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Fire control Tower 3 opens to the public
July 31, 2023
World War II artifact restored south of Dewey Beach
Fire Control Tower #3 Rehabilitation Project Progress
June 25, 2020
Work began on the exterior concrete work of the World War II-era structure.
Scope of Work
- Concrete restoration
- Sidewalk, steps and ramp (complete)
- Structural steel repair
- Handrails
- Door (complete)
- Windows, louvre & screens
- New electric service
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Tower 3 a beacon in state park’s economic contributions
February 16, 2018
Tower 3, located south of Dewey Beach in Delaware Seashore State Park, took on a cobalt-drenched tone during a lighting ceremony on Monday, Feb. 12.
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Tower 3 lights the way to a top destination
February 16, 2018
Delaware Seashore visitors spent $3.5 million, leading all state parks
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This spring, we finished rehabbing our mess hall. Our next project is Barrack T603, next to the mess hall. We removed all doors and windows, restored the original window openings and are refitting this building.
Fort Miles Historical Association Quarterly Newsletter, November 2017
November 3, 2017
This spring, we finished rehabbing our mess hall. Our next project is Barrack T603, next to the mess hall. We removed all doors and windows, restored the original window openings and are refitting this building.
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In an effort to recognize veterans of World War II and all veterans who continue to honorably serve our nation, the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation (DSPF), in partnership with the Fort Miles Historical Association, has undertaken a capital campaign to restore Fire Control Tower #3, one of the structures that was used during the war as a first line of defense in the event of foreign invasion.
Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation Newsletter
November 3, 2017
In an effort to recognize veterans of World War II and all veterans who continue to honorably serve our nation, the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation (DSPF), in partnership with the Fort Miles Historical Association, has undertaken a capital campaign to restore Fire Control Tower #3, one of the structures that was used during the war as a first line of defense in the event of foreign invasion.
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Just south of Dewey Beach, Tower 3 is getting revamped. The tower will be completely sealed off from the elements, get a new staircase, a new Plexiglas door and some entertainment areas around it.
Tower Three Gets a Makeover
October 31, 2017
Just south of Dewey Beach, Tower 3 is getting revamped. The tower will be completely sealed off from the elements, get a new staircase, a new Plexiglas door and some entertainment areas around it.
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More than a decade in the planning, restoration work began July 24 on the World War II fire
control tower at Delaware Seashore State Park’s Towers Beach. “This is exciting,” said Bob Frederick, former Dewey Beach mayor and member of the Fort
Miles Historical Association, as a backhoe dumped dirt into the back of a dump truck. “It
gives you goose bumps.”
Restoration work begins on WWII tower
August 7, 2017
More than a decade in the planning, restoration work began July 24 on the World War II fire
control tower at Delaware Seashore State Park’s Towers Beach. “This is exciting,” said Bob Frederick, former Dewey Beach mayor and member of the Fort
Miles Historical Association, as a backhoe dumped dirt into the back of a dump truck. “It
gives you goose bumps.”
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The 3rd Annual Coastal Delaware Running Festival was a full-out success. The Focus Multisport event hosted more than 3500 runners, thousands of fans and dozens of volunteers.
Peninsula Oil Donates to Autism Delaware
August 7, 2017
The 3rd Annual Coastal Delaware Running Festival was a full-out success. The Focus Multisport event hosted more than 3500 runners, thousands of fans and dozens of volunteers. WWII Tower Could Be Beach Attraction
November 25, 2016
By Molly MurrayPhoto Credit: Chuck Snyder/Special to the News Journal - When Ernie Felici looks at the rebar-enforced concrete towers that dot Coastal Highway between Dewey Beach and Fenwick Island, he sees an opportunity.
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Two Groups Pledge to "Save The Tower"
November 14, 2016
By Madeleine OverturfDEWEY BEACH, Del. - A silent reminder of World War Two, eleven concrete towers line Delaware's coast. The towers were put in place so soldiers inside could watch for Nazi boats offshore. But according to Dr. Gary Wray with the Ft. Miles Historical Association, most people don't know that.
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Update on the Fire Control Tower #3 Restoration Project
August 8, 2016
The Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation is a non-profit
friends’ organization created to preserve, protect, and enhance the
Indian River Life Saving Station, and the Parks within the Delaware
Seashore State Park Region including the Indian River Marina,
Delaware Seashore, Fenwick Island, and Holt Landing State Parks.
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Groups Look to Save WWII Towers
August 1, 2016
Along the Delaware coast stands a series of watchtowers that helped protect the United States during World War II. They were used to look for enemy ships and, if any had been spotted, the crews within the towers would have alerted the Army at Fort Miles to defend the shore.
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Tower Restoration
February 17, 2011
It all began, Gary Wray says,
with members of a couple coastal
Sussex County organizations
tossing around ideas about how to
promote understanding of World
War II.
Folks in the Fort Miles
Historical Association, of which
he is president, and their
counterparts in the Delaware
Seashore Preservation Foundation
talked of creating a memorial to
that conflict’s veterans.
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Perhaps the most intriguing landmarks on the southern
Delaware coast are the World War II observation towers.
The cylindrical concrete towers were erected by the Army
during World War II to watch for Nazi ships and submarines.
Eleven towers dot the coast, stretching from
Fenwick Island northward to Cape Henlopen.
