The structure dates back to 1858 making it the oldest lighthouse in the state of Delaware.

[2] In 1856, the United States Congress appropriated $25,000 for the Fenwick Island Lighthouse and on January 11, 1858 a ten-acre tract for the station was obtained from Mary C. Hall for only $50.

The lighthouse was built on an isolated peninsula in the southernmost portion of Delaware at the Maryland state line.

It is 87 feet tall, brick, with a central cast iron spiral staircase, and equipped with a third-order Fresnel lens.

[4] In 1997, after extensive fundraising efforts made it possible, the rapidly aging lighthouse underwent a full restoration.