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Sussex County, Delaware

Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.

—newspaper titles

—digitized titles

155historic places

—earliest paper

1673formed

237,378pop. 2020

62cemeteries

—CW battlefields

At a glance

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places includes 155 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1970; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Lewes, Georgetown, Millsboro.

Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.

Newspapers

Library of Congress

Newspaper directory data for Delaware is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Sussex titles at the Library of Congress.

National Register of Historic Places

NPS NRHP

115 of 155 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.

155 listed properties

Property	City	Type	Listed
Abbott's Mill	Milford	Building	1972
Abbott's Mill (Boundary Increase)	Milford	Building	1979
Adams Home Farm	Greenwood	Building	2015
Adams, Joseph T., House	Georgetown	Building	1998
All Saints' Episcopal Church	Rehoboth Beach	Building	1991
Allen, Richard, School	Georgetown	Building	2019
Avery's Rest Site	Rehoboth Beach	Site	1978
Ball Theatre	Millsboro	Building	2018
Baltimore Mills Historic Archaeological Site	Omar	Site	1997
Barnes Woods Archeological District	Seaford	District	1996
Bethel Historic District	Bethel	District	1975
Blackwater Presbyterian Church	Clarksville	Building	1976
Brick Hotel	Georgetown	Building	1979
Bridgeville Historic District	Bridgeville	District	1994
Bridgeville Public Library	Bridgeville	Building	1990
Building at 200-202A High Street	Seaford	Building	1987
Building at 218 High Street	Seaford	Building	1987
Building at High and Cannon Streets	Seaford	Building	1987
Burton Hardware Store	Seaford	Building	1978
Burton-Blackstone-Carey Store	Millsboro	Building	2014
Cannon's Ferry	Woodland	Site	1973
Cape Henlopen Archeological District	Lewes	District	1978
Carey's Camp Meeting Ground	Millsboro	District	1973
Carlisle House	Milford	Building	1982
Chandler, Capt. Ebe, House	Frankford	Building	1979
Chipman Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Chipman's Mill	Laurel	Building	1978
Coleman House	Lewes	Building	1977
Collins Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Cool Spring Presbyterian Church	Lewes	Building	1982
Cox, J. W., Dry Goods Store	Seaford	Building	1987
Davis, Robert, Farmhouse	Millsboro	Building	1979
Dawson, Dr., House	Milford	Building	1983
De Vries Palisade	Lewes	Site	1972
Deep Creek Furnace Site	Middleford	Site	1977
Delaware Breakwater and Lewes Harbor	Lewes	Structure	1976
Dickerson Potato House	Delmar	Building	1990
Dinker-Irvin Cottage	Bethany Beach	Building	2017
Dodd Homestead	Rehoboth Beach	Building	1982
Draper House	Milford	Building	1982
Draper-Adkins House	Milton	Building	1973
Egglinton Hall	Milford	Building	1983
Ellendale State Forest Picnic Facility	Ellendale	Building	1991
Eratt House	Bridgeville	Building	1983
Evans-West House	Ocean View	Building	2015
Faucett, Peter S., House	Georgetown	Building	1985
Fenwick Island Lighthouse Station	Fenwick Island	Building	1979
First Broiler House	Georgetown	Building	1974
First National Bank of Seaford	Seaford	Building	1987
Fisher Homestead	Lewes	Building	1980
Fisher's Paradise	Lewes	Building	1972
Fort Miles Historic District	Lewes	District	2004
Georgetown Coal Gasification Plant	Georgetown	Building	1985
Godwin School	Millsboro	Building	2018
Grier House	Milford	Building	1983
Gyles, Stella Pepper, House	Georgetown	Building	1979
Hall, Col. David, House	Lewes	Building	1976
Harmon School	Millsboro	Building	1979
Harmon, Isaac, Farmhouse	Millsboro	Building	1979
Harmony Church	Millsboro	Building	1979
Hazzard House	Milton	Building	1973
Hearn Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Hearn and Rawlins Mill	Seaford	Building	1978
Hebron Methodist Protestant Church and Cemetery	Georgetown	Building	2015
Highball Signal	Delmar	Object	1973
Hitch, E. L., Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Hitchens, Ames, Chicken Farm	Millsboro	Building	1979
Hopkins' Covered Bridge Farm	Lewes	Building	1991
Indian Mission Church	Millsboro	Building	1979
Indian Mission School	Millsboro	Building	1979
Indian River Archeological Complex	Millsboro	District	1978
