Delawareans of all sorts were forced to come to terms with their changing world. Loyalties, ideals, and even family bonds were tested; lives and livelihoods were threatened; and independence was on the horizon.

Sitting prominently at the mouth of Delaware Bay, Lewes was a lynchpin in the defenses of America’s most vital waterway, just 89 nautical miles from Philadelphia, where whispers of independence were beginning to take hold.

Visit the Historic Shipcarpenter Street Campus (110 Shipcarpenter St.), home to nine historic structures, relocated from all over Sussex County.

See the Sussex Tavern a 1770s-inspired local gathering place along with the Lewistown Coffeehouse. Friday, 6pm and Saturday, 2pm

Tour begins at the Ryves Holt House Museum & Mercantile (218 2nd St.)

Admission: $15 per person, $5 for children 12 and under.

ALL INFO AND PICS FROM THE LEWES HISTORICAL SOCIETY WEBSITE