FENWICK ISLAND SALT MINING

HISTORY OF CAPE HENLOPEN AND BEYOND

FENWICK ISLAND SALT MINING

1775 TO 1825

Between 1775 and 1825 Fenwick Island was known for it's salt springs and a salt

making enterprise of two young men, James and Jacob Breasure, who lived on the island

at that time. When they dug large holes in the sandy grounds, these holes soon filled with

salty water. They had large pans, four foot wide and eight foot long, set them on a brick arch

twenty inches high, then fill these pans with the salty water from the springs, and boil it.

When the water went off as a vapor, salt was left in the pans, which was put into barrels

and shipped to Philadelphia and sold for $6 a barrel.

Abstract: Selbyville Delmarva News, Thursday, August 6, 1959 article by David

J. Long.