901
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