Port Mahon: Desolate Remains of a Once-Thriving Port
Most stops on the Delaware Bayshore Byway are either towns or land preserved and managed for wildlife. Both are relatively easy to learn about. Port Mahon is neither, making it hard to piece its story together. Fortunately, wonderful people in the Delaware History/All Things Delaware Facebook group shared memories and photos that helped me understand Port Mahon's story. I think Port Mahon’s story began with a lighthouse near the mouth of the Mahon River built in 1831 , built primarily to guide commercial oyster boats operating in this part of the bay. The lighthouse immediately faced problems: storms continually eroded the shoreline here and damaged the lighthouse. To try to keep the lighthouse on solid ground, it was moved in 1850. When the new site also eroded, a new lighthouse was built in yet a different location in 1862. When that site also eroded, a new lighthouse was again built in a new location in 1876. I found a photo of it at the Lightho...