Fort Miles Museum and Historic Area

10/10/2026

We were pleased to host Secretary Patterson for a visit to the museum and historical area! Thanks Delaware DNREC for stopping by!

09/24/2026

It was a pleasure to be a stop on the 80th Anniversary Revival Glidden Auto Tour!

What an incredible opportunity to see some amazing antique vehicles. It's always a pleasure to share our history with visitors, even better when they've got some cool history to share with us!

09/24/2026

Though the weather has chased us off the beach for tonight's program, don't miss your final chance to participate on October 22nd!

The Shipwrecks & Rescues tour scheduled for the evening of Thursday, September 24th has been CANCELLED.

Although the surfmen walked their lonely beats along the beaches of Cape Henlopen regardless of nature's fury, we have elected to cancel this tour in the interest of safety due to inclement weather and storm surges. All individuals who booked tickets should have received an email from the tour manager! Please be sure to respond to confirm and to indicate if you wish to be rebooked to our October 22nd date. Refunds will be offered to all who choose not to rebook.

We are sorry for the weather's interference in a fantastic tour and hope you will join us next month!

09/10/2026

Calling all Girl Scouts! Don't miss your chance to join us for this year's Girl Scouts Love State Parks programs!

Become a Cape Cadet with the Fort Miles Museum and Historic Area and break the codes to discover what happened to a group of missing soldiers. Or take your learning to new heights and meet some feathered friends with Cape Henlopen State Park.

No matter what your interest or location, there's a program for you!

Visit https://www.destateparks.com/programs/ and filter by "scouting" to learn more about how to participate!

09/08/2026

The stories of our past often help shape our understanding of the present!

Celebrate 75 years of Delaware State Parks by recording your memories made here at Cape Henlopen State Park! Meet at the Fort Miles Museum in Battery 519 to hear presentations of pre-recorded histories of Fort Miles and Cape Henlopen, running every 30 minutes. Oral history interviews to preserve your own memories will be conducted on a rolling basis. If you are interested in scheduling an interview ahead of time please call (302) 644-5007. No registration is required and this program is FREE with park entrance fees.

09/02/2026

On this day in 1945 WWII ended with the formal surrender of Japan aboard the U.S.S. Missouri.

Today the weather held and we celebrated Victory in Japan Day in the shade of our 16" Missouri gun barrel!

Our thanks to all who could make it out for the event! VJ Day is celebrated every year at the Fort Miles Museum on September 2nd, and all are welcome to attend.

08/28/2026

"Gaming under the Great Dune" is back for the fall season!

Come out and enjoy model war games, painting, snacks and comradery!
Once a month starting September 5th from 4:30-7:30 PM, $6 per person. Meet at the Fort Miles Museum, follow signs for Fort Miles.

Feel free to bring your own game or try others. Stay as little or as long as you'd like.

**No models were harmed in the making of this photo.**

08/26/2026

“What is it” Wednesday!

A follow-up post to our “Panama Mounts” from last week- this week, we share the artillery piece that sat atop them!

This M1917A1 155-mm Gun on Carriage M1918 is a true piece of Coast Artillery history. Initially acquired by the United States from the government of France during WWI, the United States developed the carriage for the French built tubes. Want a fun fact to stump your friends (coast artillery buffs excluded!)? The French built tubes are designated M1917, but guns equipped with the American-made Breech Mechanism are designated M1917A1 (like ours!).

Another interesting fact? The carriage for our 155-mm currently on display was manufactured by Dodge Brothers (the American automaker) in 1940! Our carriage is of the M1918 type as displayed (solid wheels with rubber road tires and no electric brakes). Modifications to this carriage would bring pneumatic road tires and electric/ air brakes, though it seems likely that the guns at Fort Miles did not receive these modifications.

155-mm guns were staples of the Coast Artillery. They were mobile, boasted a decent effective range of over 11 miles, and packed a punch: the projectile weighs in at 95lbs and leaves the barrel at more than 2400 feet per second!

Eight of these guns would be assigned to Fort Miles in WWII. Four 155-mm guns were placed with Battery C, 261st Coast Artillery Battalion (Separate) at Cape Henlopen, DE and four with Battery C, 21st Coast Artillery Regiment at Cape May, NJ. Although initially in sand for training completed in October of 1941 (see photo 2) all eight guns eventually had semi-permanent “Panama Mounts” constructed in 1942; photo 3 is believed to be at one such emplacement at Fort Miles.

Stop by the Fort Miles Museum and Historic Area any time Cape Henlopen State Park is open to see our example 155-mm or any of the other artillery currently display in the Artillery Park!

Photo 1: Fort Miles Museum and Historic Area’s M1917A1 155-mm Gun on Carriage M1918, February 2026

Photo 2: 155-mm guns at Fort Miles, circa 1941

Photo 3: 155-mm gun drill at Fort Miles, circa 1942

08/25/2026

Don't miss your chance to join us for our last summer Shipwrecks and Rescues program with The Lewes Historical Society!

Can't make it? Don't worry! We'll be offering this fun and unique experience into the fall. Just keep an eye out for our September and October dates!

When the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse fell into the sea in 1926, it was one of the oldest beacons in America. Since the late 1700s, it had borne witness to countless storms and saved many lives, manned by its faithful lightkeepers.

Hear stories of shipwrecks, survival, and nature's fury at our upcoming SHIPWRECKS & RESCUES tour on Thursday, August 27th at 7 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now! Historiclewes.org/tours

08/19/2026

“What Is It” Wednesday!

Have you seen these strange concrete half-circles near the McBride Beach Bathhouse at Cape Henlopen? The structure beneath the boardwalk to the beach wasn’t built for the bathhouse, its origins go back to 1941!

The concrete structure pictured here is the “Panama Mount” for one of the 155mm M1918 guns at Fort Miles. Constructed to provide a stable firing platform, four mounts were built to support each of the 155mm guns that made up this collection of artillery weapons, called Battery #22.

The “Panama Mount” was developed for the Coast Artillery at the Panama Canal. It allowed the mobile 155mm gun to be installed in a “semi-fixed” configuration, giving the gun the freedom of a 180-degree field of fire while stabilizing it in a sandy environment.

Want to test your knowledge? Visit the Fort Miles Museum and Historical Area's Artillery Park and see if you can identify the M1918 155mm Gun we've got on display!

Image 1: Partial view of Battery 22, Emplacement #1 “Panama Mount” as seen from McBride Beach Bathhouse (Source: Fort Miles Museum and Historic Area Staff).

Image 2: Illustration of a M1918 155mm Gun emplaced on a “Panama Mount”, circa 1940 (Source: Delaware State Parks Collection).