Big Stone Beach on the Delaware Bay

8/4/2012

The Mysterious Big Stone Beach, Delaware, Located on the Delaware Bay

Delaware Bay Beach

Photographing the lovely beaches lining the western shore of the Delaware Bay would take you to unique locations: Woodland Beach, Port Mahon Beach, Pickering Beach, Bombay Hook Beach, Prime Hook Beach, Kitts Hummock Beach, North and South Bowers Beaches, Slaughter Beach, Roosevelt Beach, and Lewes Beach, to name a few sites. Another beach bears a descriptive name and a mystery about how it received its name--Big Stone Beach.

Big Stone Beach's name would lead us to believe there must be large rock formations on the beach like on the West Coast of the United States. The coastal zone along the Delaware Bay, however, does not have any steep rock formations. Rather, it is made up of low lying marshes that often lead to sandy beaches. My curiosity piqued, I set out to take photos of this beach and its unique rock structures.

As I drove along Big Stone Beach Road, I passed through two and a half miles of beautiful forests and low marshlands inhabited by a variety of songbirds and shorebirds. A half mile from the beach, the freshwater marshes lapped lazily at the grassy edges of the road, and in the distance, I could see a tall black structure that reminded me of a fire watch tower. A few cottages lined the bay, but I didn't see any inhabitants or people on the beach.

Big Stone Beach is a very quiet beach, and in the vicinity of its entrance road, there are no large natural rock formations or manmade structures composed of stone. Could the name have originated from a local Native American word describing the sizes of stones on the beach or the size of the beach itself?

The military history of the beach and the black tower dates back to the end of WWI when a commissioned fort, Fort Saulsbury, was built to protect the eastern shore. During WWII, the United States used the fort to house prisoners of war and the staff who guarded them. Was the name of the beach related to a military maneuver?

Entrance Road to Big Stone Beach

Marshes on the North Side of the Entrance Road

Marshes on the South Side of the Entrance Road

Close-up View of the Tower at Big Stone Beach

From a Distance, What Appears to Be Tree Stumps on the Beach

Close-up View of the Stumps Lining the Beach

Roiling Charcoal Sea Foam on the Beach

The tower in the photos was part of the Fort Saulsbury defenses that were used in WWII as observation towers and as a gun battery. In May 1941, the 261st Coast Artillery Battery B was assigned to Fort Saulsbury for the purposes of coastal defense. They watched the coast line from three steel fire control observation towers that were built at Stone Beach, Mispillion Lighthouse and Fowler's Beach. Only the Big Stone Beach tower remains, along with the mystery of how this unique location received its name. If you know the answer to this question, please add your information to the Comments section below.

The Big Stone Beach area is environmentally protected because of Ted Harvey's foresight. Ted Harvey acquired 2700 acres along Big Stone Beach as part of the Ted Harvey Wildlife Area, giving the organization control over land that had been planned to be appropriated by oil companies for major building projects. Today, the conservation district is one of the premier East Coast wildlife refuges.

Directions to Big Stone Beach: North of Milford, Delaware, on Route 1, turn right (NE) at Thompsonville Road and go 3.5 miles. Turn right (E) onto Scotts Corner Road, arriving at Scott's Corners in 1.1 miles. Take a left (NE) onto Big Stone Beach Road. The road reaches the bayshore in another 2.6 miles after traveling through forests and marshes inhabited by songbirds and shorebirds.

Map of Delaware Bay Beaches by the US Fish & Wildlife Service

57 Comments

landscapers Brisbane link

8/30/2012 11:40:19 pm

I am so grateful to find your particular post. I have bookmarked this website and I will keep visiting you for further such interesting posts.

Norene

9/4/2012 04:32:51 pm

Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing from you again. Please feel free to share a link to my website with friends.

