Cannonball House Maritime Museum

The Cannonball House Maritime Museum occupies a mid-18th-century house on Front Street in Lewes. The building is best known as the only surviving structure in town documented as having been damaged during the British bombardment of Lewes in the War of 1812, when Royal Navy forces shelled the community in April 1813. That direct physical connection makes the house an unusually tangible witness to Delaware's experience of the war.

Historic Lewes preserves the building as a maritime museum with exhibits covering the 1813 bombardment as well as navigation on the Delaware Bay and River, pilots, lighthouses, life-saving services, and Lewes' role in the early development of wireless and electronic communication. Visitors can explore both the historic building and the broader story of a town whose economy, defense, and identity were shaped by the sea.