Lithograph of Cape Henlopen Lighthouse, Built 1734 and Collapsed in 1926 Due to an Eroding Shoreline. Cape Henlopen Lighthouse as it looked when first built by the British about 1734. Exact date is not know by the Lighthouse Department. The material - stone for the tower and bricks for the dwelling - was brought from England up the Hornekill Creek, now Lewes Creek, then hauled to the hill by ox cart. The changing sand dunes covered the house in the picture and around 1850 a new house was built. Around 1836, the original picture from which this was copied, was drawn from nature on stone by J. Queen and lithographed in Philadelphia by P.S. Duval. He was one of the first lithographers in Philadelphia and he died about 1850. When Cape Henlopen was first built, it was maintained by contributions from Mariners. The interior was burned out before the Revolutionary War, and a lens was not installed until after 1812. The fuel was whale oil. The upper part of the light was destroyed by the British in 1812. Cape Henlopen Lighthouse is now only history. It fell into the ocean in 1926, leaving a huge pile of stone which is bring used by many people for fireplaces. The original picture is now owned by Mrs. Julian Bacon of Laurel, Delaware who inherited it from an aunt.