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History · Henlopen Acres

Henlopen Acres was first counted by the census in 1980, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Henlopen Acres was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Peter Marsh House. Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1980.

1980first census
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Henlopen Acres began

When was Henlopen Acres founded?

1980

Henlopen Acres first appears in the census in 1980.

First census: 176 in 19802020 census: 13946 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Henlopen Acres’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Henlopen Acres are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19187 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1991. Watch Henlopen Acres change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Henlopen Acres’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Henlopen Acres’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Henlopen Acres on the map, 1918 to 1991

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Henlopen Acres. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Henlopen Acres on the 1918 USGS mapHenlopen Acres on the 1938 USGS mapHenlopen Acres on the 1948 USGS mapHenlopen Acres on the 1954 USGS mapHenlopen Acres on the 1972 USGS mapHenlopen Acres on the 1984 USGS mapHenlopen Acres on the 1991 USGS map1918Rehoboth sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Henlopen Acres.

The story

How Henlopen Acres came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Henlopen Acres.

Read it all →

The name "Henlopen" probably is derived from that of Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen (1572–1637), a merchant in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Evidence of Native American activity prior to the arrival of Europeans has been found in Henlopen Acres. After the arrival of the first European settlers, organized by the Dutch merchant Samuel Blommaert (1583–1651 or 1654), the area became farmland.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Henlopen Acres, decade by decade

Today1 recent
2022-07-15 10 34 18 Signs and plaque at the entrance to Henlopen Acres along Dodd's Lane in Sussex County, Delaware20222022-07-15 10 34 18 Signs and plaque at the entrance …
On the National Register

1 historic place in Henlopen Acres

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Peter Marsh House
Peter Marsh House
Buildings
Peter Marsh HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Henlopen Acres, census by census

0100198020002020Peak: 176

Between 107 and 176 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Henlopen Acres’ Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Rehoboth Beach2 historic placesB+

Questions about Henlopen Acres’ history

What year was Henlopen Acres founded?

The Henlopen Acres post office opened in 1980, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Henlopen Acres?

One place: the Peter Marsh House (listed 1977).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.