Indian River Life Saving Service Station	Bethany Beach	Building	1976
Isaacs & Sons Cold Storage Building	Georgetown	Building	2025
Johnson School	Millsboro	Building	1979
Judge's House and Law Office	Georgetown	Building	1979
Laurel Historic District	Laurel	District	1988
Lawrence	Seaford	Building	1978
Lewes Historic District	Lewes	District	1977
Lewes Historic District (Boundary Increase)	Lewes	District	1992
Lewes Presbyterian Church	Lewes	Building	1977
Lightship WLV 539 NHL	Lewes	Structure	1989
Marsh, Peter, House	Rehoboth Beach	Building	1977
Maston House	Seaford	Building	1975
Maull House	Lewes	Building	1970
Maull, Thomas, House (Boundary Increase)	Lewes	Site	1978
McColley's Chapel	Georgetown	Building	2011
Melson House	Atlanta	Building	1978
Messick, Dr. John W., House and Office	Georgetown	Building	1987
Milford Railroad Station	Milford	Building	1983
Milford Shipyard Area Historic District	Milford	Building	1983
Milton Historic District (Additional Documentation)	Milton	District	1982
Milton Historic District (Boundary Increase)	Milton	District	2022
Mispillion Lighthouse and Beacon Tower	Milford	Building	1987
Moore Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
National Harbor of Refuge and Delaware Breakwater Harbor Historic District	Lewes	District	1989
Norwood House	Lewes	Building	1982
Old Bridgeville Fire House	Bridgeville	Building	1984
Old Christ Church	Laurel	Building	1972
Old Sussex County Courthouse	Georgetown	Building	1971
Pagan Creek Dike	Lewes	Structure	1973
Pepper, Carlton, David, Farm	Georgetown	Building	1979
Perry-Shockley House	Millsboro	Building	1985
Phillips Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Pine Grove Furnace Site	Concord	Site	1978
Ponder, Gov. James, House	Milton	Building	1973
Poplar Thicket	Bethany Beach	Site	1978
Portsville Lighthouse	Portsville	Building	1987
Prince George's Chapel	Dagsboro	Building	1971
Prospect A.M.E. Church	Georgetown	Building	2023
Ralph Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Redden Forest Lodge, Forester's House, and Stable	Georgetown	Building	1980
Ricards House-Linden Hall	Bridgeville	Building	1982
Richards Historic District	Greenwood	District	1983
Richards Mansion	Georgetown	Building	1979
Rider Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Robbins, David, Homestead	Milton	Building	2013
Robinson, Jesse, House	Seaford	Building	1982
Roosevelt Inlet Shipwreck	Lewes	Site	2006
Ross Point School	Laurel	Building	2001
Ross, Edgar and Rachel, House	Seaford	Building	1997
Ross, Gov. William H., House	Seaford	Building	1977
Russell, William, House	Lewes	Building	1977
Scott's Store	Bridgeville	Building	1983
Seaford Station Complex	Seaford	District	1978
Short Homestead	Georgetown	Building	1982
Sipple, Thomas, House	Georgetown	Building	1985
South Milford Historic District	Milford	District	1983
Spring Banke	Clarksville	Building	1976
Spring Garden	Laurel	Building	1982
St. George's Chapel	Lewes	Building	1973
St. John's Methodist Church	Georgetown	Building	1990
St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church	Seaford	Building	1977
St. Paul's Episcopal Church	Georgetown	Building	1979
Stanley Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Sudler House	Bridgeville	Building	1974
Sussex County Courthouse and the Circle	Georgetown	Building	1973
Sussex National Bank of Seaford	Seaford	Building	1987
Teddy's Tavern	Ellendale	Building	1991
Thompson's Island Site (Boundary Increase)	Rohoboth Beach	Site	1997
Thompson's Loss and Gain Site	Rehoboth Beach	Site	1978
Thompsons Island Site	Rehoboth Beach	Site	1978
Townsend Site	Lewes	Site	1978
Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church	Bridgeville	Building	1978
Tunnell-West House	Ocean View	Building	2012
Union Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church Complex	Clarksville	District	2014
Warren's Mill	Millsboro	Building	1978
Warrington Site	Rehoboth Beach	Site	1977
West Potato House	Delmar	Building	1990
West Woods Methodist Episcopal Church	Gumboro	Building	2007
Wilgus Site	Bethany Beach	Site	1978
Wolfe's Neck Site	Lewes	Site	1978
Woman's Christian Temperance Union Fountain	Rehoboth Beach	Object	2009
Wright Potato House	Laurel	Building	1990
Wright, Gardiner, Mansion	Georgetown	Building	1979
Wright, Warren T., Farmhouse Site	Millsboro	Site	1979

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.

