Formed By Nature And Man

Long ago, this area was a freshwater marsh protected from ocean storms by the Great Dune and barrier beaches. As sea levels rose, saltwater marshes replaced freshwater marshes. Starting in the 1800s, locals extracted salt from depressions in the marsh called pannes, or pools. In 1966, the Division of Fish and Wildlife impounded the largest pool, controlling mosquitoes, creating wildlife habitat, and forming the pond that exists today. This was not the original Gordons Pond; the first was farther south, near the present-day Henlopen Acres boat basin. In 1913, construction of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal eliminated that pond, and the name was transferred to this newer salt pool. Today, Delaware's Mosquito Control Section manages water levels in Gordons Pond through water control structures connecting it to the canal, lowering levels in spring to reduce mosquito breeding habitat and raising them in fall to increase habitat for ducks and geese that spend the winter there.

Delaware · United States