A color postcard showing paved roads and parked cars on Rehoboth Avenue
Library, Museums and Press Staff
August 23, 2023

Rehoboth Through the Years: A Retrospective with Postcards

By David Cardillo, Digital Initiatives and Preservation

 

Many of the digital collections from the UD Library, Museums and Press can take us to the past almost as effectively as Doc Brown’s DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future. This is especially true of such visual collections as the Delaware Postcard Collection.

Looking through postcards of Rehoboth over the years, we can get a sense of historical changes on a local and national scale.

While the first boardwalk was built in 1873 at which time Rehoboth and surrounding towns had several hotels, postcards from the early 20th century show a very different Rehoboth Avenue, for instance, than the one that vacationers are familiar with today.

A black-and-white postcard that shows a dirt road line with houses and grassy areas.

A 1907 postcard that shows Rehoboth Avenue as a dirt road. The exterior lanes appear to be hotels while the interior appears to contain servant quarters and fenced-off gardens.

A black-and-white postcard showing another view of the main dirt road of Rehoboth

Another view of the Rehoboth Avenue dirt roads from a postcard from 1907.

A black-and-white postcard showing the use of bulls and horses for transportation.

A postcard from 1908 showcasing “Rehoboth Rapid Transit,” a two-horsepower, two-bull hybrid conveyance.

Somewhere between 1915 and 1930, Rehoboth Avenue starts to look a little more familiar with the addition of the automobile. The postcard provides interesting cultural insights in this way, too. While the automobile was becoming more integrated into American life, the postcard reflects how the automobile is still somewhat new as parking lots are not yet standardized and ubiquitous.

A color postcard of Rehoboth Avenue showing paved roads and parked cars

A postcard of Rehoboth Avenue circa 1915-1930. It portrays a road that is now paved with more hotels and restaurants nearby. There are automobiles parked along the road, diagonally despite a lack of space markers, and on an inside lane that used to be a garden.

By 1947, the automobile was more secure in American society, as evidenced in the below postcard. Rehoboth Avenue looks more like part of a resort town, with cars parked in front of hotels, restaurants and businesses.

A color postcard showing paved roads, cars and the edge of the boardwalk in Rehoboth

A postcard from 1947 showcasing Rehoboth Avenue from the boardwalk.

In 1973, there is a view of Rehoboth Avenue and the beach that looks far more familiar. The aerial view conveys a touristy, resort-like feeling as opposed to the “locals only” environment seen in the early 20th century postcards.

A photograph of a more modern-looking Rehoboth with views of Rehoboth Avenue and the beach

A postcard of Rehoboth Avenue and the beach from 1973.

This is just one aspect of the insights that can be gained by looking at postcards throughout history. We could look at other Rehoboth postcards to study the changes in fashion – and swimwear – over the years; and to get a sense of beach erosion and sand replenishment from postcards of the coastline.

Plus, it’s fun to look through postcards! Because we all probably wish we were there, too.

 

The Delaware Postcard Collection consists of more than 2,000 postcards of the First State and nearby areas from the 19th and 20th centuries. The postcards often depict well-known Delaware buildings, monuments and views, as well as elements of small-town life. They are made freely and digitally accessible through the Library, Museums and Press. Researchers interested in material culture, local history, state and neighborhood development, and all things Delaware may find these resources especially useful.