County formation

Newberry AHCB

Sussex was formed in 1673 (1673-09-12) from unknown / original county.

After completing their re-conquest of New York in August 1673, the Dutch created HOARKILL (later DEALE, now SUSSEX) as one of three county-like courts that became original counties in Delaware; no inland limits were specified.

Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Population by decade

Census

Sussex County population from 1790 to 2020 (Census historical series).

1790	1800	1820	1840	1860	1880	1900	1920	1940	1950	1960	1980	2000	2020
20,488	19,358	24,057	25,093	29,615	36,018	42,276	43,741	52,502	61,336	73,195	98,004	156,638	237,378

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.

National Park Service sites nearby

NPS

Park units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).

Site	Type	Dist.
Assateague Island National Seashore	National Seashore	56.2 km

Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.

Cemeteries & historical places

USGS GNIS

62 cemeteries and 2 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.

Cemeteries — 62 of 62 listed

Name	Lat	Lon
Asbury Cemetery	38.62709	-75.47322
Banks Cemetery	38.55904	-75.09906
Banning Cemetery	38.78441	-75.4782
Beaverdam Cemetery	38.72434	-75.28598
Bethel Cemetery	38.78849	-75.30705
Bethel Cemetery	38.76972	-75.14469
Betts Cemetery	38.79049	-75.29631
Blades Cemetery	38.62928	-75.60806
Carey Cemetery	38.51353	-75.23652
Carey Cemetery	38.55841	-75.37408
Cedar Neck Cemetery	38.9266	-75.3685
Cokesbury Cemetery	38.69318	-75.47986
Concord Church Cemetery	38.63974	-75.55409
Davis Cemetery	38.85118	-75.31308
Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery	38.61507	-75.31441
Ebenezer Cemetery	38.72972	-75.15452
Ebenezer Cemetery	38.72983	-75.15463
Ellendale Cemetery	38.81149	-75.41853
Faith Cemetery	38.76228	-75.43425
Friendship Cemetery	38.63616	-75.20298
Harmony Cemetery	38.63888	-75.243
Hazzard Cemetery	38.81711	-75.27943
Hebron Cemetery	38.69793	-75.42862
Henlopen Memorial Park	38.78981	-75.24644
Hickory Cemetery	38.86209	-75.35217
Holland Cemetery	38.76964	-75.23208
Indian Mission Cemetery	38.67338	-75.23426
Laurel Hill Cemetery	38.5518	-75.58082
Long Cemetery	38.50966	-75.24519
Midway Cemetery	38.72854	-75.12829
Millsboro Cemetery	38.55734	-75.24713
Millsboro Cemetery	38.58866	-75.2853
Millsboro Cemetery	38.61321	-75.22767
Mount Zion Cemetery	38.59578	-75.59073
New Market Cemetery	38.8065	-75.39797
New Mount Zion Methodist Cemetery	38.5554	-75.57968
New Saint Johns Cemetery	38.62839	-75.2809
Ocean View Presbyterian Cemetery	38.5449	-75.0903
Odd Fellows Cemetery	38.6465	-75.61409
Odd Fellows Cemetery	38.5494	-75.5759
Old Field Cemetery	38.58193	-75.31048
Oliphant Cemetery	38.45483	-75.52103
Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery	38.6284	-75.60733
Peoples Memorial Park	38.73255	-75.1332
Ponder Cemetery	38.77927	-75.32381
Providence Methodist Cemetery	38.6345	-75.3871
Ralph's Hill Cemetery	38.48323	-75.64563
Red Men Cemetery	38.46484	-75.22777
Saint George Cemetery	38.779	-75.14907
Saint Georges Cemetery	38.6837	-75.2191
Saint Georges Cemetery	38.5495	-75.1487
Saint Johnstown Cemetery	38.8029	-75.5738
Saint Stephens Cemetery	38.45638	-75.56685
Saint Thomas Cemetery	38.5911	-75.4158
Siloam Cemetery	38.8678	-75.3551
Slaughter Neck Cemetery	38.86943	-75.33899
Union Cemetery	38.68845	-75.37936
Weigands Cemetery	38.76596	-75.28081
Whites Chapel Cemetery	38.77341	-75.22253
Wilgus Cemetery	38.49392	-75.16286
Woodland Cemetery	38.60022	-75.65834
Zion Cemetery	38.80175	-75.27765

Historical populated places — 2 of 2

Name	Lat	Lon
Bowdens Garage	38.69817	-75.37492
South Milford	38.9115	-75.42881

Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.

Historical markers

HMdb link

Marker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.

Search HMdb for Sussex County, Delaware

Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.