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Fort Delaware, Delaware City, DE

Photo: combatphoto44, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingHistory BuffFamily Favorite

Fort Delaware

Ride a ferry to Pea Patch Island to tour a Civil War fortress and prison camp with costumed interpreters and cannon firings.

45 Clinton Street (ferry dock and ticket office) · Delaware City, DE

About Fort Delaware

Fort Delaware stands on Pea Patch Island in the middle of the Delaware River and is reached only by ferry from the dock in Delaware City. The pentagon-shaped fort held Confederate prisoners of war during the Civil War, and costumed interpreters now explain daily life there. You can climb the ramparts to watch the Columbiad cannon fire. The Prison Camp Trail leads to an observation platform over a large nesting colony of herons, egrets and ibises.

  • #civil war fort
  • #living history
  • #ferry ride
  • #state park
  • #birdwatching

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What's around here?

The closest stops to Fort Delaware, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

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    Finn's Point National Cemetery

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    Transit: reachable by public transit

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    Rainy-Day Pick

    Christiana Mall

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    Transit: reachable by public transit

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  • Nightlife
    Local Gem

    Delaware Park Casino

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    Play slots, table games and poker at a casino beside Delaware's only thoroughbred track, minutes south of Wilmington.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

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  • Sightseeing
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    Wilmington & the Brandywine Valley

    No admission fee

    Delaware's largest city and the du Pont family's Brandywine Valley estates, gardens, and museums.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

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  • Sightseeing
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    Transit: reachable by public transit

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