Great Places

Fort Delaware State Park

39°35'21.11"N  75°34'2.46"W

Pea Patch Island
Delaware City, DE 19706

Phone: (302) 834-7941
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Fort Delaware is positioned on Pea Patch Island in the middle of the Delaware River. This strategic location made it an ideal place for the Union Army to imprison rebel soldiers during the hard-fought Civil War. Nowadays, the fort is a little more accessible. You can easily get there via a half-hour ferry ride out of Delaware City.

Keep your eyes peeled for herons, egrets, and ibises during your wagon ride to the fortress. All of these find refuge in the Pea Patch Island Nature Preserve, which is the East Coast's largest heronry north of Florida. See for yourself using the park's nearby observation platform. Just don't forget your binoculars, and your bug spray.

Watch a video entitled "Waterbound: The Story of Fort Delaware" at http://bit.ly/11Qj9D3. Similarly, visit http://youtu.be/x9rV0NRJ0dU for a glimpse of the living-history interpreters eager to speak with visitors like you.

To learn more about Fort Delaware's preservation, please visit FortDelaware.org, the official website of The Fort Delaware Society.

Photo by the Delaware River and Bay Authority

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