Avery's Rest: 350 years of history!

The site know as Avery's Rest was excavated in 2007–08 by the Delaware Archaeological Society, and the remains found added a new dimension to what life was like in Colonial times. Eleven African American bodies were found, believed to be the earliest discovered Colonial period grave sites.

Daniel Griffith, who lead the excavations, will be at the Rehoboth Beach Museum to talk about this discovery and its importance to Delaware history.

In 1674, an Englishman named John Avery settled with his wife and children in Rehoboth 5 miles south of Whorekill (Lewes) on a 300 acre plot at the north shore of Rehoboth Bay, titled Avery's Rest.The land was formally named, recorded, and granted to him under the authority of the Duke of York, and is known today as the Rehoboth Beach Yacht & Country Club. 

Captain John Avery died in November, 1682, leaving his plantation to his wife and three children. The total known acreage granted to or bought by Captain John Avery in the Lewes/Rehoboth area was in excess of 3,135 acres, or about 5 square miles. His final land acquisition was 325 acres consisting of Horse Island in Rehoboth Bay and its surrounding marshlands. You may know it today as Thompson Island.