Cape Henlopen in historic times has been gradually extending to the northwest, so that the original lighthouse, Cape Henlopen Light, eventually was at a sufficient distance from the end of land to be ineffectual for marking the point.

[2] Therefore, in 1825, the Cape Henlopen Beacon was built as an auxiliary about a mile north of the older light.

At the same time the keeper's house was constructed, the reflectors were replaced with a fourth order Fresnel lens.

In 1864 the decrepit tower and house were replaced with a screw-pile structure, though unusually for the type it still sat entirely on land, at least at first.

[3] The cape continued to move, and by the end of 1884 the ocean was lapping at the piles of the light, seriously threatening its existence.