KATE TANIS

12/3/2012 08:54:51 am

eNJOY YOUR POSTS ON BIG STONE BEACH----WE ARE LOOKING FOR QUIET ---PRIVATE AREA TO WALK OUR DOGS--BUT LAREL HAVE FOUND BIG STONE A DANGEROUS AREA TO WALK IN----LOTS OF RUSTED METAL LAYING AROUND AND BIG PIECES ALL OVER STUCK IN GROUND----WORR ABOUT THE SMALL CHILDREN AND PETS WE HAVE MET RUNNING AROUND----IS THERE ANY POSSIBLE WAY TO GET CONTRACTORS TO OFFER THEIR EQUIPMENT AND GET VOLUNTEERS TO OFFER HELP IN CLEANING UP THE DANGEROUS MATERIAL FROM THIS BEAUTIFUL AREA----IT IS SO SAD TO SEE IT----EVERY DAY WE TRY AND PICK UP SMALL METAL PIECES AND BROKEN GLASS AND BRING IT HOME----DO YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER AREAS WE WOULD BE PERMITTED TO WALK----THANKYOU----i AM SO GRATEFUL TO READ ALL YOU POST---kATE

Norene

12/3/2012 11:59:55 am

Hi Kate,
Thanks for writing! More importantly, thank you for your efforts to make Big Stone Beach a safer place! You are right, it is one of the prettiest and serene beaches along the Delaware Bay, but rusty pieces of metal can be found buried in the sand from years past. The recent hurricane washed a lot of sand away from Delaware Beaches, uncovering even more debris. So please be careful and don't get injured, and watch your dogs' paws, too. Rusty metal is never a good thing to step on! Tetanus shots, anyone? I think we'll see a greater clean-up effort on the beaches once hurricane season has officially ended. Once the weather settles a little, groups form to clean up the area beaches. People in Delaware are wonderful---so conscious of their beautiful environment. Most of the beaches that I've written about on the blog allow dogs on leashes during the off-season. I think South Bowers Beach has one of the prettiest sandy areas on the southern edge of town. This summer much sand replenishment was laid down, and I hope the storms have not culled it away. Let me know what you find when you visit the other beaches, please. I've been so busy managing my new book sales that I have not had time to visit my favorite beach spots. Norene

Pete Parks

11/13/2019 11:24:14 am

I live on Big Stone Beach Road and go to that beach often. I walk barefoot all the time and have never had a problem. The most dangerous things I have ever encountered is discarded fishing hooks and that is not often. It's a nice walking beach, just not a good place to swim.

north beach parking link

12/28/2012 12:41:03 am

Really nice place to walk.

Norene

2/19/2013 12:34:19 pm

Hello,
Yes, so many people have commented about the pristinenature of the area.
Thank you for writing,
Norene

Steve

7/11/2013 01:43:20 am

Yes, this is a very different beach from, say, slaughter or broadkill. It appears to me that this town was much larger not that long ago. I am interested in what happened there. When walking to the north from the main road in, the "stumps" are actually the remains of the rest of the town. They are the pilings from houses that used to be there and appear to have been cut off, maybe a chainsaw. Some other clues include PVC & plastic pipe, and at least one set of pilings are pressure treated wood. PVC, plastic pipe and PT wood are all recent building materials, my guess would be the 1970's ? If you walk up to the dunes from the beach on the north side and look west, you can see the old road and driveways. The old road north goes quite a ways. Does anyone know what happened there; all of my searches, including talking to some locals, cannot address this question.

