A New Name for Slaughter Beach?
How about S. Laughter Beach!
Slaughter Beach, Delaware
There is a beautiful, cozy beach village along the Delaware Bay about 26 miles south of Delaware's capital city of Dover, named Slaughter Beach. I always wondered why someone would give a beach a name with several connotations, one of which could trigger nightmares.
Traveling along Delaware Route 1 S toward the Atlantic Ocean beaches, I would sometimes take the SR-36 exit toward Milford/Slaughter Beach, turn left onto Cedar Beach Road/SR-36 and continue to follow it until I saw the Delaware Bay and the white sandy beaches of Slaughter Beach.
I really wanted to buy a beach home there! But I kept musing about telling my northern friends about my beach address. Somehow, Slaughter just didn't sound happy and sunny to me! Why did the town choose that name?
I discovered Slaughter Beach was founded in 1681 and incorporated in 1931. It bears the name of William Slaughter, a local postmaster in the mid-1800's. Some locals insist the name arose from another reason: the large number of horseshoe crabs that wash up on the beach and die there each year. Yet another story claims that a man named Brabant in the mid-1700's "slaughtered" indigenous inhabitants by cannon to stop a planned massacre at the site. Only the first reason held appeal for me.
Yet, I couldn't help imagining that mailing address issue again. Finally, I had it figured out! I could purchase a property at the southern end of the beach, and surreptitiously have my return mailing labels printed up reading S. Laughter Beach, Delaware! Now that sounded happy and sunny to me!
Traveling along Delaware Route 1 S toward the Atlantic Ocean beaches, I would sometimes take the SR-36 exit toward Milford/Slaughter Beach, turn left onto Cedar Beach Road/SR-36 and continue to follow it until I saw the Delaware Bay and the white sandy beaches of Slaughter Beach.
I really wanted to buy a beach home there! But I kept musing about telling my northern friends about my beach address. Somehow, Slaughter just didn't sound happy and sunny to me! Why did the town choose that name?
I discovered Slaughter Beach was founded in 1681 and incorporated in 1931. It bears the name of William Slaughter, a local postmaster in the mid-1800's. Some locals insist the name arose from another reason: the large number of horseshoe crabs that wash up on the beach and die there each year. Yet another story claims that a man named Brabant in the mid-1700's "slaughtered" indigenous inhabitants by cannon to stop a planned massacre at the site. Only the first reason held appeal for me.
Yet, I couldn't help imagining that mailing address issue again. Finally, I had it figured out! I could purchase a property at the southern end of the beach, and surreptitiously have my return mailing labels printed up reading S. Laughter Beach, Delaware! Now that sounded happy and sunny to me!
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