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DSPF Open House A Success!

February 21, 2011

The Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation hosted its Annual Membership Meeting & Open House on October 31, from 1:00 – 3:00 PM at the Indian River Life Saving Station Museum. Presentations from the Delaware Seashore State Parks’ Staff and DELDOT’s new Indian River Bridge team highlighted the event, in addition to the free tours of the museum. An array of treats & beverages donated by the Gift Shop staff at the Indian River Life Saving Station Museum, G&E Hockers & the Donut Connection were available for all guests to enjoy.
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DSPF Embarks on Project to Restore World War II Observation Towers

February 21, 2011

The DSPF is embarking on a project to restore the World War II observation towers within the Delaware Seashore State Park beginning with Tower #3 just south of Dewey Beach along Route One. A number of towers were built along the Delaware coastline during World War II. The towers were used as artillery spotting locations. Our military was posted in each of the towers in order to spot enemy ships sailing off our coast.
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Friends Serve Lunch for Over 100 Volunteers

February 21, 2011

The folks from the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation served up the hamburgers and hot-dogs with all the fixings on both days to over 100 volunteers. Groups who worked on the project are Department of Corrections, Latreia and Wartburg College, National Civilian Community Corps, University of Delaware sent volunteers from the Marine Science Center, AmeriCorps State Parks Partnership, and some sixteen park staff members gave of their time on Saturday and Sunday.
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Tower Restoration

February 17, 2011

It all began, Gary Wray says, with members of a couple coastal Sussex County organizations tossing around ideas about how to promote understanding of World War II. Folks in the Fort Miles Historical Association, of which he is president, and their counterparts in the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation talked of creating a memorial to that conflict’s veterans.
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Tower Restoration Plans Unveiled

February 17, 2011

Soon, visitors to the Delaware shore and locals who travel Route 1 will no longer have to wonder from afar about the famous towers that stand along the coastline — at least, not if the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation (DSPF) and Fort Miles Historical Association (FMHA) have their way.

The two groups announced on Wednesday their plans to restore Fire Control Tower No. 3, the southernmost tower of two located just south of Dewey Beach, in Delaware Seashore State Park. Their project, with a fundraising goal of $500,000, aims to restore Tower No. 3 to its World War II condition, open it to the general public and create a related database listing World War II veterans and donors to the project. "It's a milestone for this organization," said Ernie Felici, chairman of the DSPF.
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Groups Combine To Save Tower

February 17, 2011

For more than 65 years 11 silent sentinels have guarded the coast. Most people are not aware of the unique history surrounding the fire-control towers assigned to Fort Miles; many are under the mistaken impression they were gun emplacements. Two volunteer organizations are joining forces to open a tower in Dewey Beach in an effort to educate the public about the critical role they played during World War II.

The tower will be restored to its World War II condition and be open for tours. In addition, it will serve as a location for a World War II memorial to store a database listing World War II veterans as part of an interactive display. The only tower now open to the public is the 75-foot tower in Cape Henlopen State Park.
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Groups Combine To Save A Silent Sentinel

February 17, 2011

For more than 65 years 11 silent sentinels have guarded the coast. Most people are not aware of the unique history surrounding the fire-control towers assigned to Fort Miles; many are under the mistaken impression they were gun emplacements. Two volunteer organizations are joining forces to open a tower in Dewey Beach in an effort to educate the public about the critical role they played during World War II.

The tower will be restored to its World War II condition and be open for tours. In addition, it will serve as a location for a World War II memorial to store a database listing World War II veterans as part of an interactive display. The only tower now open to the public is the 75-foot tower in Cape Henlopen State Park.
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Groups Plan To Refurbish WWII Gunnery Tower

February 17, 2011

Two resort-area preservation groups have joined forces to raise money for restoration of one of two World War II fire control towers just south of Dewey Beach, which they want to open to the public.

The view from 64 feet above sea level should be spectacular because from the top, people can see 14 1/2 miles east over the Atlantic Ocean, said Gary Wray, president of the Fort Miles Historical Association, one of the groups involved in the project. To the west is Rehoboth Bay. Wray's group has joined the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation to raise money and begin tower restoration.
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What Are Those Towers Along The Coast?

February 17, 2011

Perhaps the most intriguing landmarks on the southern Delaware coast are the World War II observation towers. The cylindrical concrete towers were erected by the Army during World War II to watch for Nazi ships and submarines. Eleven towers dot the coast, stretching from Fenwick Island northward to Cape Henlopen.

Currently, only one tower is open to the public. Located at Cape Henlopen, the tower offers spectacular views of the coast. Through a partnership between the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation and The Fort Miles Historical Association, efforts are currently underway to restore Tower #3, located within the Delaware Seashore State Park on Route 1, just south of Dewey Beach. Once Tower #3 is restored it will be open to public and interpretive tours will be given.