Fritz Von Kitzbühel

8/9/2017 09:51:57 pm

You'd have to contact the Commander of the Dover Air Force Base at the time of the crash. However, since it happened in Winter when nobody was in the houses that got flattened, and no airmen were killed, and since the base commander himself was piloting the aircraft, but ejected, and survived, the USAF will never acknowledge the tragedy. Good luck finding any parts, too. They paid me a fortune to pick up every last piece. It's soooo beautiful here in the Alps near Switzerland! ;)
- Fake News Network

Joe

8/10/2017 07:21:04 am

This account is totally false. The crash was nowhere near Big Stone Beach. It occurred about 1/2 a mile from the runway in a field as it was trying to make it to the runway. There is plenty of media coverage available. Even photographs to verify the story.
You have apparently fallen victim to the conspiracy theorists that made up this story.
https://tinyurl.com/y7jqru6c

Fritz Kitts

8/16/2017 12:46:57 pm

Yep, fake. Interesting to read the northern houses were burned to the piles on purpose, tho. Rare to see waterfront property reduced voluntarily.

Stone range hoods link

10/6/2013 06:11:05 pm

Thanks to you! Finally I got some stuff in your blog post related. I was searching for some material related to matter included in post. Very useful and very informative. Thanks once again and do share some more posts if you have!

doug

4/11/2014 10:59:53 am

I will ask around and find out some info. I know an owner there thats lived on the beach for 50 years.

Norene Moskalski

4/24/2014 12:51:01 pm

Thanks, Doug. I'll watch for your post here with any information that you find.
All the best,
Norene

Wanda

8/14/2014 02:23:57 am

On our last visit to the area, it does not look so pristine. There is trash everywhere, and the beach and water seem filthy and unsafe. Is this standard in this area? It was very disappointing after reading this write-up to come to the area and see a very different picture.

Also, does it always smell that bad?

Norene

8/14/2014 04:54:12 am

Hi Wanda,
No, it is usually very nice on this beach. I wonder if the debris floated down river after one of the recent flood warnings we've had. That would explain the fouled water, too. If you go again and the condition has not improved, please let all of us know by reporting your findings here.
Thanks for your comments,
Norene

Norene

8/14/2014 04:55:16 am

Norene

8/14/2014 04:55:39 am

Patti Pelly

1/2/2015 01:55:11 pm

I used to go to Big Stone Beach back in the fifties. My grandmother had a cousin that had a house there and we go on vacation there best memories of my childhood. We would fish n crab n whatever we caught we ate for dinner. Back then only one house had electricity and an indoor bathroom. We were told that there wasba "Big Stone" out in the bay n that is how it got the name.

Norene

1/3/2015 10:05:47 am

Hi Patti,

That's some beautiful history that you are relating. Thank you for writing. I can just picture the fun that you and the other children had!

I'm intrigued by the "Big Stone" out in the bay. That would explain the name! Has anyone else come across information about the big stone?

joe

3/31/2015 09:45:57 am

I am aware of some local history concerning the 'big stone beach' area. Specifically, the origin of the name and how it relates to the stone.

Suzannah

3/31/2015 11:02:38 am

Brad

6/9/2015 12:31:59 pm

Is it legal to drive on the beach trail with a car

Norm

1/30/2016 02:25:07 pm

I was walking at Big Stone today and I was told that all of the stumps, concrete, metal etc were homes that were burned in a fire sometime in the recent past. I'm not sure if this is accurate...but I guess is a possibility.

Joe

1/30/2016 05:01:54 pm

The houses there were demolished because the water was creeping closer and closer. When the were first built, the shoreline was much further out into the bay. I believe the residents were bought out by the state and the houses demolished.

Norm

1/31/2016 05:44:10 am

Yeah...it was obvious that shoreline is higher now. Why weren't the other houses demolished as well?

Ben link

3/14/2016 08:55:38 pm

The beach was larger years ago but the Bay has always claimed large beaches. Mid tide currents along the bay beaches can run 3-6 knots normally and 8-10 knots during storms. Stumps there are indeed former pilings for houses. There story is quite confusing as many of the houses were never actually owned outright but permitted by the Greco family. (Hence the name "Greco Ditch", the creek that runs between the beach and marsh called Rawleys Island to the Mispillion River) the Grecos ceded the land to the state after Mrs Greco passed in the late 80s early 90s and the house "owners" became squatters on state land. There was a big legal dust up and things worked out in the end.
To the person who said it stinks, its the marsh. You likely passed at low tide when the methane in the marsh lets off. Its an aquired aire and one that thankfully turns off the more "it's great here but..." crowd and keeps the bay beaches more natural than the crowded tourist traps on the ocean.

