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?
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.
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
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