If you're looking for something to do beyond the beach, Coastal Delaware has plenty of museums that offer a closer look at the region's history and culture.
From historic homes and shipwreck artifacts to World War II exhibits and local traditions, there's something new to discover in every town.
Lewes
Fort Miles Museum & Historical Area
Step inside Battery 519 and explore the story of Fort Miles, a key World War II coastal defense base built to protect major ports and infrastructure along the East Coast.
The museum brings that history to life through military artifacts, exhibits on the soldiers and civilians stationed there, Artillery Park, the Wall of Honor, and pieces connected to the USS Missouri and USS Arizona.
Fort Miles also hosts changing exhibits and special events, giving you even more reasons to look around while visiting Cape Henlopen State Park.
- Address: 15099 Cape Henlopen Drive, Lewes
Image: Fort Miles Historical Area
Historic Lewes Town Campus
Walk through several centuries of local history as you explore nine preserved buildings, each offering a different look at life in early Lewes.
You can step inside an 18th-century home, visit a recreated tavern and coffee house, browse antiques in a former country store, see an early doctor’s office, and learn what school was like long before computers and smartphones.
With so much gathered in one place, the campus makes it easy to experience Lewes’ past beyond a single exhibit.
- Address: 110 Shipcarpenter Street, Lewes
Cannonball House Maritime Museum
The cannonball still lodged in the building tells you right away that this is not an ordinary historic home.
Damaged during the 1813 Bombardment of Lewes, the Cannonball House now explores the town’s long connection to the sea through exhibits on the War of 1812, early wireless technology, navigation, pilots, lighthouses, and lifesaving crews.
The building itself has served as everything from a bank and printing shop to a laundromat and taxi stand, adding even more layers to its story.
- Address: 118 Front Street, Lewes
History Museum & Archives
Explore Lewes’ maritime heritage through exhibitions that connect the town’s past to the bay, river, and Atlantic waters that shaped it.
The museum brings together local stories, historic collections, and archival materials, while its updated focus creates a stronger link to the other preserved buildings and museums throughout Historic Lewes.
- Address: 101 Adams Avenue, Lewes
Ryves Holt House Museum & Mercantile
Dating to around 1686, the Ryves Holt House is the oldest building in Delaware still standing on its original foundation.
Its architecture reflects the Dutch, Swedish, and English traditions brought to the Delaware Valley by early European immigrants.
Over the centuries, the property served as a home, tavern, and business, and was later owned by Ryves Holt, a prominent colonial official, as well as families connected to Delaware’s maritime history.
Today, you can explore the house’s past, learn about War of 1812 naval hero Commodore Jacob Jones, and visit the mercantile that helps support Historic Lewes’ preservation work.
- Address: 218 Second Street, Lewes
Zwaanendael Museum
Learn how Delaware’s first European colony began at the Zwaanendael Museum, built in 1931 to commemorate the Dutch settlement of Swanendael founded three centuries earlier.
Inside, the exhibits take you beyond that early chapter with stories from Lewes’ maritime, military, and social history.
- Address: 102 Kings Highway, Lewes
Image: Zwaanendael Museum
Bethany Beach
Bethany Beach History Museum
The Bethany Beach History Museum gives you a look at how the town grew from a small coastal community into the place people know today.
Historic photographs, preserved artifacts, and detailed panels cover early travel to the area, family life during the summer, major storms, World War II, and other defining moments in Bethany Beach history.
You can also see pieces that have been part of the collection since the museum’s early years, including antique bathing suits dating back to 1900 and 1910.
A mural depicting the town’s history ties the collection together and makes this an easy stop for anyone curious about the stories behind Bethany Beach.
- Address: 214 Garfield Parkway, Bethany Beach
Bethany Beach Dinker-Irvin Museum
Step inside one of the few original cottages still standing in Bethany Beach and see what life looked like during the town’s early years.
Built in 1903, the Dinker-Irvin Cottage is the oldest public building in town and even served as a U.S. Post Office from 1922 to 1925.
Its restored rooms offer an immersive look at an early 1900s beach home while sharing the story of how Bethany Beach grew into the community it is today.
- Address: 318 Garfield Parkway, Bethany Beach
Image: Town of Bethany Beach
Rehoboth Beach
Indian River Life-Saving Station
The Indian River Life-Saving Station takes you back to an era when crews patrolled the beach at night and launched dangerous rescues to save shipwreck victims offshore.
Built in 1876 for the United States Life-Saving Service, the organization that later became part of the U.S. Coast Guard, the station now honors the sailors who protected this stretch of coastline.
The building was moved inland just one year after it opened when shifting sand began to surround it, and it has since been carefully restored to its 1905 appearance.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it offers a fascinating look at Delaware’s maritime rescue history.
- Address: 25039 Coastal Highway, Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach Museum
Discover how Rehoboth Beach has evolved over the years through exhibits that explore everything from its Native origins and Methodist founders to the diverse communities that have shaped the city.
You'll also find Paul Lovett's beloved Golden Age of Rehoboth diorama, rotating exhibits featuring rare artifacts and original research, plus a variety of programs and special events throughout the year.
- Address: 511 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach
Millsboro
Nanticoke Indian Museum
As Delaware's only Native American museum and a National Historic Landmark, the Nanticoke Indian Museum offers an opportunity to learn directly from the history and traditions of the Nanticoke people.
Inside, you'll find thousands of artifacts, including arrowheads, pottery, tools, artwork, and objects dating back to 8000 B.C., along with exhibits that recreate village life and showcase traditional clothing, a wooden canoe, and other pieces of Nanticoke culture.
Many of the items have been passed down through generations or handcrafted by tribal members, giving you a meaningful look at the community's heritage.
- Address: 26673 John J. Williams Highway, Millsboro
Image: DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum
Fenwick Island
DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum
Dive into maritime history through one of the largest collections of shipwreck artifacts in the Mid-Atlantic.
Around 10,000 pieces are displayed at any given time, with objects recovered from wrecks both nearby and around the world.
Because new finds are added and artifacts are regularly rotated, the exhibits are always changing.
The museum also offers hands-on experiences, lectures, and programs that make the stories behind these underwater discoveries feel much more immediate.
- Address: 708 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island
Keep following our blog for more guides to the best attractions, news, developments, and things to do around Coastal Delaware.
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