For more than 50 years, the Bowers Beach Maritime Museum has helped preserve the maritime heritage of the Delaware Bay community and the watermen who made their living along its shores. What began in 1975 as informal displays in two rooms of a historic Main Street house, has grown into a museum with a dedicated building and a collection that reflects the area’s rich maritime traditions.
On Monday, October 5, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., that history will be formally recognized with the unveiling of a new State of Delaware Historical Marker at the Bowers Beach Maritime Museum, 3357 Main Street in Frederica.
The museum’s beginnings are closely connected to an 1888 Main Street house once owned by boat captain Van Tozour and his wife, known locally as “Aunt Bess.” The building became the starting point for a growing collection of maritime artifacts and a place where the history of Bowers Beach and the Delaware Bay could be shared with the community.
As the collection grew, so did the museum. In 2016, the museum expanded with a new building with support from Kent County, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Longwood Foundation, and others. Today, its exhibits help tell the story of the Delaware Bay community and the watermen whose work and traditions shaped life along the bay.
The unveiling ceremony will bring together members of the Bowers Beach community, local and state leaders, museum representatives, and representatives from the Delaware Public Archives, which administers the State of Delaware Historical Markers Program.
About the State of Delaware Historical Markers Program:
The State of Delaware Historical Markers Program traces its origins to 1929, when Governor C. Douglass Buck appointed a committee to review Delaware’s notable historic sites and develop a way to identify them. In 1931, the General Assembly of Delaware passed an act establishing a commission to erect historical markers throughout the state. The markers in each county were numbered sequentially as they were proposed, preceded by NC (New Castle), K (Kent), and S (Sussex) to note the county in which they were located. Since the 1930s, the State of Delaware has erected over 700 markers. The Delaware Public Archives has administered the Historical Markers Program since 1990.
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