Foxwell

5/21/2016 11:20:52 am

This is a special beach to me; it's so nice to wander into a post dedicated to it.

For those who enjoy an excursion into nature reclamation, particularly beach-nature reclamation, this is a particularly rare and wonderful experience.

It is relatively isolated, with a population of 0 last time I visited. All previous vacation and military presence are being reverted black to pristine nature. The drive in, which is a little rough btw, features marshes and flocks and flocks of birds.

Lois

7/15/2016 10:59:25 am

Hello Norene,

Thank you for introducing people to Big Stone Beach. We own a house there and love the remote feel of the beach and the wildlife. Thankfully those are not things that appeal to the majority of vacationers, so we are not inundated by the crowds to the south.

I heard that the beach was named Big Stone Beach because there used to be a big rock out off the beach which was used for target practice in WWII. That's why you don't see it any more.

The mystery of the houses that used to be on the north side is this. For many years all the land including the marshes was owned by a lady. I don't know her name, but other people who have been in the area longer knew her. Most of the people who had houses on both sides of the road paid her land rent. When she died her heirs sold the land to the Nature Preserve and they told all the house owners that they had 5 years to get the houses off their land, or they would burn the houses down. A few people on the south side had never paid land rent and they claimed squatters rights over their land. The Nature Preserve decided that all the houses on the south side could stay, and there was a court hearing where people could buy the land under their houses. The houses on the north side were burned down about 14 years ago.

We bought our house shortly after the court case, so I wasn't a part of that process, but I remember coming to the beach one day and seeing only burned stumps where the cute little beach houses used to be on the north.

I hope this helps in your discovery of the story behind Big Stone Beach.

Rob Kitz

8/9/2017 10:14:20 pm

Thanks for your Nature Preserve history. I've heard local stories of the "miracle C5 crash" that wiped out the houses, or Hurricane Floyd/Isabelle versions, none of which are true, but readily believable and commonly repeated 'around campfires' on the beaches of Bowers, Slaughter, Primehook, Broadkill, Pickering, and BENNETT's Pier. I'm sad to see the vandalism on the house near the roadhead, and I remember seeing the fires when the North Beach houses were committed back to Nature. It happened not long after I moved here from Seattle, and I thought..."Gee, how strange. Americans are mostly moving West, leaving no traces, and I just moved East into a rickety, old wooden house. What's wrong with me?!"

Joe

8/10/2017 07:26:12 am

That C5 crash account is totally false. It is an story fabricated over the years by the conspiracy theorists. The crash occurred about 1/2 mile from the runway as the plane was trying to make it back. It was no where near Big Stone Beach.
There are plenty of media accounts and photos available. Glad you didn't fall for it.
https://tinyurl.com/y7jqru6c

mara grose

3/15/2019 03:50:59 pm

the womans' name was Filomena Muller, and she lived alone ( with cats!) until in her 70's. We called her the cat lady because she cared for many cats that had free roam of her little shack on the shore. She was the sole owner of all the beach and in early years ran the hunting lodge in the woods going into the beach, also her land.
She became owner actually as a child when her family, father mother and possible siblings all died after unknowingly eating poison mushrooms at dinner in the 1920s...her father at the time of death was owner of rsilways in New York and had purchased the Delaware lands with plans to run a coastal railway. In her seventies of age, a dresser fell on Filomina and she was removed from her. beachhouse by the state and put in a nursing home where she died unhappily and yearning to return to her shore, at the age of 80.

