Port Penn is an unincorporated community on the Delaware River, south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. Port Penn was founded by David Stewart in 1763. Stewart envisioned a grain-shipping port that would rival Philadelphia. Port Penn never became the port it was hoped to be and growth capped at just a few hundred people on a few streets.
Through Port Penn's history, the Delaware River provided a source of living. Several species of fish were caught, and muskrat were hunted for their pelts, in the late 1800s. Fishing continued until the 1920s and 1930s, when overfishing and industrial pollution killed the fishing industry on the Delaware River.
The Port Penn Schoolhouse, on Market Street at Liberty Street. The structure was built in 1886 and served as a school until 1961.
Outside of the Port Penn Schoolhouse is a wooden carving of a waterman. The sculpture was dedicated in 2009 and reflects the animals that were the focus of local industry.
A house on Market Street.
A house on Market Street.
The Cleaver House, on Congress Street. The house, also known as Linden Hall, was built in 1834 and featured the Cleaver's house on the left side and the family's office and store on the right side. The townhouse was built to resemble those found in more urban places on the Delaware River like New Castle or Philadelphia.
The Hubbs House, on Congress Street. The house was a mail-order house that was built in 1915.
A house on Congress Street.
Buildings on Congress Street.
In the building in the foreground on Congress Street is a nice example of "Old Delaware". Here, a bait shop sells bunkers and bloods for fishing on the Delaware River.
A house on Congress Street. The house was built in 1879.
A house on Merchant Street.
The Stewart House, on Stewart Street. The house was built in the 1740s by David Stewart, who later laid out a grid street plan around his house.
A bar on Congress Street.
A house on Market Street.
A house on Congress Street.
First Presbyterian Church, on Market Street. The church was built in 1856.
St. Daniel's United Methodist Church, on Stewart Street. This church originally served the Black community when the races were segregated.
The river culture still continues in Port Penn. Buoys hang on a few buildings in the community, like this shack on Liberty Street.
A floating fishing cabin sits in parkland just off of Liberty Street. This fishing cabin is typical of those from the early 1900s and was used as a residence during the autumn and winter, when a crew of two or three men would live on the river and fish for shad, perch, and sturgeon.
Near the floating fishing cabin is an example of a muskrat skinning shack. The shack also dates to the early 1900s. New catches were hung on the outside walls on nails before being skinned, and then the skins were dried in the attic of the shack. The byproduct was the muckrat meat, which was eaten by locals. Muskrat is still a local novelty food item in the area of Delaware between the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and Dover.
Much of the area surrounding Port Penn is marshland, such as this spot just to the north of the village.
The John Aston House, on Thorntown Road in the immediate farmland north of Port Penn. The house was built in 1706.
Other farmhouses dot the surrounding landscape.
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