Area History
The History of Rehoboth Beach
What we now know as Rehoboth Beach all began before the turn of the last century, when a minister named Robert W. Todd, of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilmington visited a Methodist summer camp in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Reverend Todd was inspired by the utopian scene of that camp, and dreamed of establishing a similar one on the shores of Rehoboth Bay. Incidentally, English members of the Virginia Colony discovered and named Rehoboth Bay in the late 1600’s. Rehoboth comes from the Hebrew word rehobot, and is used several times in the bible to mean “broad places,” “city square,” “room for all,” and “a town by the river.” In 1871, Rev. Todd and other Methodists from Wilmington formed the Rehoboth Association and began the search for a suitable piece of land on which to build their camp. With the help of local real estate developer William Bright, who later became president of the association, they located and purchased 400 acres at the mouth of Rehoboth Bay from Joh n Marsh and Lorenzo Dow Martin. On January 27, 1873, they established The Rehoboth Beach Camp Meeting Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Lots on the east side of the property were offered for sale or lease to members of the association for $50.00, while the west side was reserved for the camp. The camp area comprised a central building called The Tabernacle, which could seat 500 people, and many small, one room, wooden cottages called Tents. The Rehoboth Beach post office was opened in 1873, along with two hotels; the Surf Hotel and the Bright House. To the dismay of the association, Rehoboth Beach slowly became less of a Christian camp by the sea, and more of a fun-filled resort town with drinking, dancing and card playing at the hotels. When the railroad line was extended from Lewes to Rehoboth in 1878, growth increased dramatically. New residents and summer-long vacationers came in droves to bathe in the surf, meander down the boardwalk, and enjoy Vaudeville at Horn’s Pavilion. The name of the town was changed to The Rehoboth Beach Association in 1878, eliminating all religious references to the area and by 18 81, the Methodist camp meetings had come to an end.
By 1884, the Junction and Breakwater Railroad from Lewes came right down Rehoboth Avenue ending just short of the beach. With the train line completed, cars full of beach-seeking visitors and new residents flocked to Rehoboth Beach, further solidifying it as a resort town. In 1891, Rehoboth’s first municipal charter was granted, and its name was changed to Cape Henlopen City. That name never really caught on, and in 1893 the name was changed back to Rehoboth Beach. A larger school, telephone lines, sewers and sidewalks were all added within the first quarter of the century. More growth came when the first paved roads were completed from Georgetown to Rehoboth in 1928. Vacationers from far away could now reach Rehoboth by car, creating a need for restaurants, gas stations, theaters and other recreation. A road linking Dewey and the Indian River Inlet encouraged day and weekend trips by people in neighboring cities.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge brought its first traffic to Rehoboth Beach in 1954. The resulting real estate and tourism booms have been going on since. Rehoboth Beach continues to grow and change, as it has for 125 years. What is so unique about Rehoboth is that in spite of its tremendous growth and transformation from a Christian summer camp into a bustling coastal resort, Rehoboth Beach has continued to have a small town atmosphere. What began as one man’s dream of a utopian summer camp, is now a world-renowned beach resort that continues to enchant visitors and residents as it has for over a century.
