The first fortification built was the Ten Gun Battery, an auxiliary to nearby Fort Delaware during the American Civil War.

During World War II, Fort DuPont served as a mobilization station for deploying units, and contained a prisoner-of-war camp for captured German soldiers and sailors.

[5] The historic district comprises Fort DuPont State Park and the Governor Bacon Health Center.

Ten Gun Battery, briefly called Fort Reynolds,[8] was built from 1863 to 1864 on the property of 1st Lt. Clement Reeves of the 5th Delaware Volunteer Infantry.

[3] In 1885 the Board of Fortifications chaired by Secretary of War William C. Endicott made sweeping recommendations for new coast defenses.

These were in an "Abbot Quad" battery of four pits with four mortars each, arranged in a square and enclosed and separated by high walls of earth and concrete for maximum protection against enemy fire.

134, officially designated the "battery at Delaware City" as Fort DuPont, named in honor of Rear Adm. Samuel Francis Du Pont.

During World War I, Fort DuPont continued serving the role of coastal defense as well as training post for local draftees and deploying artillery units.

[14] Following the American entry into World War I, in 1917 Battery Gibson's 8-inch (203 mm) guns were dismounted for potential use as railway artillery on the Western Front.

[9] Units such as the 7th Trench Mortar Battalion used Fort DuPont for basic and advanced training before heading to France in October 1918.

These POWs included crew members of the submarine U-858 that surrendered off the coast of Lewes, Delaware along with the rest of German forces in May 1945.

German POWs worked for civilian canneries, garbage companies and repaired sections of the boardwalk for the city of Rehoboth Beach.

Following the war, effective December 31, 1945, Fort DuPont was placed "in the category of surplus" according to AG 602 (dated October 5, 1945) issued by the federal government.

In 1996, this armory became the home station for the 153rd Military Police Company, a unit in the Delaware Army National Guard.

The mobilization hospital complex, recreation hall, and chapel were integrated into the health center's master plan.

Sections of Fort DuPont are governed by six different state agencies, which often leads to confusion over who is responsible for maintaining specific roads, buildings, and structures.

Since the health center downsized in the late 1970s, state funding is limited and doesn't allot for basic maintenance and care of the buildings.

Houses built in the 1890s to 1900s are plagued by collapsed chimneys, damaged roofs, broken windows, rotting porches, and in desperate need of a simple coat of paint.

[28] In 2011, the State of Delaware approved a $250,000 bond bill that will fund the creation of a master plan, which will focus on restoration, preservation, and adapting historic structures for modern use.

Currently, Delaware State Parks offers a resident curatorship program, which is an "opportunity for a public/private partnership in which the curator (which may be a couple) donates their own resources—time and/or money—to the restoration of an historic property in exchange for a long-term no-rent agreement.

In 2006, the Fort Delaware Society became the first successful curator following the adaptive reuse of the quartermaster office (Building 113) on Staff Lane.

[30] State funding was scarce, due to the economy, but enough money was allocated to provide the 398-seat theater with a new roof, drains and gutters, stabilized marque, and minor window repair.

Delaware State Parks' historian, Lee Jennings said it would be "the perfect place for the community to gather..." and watch plays, musicals, vintage films, as well as modern movies.

The center, which maintains and cares for the building, has a lease through the Delaware Division of Health and Social Services (DHSS).

In 2008, Delaware State Parks (part of DNREC) restored one of the brick duplexes (Building 90), which according to Lee Jennings, will eventually contain 1930s furnishings and serve as a location for public programming.