The Fenwick Island Lighthouse was erected in 1858, entered operation in 1859, and served as an official aid to navigation until 1978. On December 29, 1858, the Lighthouse Board announced that the new brick tower at Fenwicks Island, Delaware, would display its light beginning on August 1 and continue burning every night from sunset to sunrise. The tower was 75 feet high and surmounted by a 10-foot lantern, with a black watch room and lantern and white lower section and keeper’s dwelling. Its third-order Fresnel illuminating apparatus showed a fixed white light varied by a bright flash every two minutes, with a focal plane 86 feet above sea level and visibility for 15 nautical miles in ordinary atmospheric conditions. The light-house’s approximate position was given as latitude 38° 27’ 00” north and longitude 75° 03’ 30” west. It cost $23,748.96 to build in 1858. The light was first fueled by whale oil, then kerosene, and was magnified by a Fresnel lens imported from France. The two houses beside the lighthouse were the homes of the keeper and assistant and are now privately owned. The lighthouse was transferred to Delaware in 1981 and restored in 1982–1983 by the Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse under the leadership of W. Paul Pepper, with assistance from the State of Delaware, the Fenwick Island Women’s Club, Senator Richard S. Cordrey, Richard B. Carter, Randy Murray, Earl R. Strausbaugh, John Cziraki, steeplejack, Oliver Cropper, Herla Lobo, vice-president, treasurer Claire Pritchett, and secretary A.D. 1983. It is presently operated by the Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse as a private aid to navigation and is powered by solar energy.