Joe

3/15/2019 05:25:28 pm

Hello,

I have only been in Delaware for about 5 years, but I am intrigued by the local stories of these small beaches. I have been piecing together information as I can find it. Thanks to your information, I have now found the definitive answer I have been searching for. This article explains it all very well. I share it with you, in case you've never seen it. I hope to return there soon to look for some of the remnants mentioned in the story. By the way, the story I was told by a lifelong local, the 'big stone' dates back to colonial times and was a landmark early colonists used to find the same area on successive journeys up and down the bay. I just wonder how far out from the existing shore it was, as the water has encroached over the years.

Regards,
Joe

Joe

3/15/2019 07:48:28 pm

https://milfordlive.com/2018/08/21/greco-familys-big-stone-beach-legacy/

mara grose

3/15/2019 08:39:42 pm

hey Joe, THANKYOU for the article that actually gave me the complete history of filomena!!
She was truly a character, loved that beach and lived like a gypsy, her little place decorated with colorful scarves blowing in the wind, bells and chimes and buckets/baskets packed with gorgeous shells. She was also extremely intelligent, and alert to the end, though sadly depressed at being taken from the beach. i always thought the state kept her intentionally once they knew who she was and that she had no will...
one day I will dig up pics to share, am just so glad that what I knew in fragments of her past now I can appreciate thanks to you!

Joe

3/16/2019 06:56:25 am

I wouldn't have found it had you not provided the names.

Joe

11/6/2020 06:55:23 am

Hi Mara,
Did you ever locate the pictures you mentioned a while back? I'd be really interested to see them. If you prefer, you can email them to me.
exlr888@gmail.com

Joe

7/22/2016 06:20:06 pm

Recently bought property on bsb,very enjoyable,nice and calm,picked up a lot of artifacts on the beach.

Joe

2/20/2017 06:37:40 pm

wayne a marge

4/4/2017 07:17:50 pm

I was at big stone every time I could.my grandfather was ira sharp he had one of the first houses their.it was used as fishing shack in the begining.I played on and in the ww2 tower.

Bonnie T Amoreno

8/23/2017 05:18:56 pm

My family owned the land next to Ira Sharp and and I also played many years at the beach. We spent all of our summers there until my dad passed away. It was a great place for children. Many wonderful memories of this place and the families.

Donald Miller

3/4/2018 04:44:19 pm

In the early 70s there was a mother and son from the Philadelphia area who had an old trailer and added rooms on it. Another party that I believe was a husband and wife who had a shack, he was telling me that a storm could not move the place because it was chained to a telephone pole in the ground.

Peggy Secrist

8/30/2018 07:28:13 am

Hello Norene,
I've just read your article on BSB and look forward to visiting. My husband is a wildlife biologists and our family as a whole love to be at the beach and enjoy the untouched feel of preserves. This weekend being Labor Day, we would like to take a day trip from our home in Talbot Co. My question for you and your readers is this; with only 1 day for a road trip, which beach on the DE Bay do you choose? We like to look for sea glass, fossils , shark teeth and really any artifacts. Born and raised on the Eastern Shore, we love it's history and wildlife as well. I look forward to any replies. Thank you.

Joe

8/30/2018 09:43:22 am

Hi, Maybe I can offer some input. I have been to Big Stone Beach many times. It is a good beach to walk along and scavenge for trinkets. It is not a beach for swimming as the drop off is quite steep and the water quality is usually muddy. Most Delaware beaches north of the cape are this way. Be careful walking them because what appears to be white sand is often just a few inches of sand over a bed of mud which can be several feet deep. You can sink to your knees very quickly. Don't walk barefoot, as often, groups have have had large bonfires and the remains are left scattered in the sand. This can include thousands of rusty nails from burned pallets and the wire innards of mattresses, among other things. (bullet casings and broken beer bottles are common) Other areas you may want to explore nearby include BennettsbPier and South Bowers Beach. Bowers Beach (a separate town) is a bit of a =
ride and north of the inlet, but worth a look as it is probably the nicest of all the beaches. Pickering Beach, the northernmost of all of these, is also a nice beach for beach combing. All of these beaches can be explored in a full day, but the scenery is so peaceful, you may only make it to a couple of them.
I don't tell you any of this to discourage you. I enjoy all of these beaches. I just want you to be prepared and cautious.
If I had to chose the best places, it would be Bowers Beach, Big Stone Beach and Pickering Beach, in that order.Good luck and enjoy. Joe

Peggy Secrist

8/31/2018 11:59:41 am

Thank you, Joe. Looking forward to visiting your top picks. Appreciate the safety warnings as well.