Currently, only one tower is open to the public. Located at Cape Henlopen, the tower offers spectacular views of the coast. Through a partnership between the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation and The Fort Miles Historical Association, efforts are currently underway to restore Tower #3, located within the Delaware Seashore State Park on Route 1, just south of Dewey Beach. Once Tower #3 is restored it will be open to public and interpretive tours will be given.
What Are Those Towers Along The Coast?
February 17, 2011
Perhaps the most intriguing landmarks on the southern
Delaware coast are the World War II observation towers.
The cylindrical concrete towers were erected by the Army
during World War II to watch for Nazi ships and submarines.
Eleven towers dot the coast, stretching from
Fenwick Island northward to Cape Henlopen.Currently, only one tower is open to the public. Located at Cape Henlopen, the tower offers spectacular views of the coast. Through a partnership between the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation and The Fort Miles Historical Association, efforts are currently underway to restore Tower #3, located within the Delaware Seashore State Park on Route 1, just south of Dewey Beach. Once Tower #3 is restored it will be open to public and interpretive tours will be given.
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Groups Plan To Refurbish WWII Gunnery Tower
February 17, 2011
Two resort-area preservation
groups have joined forces to raise
money for restoration of one of
two World War II fire control towers
just south of Dewey Beach,
which they want to open to the
public.
The view from 64 feet above sea level should be spectacular because from the top, people can see 14 1/2 miles east over the Atlantic Ocean, said Gary Wray, president of the Fort Miles Historical Association, one of the groups involved in the project. To the west is Rehoboth Bay. Wray's group has joined the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation to raise money and begin tower restoration.
The view from 64 feet above sea level should be spectacular because from the top, people can see 14 1/2 miles east over the Atlantic Ocean, said Gary Wray, president of the Fort Miles Historical Association, one of the groups involved in the project. To the west is Rehoboth Bay. Wray's group has joined the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation to raise money and begin tower restoration.
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The tower will be restored
to its World War II condition
and be open for tours. In addition,
it will serve as a location
for a World War II memorial to
store a database listing World
War II veterans as part of an
interactive display.
The only tower now open to
the public is the 75-foot tower
in Cape Henlopen State Park.
The tower is in good shape,
said Gary Wray, president of
the Fort Miles Historical
Association. “The tower is
about 99 percent the way it
was when it was built in
1942,” Wray said.
Groups Combine To Save A Silent Sentinel
February 17, 2011
The tower will be restored
to its World War II condition
and be open for tours. In addition,
it will serve as a location
for a World War II memorial to
store a database listing World
War II veterans as part of an
interactive display.
The only tower now open to
the public is the 75-foot tower
in Cape Henlopen State Park.
The tower is in good shape,
said Gary Wray, president of
the Fort Miles Historical
Association. “The tower is
about 99 percent the way it
was when it was built in
1942,” Wray said.
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For more than 65 years 11 silent
sentinels have guarded the coast.
Most people are not aware of
the unique history surrounding the
fire-control towers assigned to
Fort Miles; many are under the
mistaken impression they were
gun emplacements.
Two volunteer organizations are
joining forces to open a tower in
Dewey Beach in an effort to educate
the public about the critical
role they played during World War
II.
The tower will be restored to its World War II condition and be open for tours. In addition, it will serve as a location for a World War II memorial to store a database listing World War II veterans as part of an interactive display. The only tower now open to the public is the 75-foot tower in Cape Henlopen State Park.
Groups Combine To Save Tower
February 17, 2011
For more than 65 years 11 silent
sentinels have guarded the coast.
Most people are not aware of
the unique history surrounding the
fire-control towers assigned to
Fort Miles; many are under the
mistaken impression they were
gun emplacements.
Two volunteer organizations are
joining forces to open a tower in
Dewey Beach in an effort to educate
the public about the critical
role they played during World War
II.The tower will be restored to its World War II condition and be open for tours. In addition, it will serve as a location for a World War II memorial to store a database listing World War II veterans as part of an interactive display. The only tower now open to the public is the 75-foot tower in Cape Henlopen State Park.
View PDF
Soon, visitors to the Delaware shore and
locals who travel Route 1 will no longer
have to wonder from afar about the famous
towers that stand along the coastline — at
least, not if the Delaware Seashore
Preservation Foundation (DSPF) and Fort
Miles Historical Association (FMHA) have
their way.
The two groups announced on Wednesday their plans to restore Fire Control Tower No. 3, the southernmost tower of two located just south of Dewey Beach, in Delaware Seashore State Park. Their project, with a fundraising goal of $500,000, aims to restore Tower No. 3 to its World War II condition, open it to the general public and create a related database listing World War II veterans and donors to the project. "It's a milestone for this organization," said Ernie Felici, chairman of the DSPF.
Tower Restoration Plans Unveiled
February 17, 2011
Soon, visitors to the Delaware shore and
locals who travel Route 1 will no longer
have to wonder from afar about the famous
towers that stand along the coastline — at
least, not if the Delaware Seashore
Preservation Foundation (DSPF) and Fort
Miles Historical Association (FMHA) have
their way.The two groups announced on Wednesday their plans to restore Fire Control Tower No. 3, the southernmost tower of two located just south of Dewey Beach, in Delaware Seashore State Park. Their project, with a fundraising goal of $500,000, aims to restore Tower No. 3 to its World War II condition, open it to the general public and create a related database listing World War II veterans and donors to the project. "It's a milestone for this organization," said Ernie Felici, chairman of the DSPF.