Colonial Lewes – Before it was the First Town in the First State

Guest Speaker: Jim Ruth

September 24, 1773: By the time Peter Ruth and his fellow travelers from the Palatine region of Germany dropped anchor, across the portside rail nestled at the southern tip of the great bay, was a burgeoning anchorage called Lewes. For the first time since setting sail from England sixty-six days earlier, their vessel was hugged by land. A seafaring town since its birth, Lewes sat on a fertile highland just inside the elbow of Cape Henlopen on the Delaware Bay. It was home to carpenters, river pilots, fishermen, farmers, and Ryves Holt, the port’s naval officer. Jim Ruth, author of The Pursuit, a historical biography about his family in America, will discuss what life was like in Lewes in 1733 before it became “the first town in the first state.”

Price: Only $10 per person. (No RSVP required. Pay at the door.)

Location/Directions: Margaret H. Rollins Community Center, Rollins Meeting Room. 101 Adams Ave. Lewes, Delaware. To get to the Rollins Room entrance, just go to the left side of the building by the side parking lot and the door is right around the corner.