Kristina

9/10/2018 07:48:34 pm

I discovered big stone beach by accident when I ran away as a kid. Kept coming back year after year because it was my safe haven; ended up getting married on it and my husband gathered driftwood all day to build us an arbor to say our vows under. It was beautiful. I live in the Midwest now and dont know if shes still there but a bald eagle lives in the reserve and LOVES to perch on the fallen trees. I've witnessed her with 2 healthy eaglets ♡

Holly baker

5/20/2020 04:20:50 pm

My grandfather owned a house on the beach, there was no airplane crash. A woman owned that side of the beach the residences paid a small land rent when she died there was no will so they could move their houses, the ones that did not the state took them and tore down the houses

Ruth Ann A Godfrey

5/26/2020 11:02:37 am

We frequent Big Stone Beach (wish they would clean up the metal & construction debris), and are wondering about the grey sponge like or coral like "stones/rocks" that are in the water just off the shore.
Do you know what they are?
Find the history of this area compelling.
Thanks.
Ruth Ann Godfrey, Milford, DE

Suzannah

10/11/2020 07:54:59 am

Looking to buy a small acre parcel near there, about two miles up Big Stone Beach Road, and curious about flooding. Is there significant flooding now? The coastline is being eaten steadily all up and down the east coast, and I am curious if the land will be swallowed in the next couple of decades, or if the nature preserve protects inland flooding somewhat.

Ruth Ann Godfrey

11/6/2020 06:16:06 am

Just seeing your post. I’m a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Resort Realty in Milford DE. I can help you with your questions as well as find property. You can reach me at rgodfrey@cbanker.com. Ruth Ann Godfrey.

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11/6/2020 12:11:36 am

Hurrah, that is the thing that I was searching for, what a material! present here at this site, thanks administrator of this site.

Ashlee Moody link

11/29/2020 06:45:47 pm

Great ppost thanks

Ariela Melzer

4/1/2021 06:43:56 pm

Hello! I was wondering what it is like to live in Big Stone Beach? Its a dream of mine and I hope to make it a reality soon... or soonish. I am aware of the remoteness and I like that! For folks living there, how often to visitors cause disruption?

Joe

4/1/2021 07:45:11 pm

It's remote and isolated, but people visit almost daily to walk the beach. In warmer weather it gets quite a few visitors. Most people respect private property, but since most of the homes are unoccupied in the off season, they do wander across properties.

Ariela Melzer

4/2/2021 07:35:06 pm

Hey Joe! Thanks so much for your reply! I know about the bird hunters trailer at the end of the road. Do hear a lot of gun shots? what about visitors setting off fireworks?

Cara Mallon

3/16/2022 05:59:58 pm

I spent many summers at Big Stone Beach as a young child and teenager with my grandmother and uncle(mentioned on an earlier post from Philadelphia). I have many fond memories of my time there and of Filomena who would visit with my grandmother almost daily. She was a very kind and sweet woman. After reading this it makes me want to go back and visit soon.

Joe

3/16/2022 06:53:04 pm

Sadly, I no longer live in Delaware so my journeys to Big Stone Beach have ended. If I have provided information that folks find helpful, I hope someone else can continue to add to the story.

Big Stone Beach on the Delaware Bay

The Mysterious Big Stone Beach, Delaware, Located on the Delaware Bay

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