At last, plans for the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal had been finalized, and farther down the coast, the people of Ocean View were ecstatic.
On Dec. 11, 1903, the Milford Chronicle reported; “The importance of the canal cannot be overestimated. It will make, when completed, a continuous inland and safe waterway, from Rehoboth Bay to Cape Hatteras.
“The people along the route of the proposed canal are enthusiastic over the project. It will do much towards opening up that portion of the country. In addition to the advantages rendered to trade and commerce it will do much to aid in the draining of the lands adjacent to the canal. These lands at present are practically worthless.”
In 1833, a small cluster of two or three houses, an old log school house and a store operated by William S. Hall was awarded a post office, which was named appropriately enough, Hall’s Store.
Some years later, the Milford Chronicle reported in 1903 that, “Mr. William Hall, was the first postmaster to serve in this part of Baltimore Hundred, and it was he who gave the town the name of Ocean View.”
Three decades later, a history of the town published in the Milford Chronicle contended, “The small village was known as Hall’s Store, until after the war (Civil War). It was changed to Ocean View by Captain Henry Burton, who addressed his letters while being in a distant harbor, to Ocean View, care of Hall’s Store.”
Others claimed that the name originated because the Atlantic Ocean could be seen from the second floor of houses in the town. Another version of this story maintains that the name derived from the time that a boy climbed a tree and announced that he could see the ocean.
Still others maintained it was all a public relations ploy, and that the name was selected to entice vacationers to the town.
Whatever the origin of the name, Ocean View, the town’s residents lamented the lack of access to adequate transportation.
In 1903, the Milford Chronicle reported, “At the present day we have a very flourishing little town, but the one great drawback is the distance from railroad connections. Under present conditions we must drive 10 miles to reach the nearest railroad station, Dagsboro.
“In the summer a small steamboat plies between this town and Rehoboth and receives good patronage, but this thriving part of Delaware has no other means of travel to the business centers of the state.”
In the 19th century, communities such as Ocean View, that were not located on a railroad line, looked for an alternative form of transportation that would allow them to compete with towns served by trains.
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The people of Ocean View decided that a canal that linked Indian River and Assawoman bays would bring the town a significant portion of the coastal trade. The proposed canal was designed to accommodate the small boats and barges that served the settlements and landings scattered along the western shore of Rehoboth and Indian River bays.
In the 1890s, a workforce of immigrant laborers (many from Italy) was hired, and work was begun on the canal. Using mostly hand tools, the workers were able to dig the waterway within a remarkably short time.
After the canal was completed, it began to bring some new business to Ocean View, but it was not enough to create a major building boom.
Many believed that the Assawoman Canal needed to be connected to more distant towns, and in 1903, plans were announced to complete a canal network that would extend from Lewes to Cape Hatteras.
Unfortunately, before the canal network was finished, the first horseless carriages came rumbling across southern Delaware roads. Within a few short years, cars carrying vacationers and trucks carrying local produce rendered canals obsolete.
Principal sources:
Milford Chronicle, Dec. 11, 1903.
Milford Chronicle, Jan. 31, 1936.
Evening Journal, March 7, 1899.
Carter, Dick. The History of Sussex County. Rehoboth Beach: Community News Corporation, 1976, p. 45.
