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Sussex County

Smallpox in Sussex County Image
Way Back Machine

The Year Smallpox Ruined Christmas in Sussex County, Delaware

The people of Sussex County did not have a very merry Christmas in 1919. Their holidays that year were filled instead with fear, distrust, and contention, culminating in a near riot in mid-January at the historic town circle of Georgetown, the county seat. The story begins in early December when reports surfaced that a contagious infection had popped up near Millsboro. At first, everyone thought…
December 10, 2019
The Newsroom

Jim Duffy Will Share “Underground Railroad Stories” from Delmarva” in Greenwood, Del. on Nov. 14

Author and storyteller Jim Duffy of Secrets of the Eastern Shore will tell tales about “Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva” in a presentation and discussion at the Amity Coffee Roasters & Cafe in Greenwood, Delaware on Thursday, Nov. 14. The presentation is based on Duffy’s book, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva. Sponsored by the Greenwood Public Library, the event begins at 6pm…
October 22, 2019
The Newsroom

BOOK SIGNINGS! Friday 9/13 in Rehoboth Beach & Saturday 9/14 in Ocean City

Secrets of the Eastern Shore co-founder Jim Duffy will be doing book signings at the beach on Friday, Sept. 13 (Rehoboth Beach) and Saturday, Sept. 14 (Ocean City). Both events are at Pam's Hallmark Shoppes. • In Rehoboth Beach on Friday, the book signing runs from 11am to 2pm. The Pam's store there is located at 19266 Coastal Highway, (302) 227-6522 • In West Ocean…
September 11, 2019
Lewes, Delaware
From the BooksRoad Trips

ROAD TRIPS 2 EXCERPT: False Starts in the “First Town”

This is an excerpt from Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva: Lewes is the Goldilocks of Delmarva beach resorts, perfect for people worried on one hand that places like Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City will be too crowded, but afraid on the other that places like Assateague Island won’t offer enough in the way of creature comforts. There is one big…
May 8, 2019
Bridgeville, Delaware Library Presentation
The Newsroom

Author Jim Duffy Shares “Underground Railroad Journeys” in Bridgeville, Delaware on Tue., April 2

Award-winning writer and storyteller Jim Duffy will share keystone stories, surprising finds, and life lessons learned from his work on the book, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva in a presentation at the Bridgeville, Delaware Public Library at 6pm on Tuesday, April 2. The talk will touch on a number of heroes of the Underground Railroad here on the Delmarva Peninsula, including Harriet Tubman and…
February 20, 2019
Steamboat, 1860s
From the BooksTubman TravelsWay Back Machine

TUBMAN TRAVELS: Sailing a Steamboat South to Freedom

This story of the Tilly escape is a free excerpt from the Secrets of the Eastern Shore guidebook, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva.  More information about the book, including where to buy it in stores and online, is available here. BIG PICTURE: Tricks of the Trade Back during the Ottoman Empire, a German military commander named Helmuth von Moltke came up with…
July 16, 2018
Fenwick Island Dunes
Quote of the DayWay Back Machine

Quote of the Day: A Shocking Discovery on the Dunes of Fenwick Island, c. 1900

Ruth Watson Lewis grew up in a family that made a special trip every year to a religious "camp meeting" on the Delaware Beach. The reminiscence that follows about going to the Fenwick Island camp meeting as a young girl comes from the book, Barefoot in Fenwick Island: Life on the Isle in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Be sure to stay tuned to the…
July 7, 2018
Strawberry Field in Fairmount, Somerset County
Way Back Machine

DELMARVA CLASSIC: The Sweet Strawberry Boom of Days Gone By

The story behind the variety of strawberries we enjoy nowadays is a global affair that stretches across several centuries and three continents. Strawberries were a modest little culinary thing in Europe as far back as ancient Rome--there is talk in writings dating to those days about how wild strawberry bushes had medicinal properties. But farmed strawberries were another matter. The first mention of strawberry bushes…
May 16, 2017
Election Day in Lewes, 1787
Quote of the Day

QUOTE OF THE DAY: The Year Election Day in Lewes Turned into an All-Out Brawl

Angry crowds swarmed through Lewes brandishing clubs, swords, and guns, knocking down anyone who stood in their way; and some victims lay unconscious in the street. Many residents … retreated behind closed doors. Others scampered out of town. It was election day, 1787. The animosity on display that day centered around geography as much as politics. Early on, most people in Sussex County lived along…
October 27, 2016