Fenwick Island Delaware, is one of Sussex County's most densely-populated and fastest-growing areas.
    Named after Thomas Fenwick, a planter from England who settled in Maryland, Fenwick Island DE lay in the part of Delaware which was claimed by Lord Baltimore and his heirs during the Penn-Baltimore border dispute.
    The town sits on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Little Assawoman Bay.
    Local legend has it that Cedar Island in Little Assawoman Bay was a spot for pirates to bury treasure. Regardless of the truth of the legend, the Delaware coastal area was well-known as a place for pirates to hide from the law.
    The town was an unincorporated area between South Bethany and Ocean City, Maryland until July 1953, when the Delaware General Assembly passed an act to incorporate the town. Local sentiment demanded incorporation to prevent the relentless high-rise development of Ocean City, Maryland from creeping north into Fenwick Island.