Reedy Island Quarantine Station

During the 1880s, the federal government constructed a quarantine station on Reedy Island in the Delaware River, due east of Port Penn. Cargo, crew and passengers were checked for contagious and deadly diseases such as tuberculosis and small pox. The site was closed following World War II.

Several government buildings, including housing, a hospital and offices were built to process the quarantined ships on their way to the ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia. In the 1930s and 1940s several of these buildings were floated on barges and moved to Congress Street for use as residences.

The Commandant's House (#15), a Colonial Revival style house, is one of these relocated buildings. Between 1900 and 1950, the Colonial Revival style was popular in the United States. The style recalled many of the features of the Georgian style. Front doors with pediments and fanlights and columnar porch supports are common elements of the style. The residences at 111, 113, and 115 South Congress Street (#11, #12 and #13) are also buildings that were transported from Reedy Island.

The town of Port Penn appears today much as it did in its past. Buildings representing all stages of the town's evolution can still be seen. Few modern structures have been built within the town. As you walk south on Congress Street, notice that only one building stands out as a modern structure (#14). Despite sprawling suburban development, Port Penn has managed to maintain its rural, river-oriented character.

To complete your tour, return to the Port Penn Interpretive Center. This two-room building was built around 1886 and housed the Port Penn School for grades one through ten. It briefly served as a bait and tackle shop, and then it lay vacant for several years. In 1974 the building was purchased by the town's historical society. Volunteers turned the structure into a folklife museum and operated it until the Port Penn Area Historical Society transferred it to the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation in 1991. The Division continues the documentation and presentation of the town's cultural and natural heritage