May is Historic Preservation Month, a time to celebrate the places that help communities understand their past, connect with one another, and imagine a stronger future. This year’s national Preservation Month theme from the National Trust for Historic Preservation is especially meaningful as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The theme calls attention to historic places that help tell the full American story, including places that remind us how far we have come and how far we still have to go.
At Fort DuPont in Delaware City, that message feels especially relevant. Fort DuPont is more than a historic military campus. It is a place shaped by service, community, change, adaptation, and reinvestment. Its buildings, landscapes, and public spaces help tell stories about national defense, local life, military service, public health, recreation, arts, and community revitalization.
For the Friends of Fort DuPont, Preservation Month is an opportunity to celebrate that history while also focusing on the work still ahead.
Preserving Fort DuPont’s Historic Buildings for Public Use
The Friends of Fort DuPont are actively working with the Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation to support preservation planning, fundraising, and public awareness for some of the campus’s most important historic resources. Two of the most visible priorities are the Fort DuPont Chapel and the Fort DuPont Theater.
Both buildings represent the larger challenge and opportunity of preservation at Fort DuPont. They are historically significant, deeply connected to the life of the campus, and full of potential for future public use. They also require substantial investment to make them safe, accessible, functional, and sustainable for the next generation.
The goal is not simply to save old buildings. The goal is to return historic spaces to active community life.
A rehabilitated Chapel could once again serve as a welcoming space for gatherings, programs, reflection, and community events. A rehabilitated Theater could become a vibrant cultural venue that supports arts, education, performances, and civic life in Delaware City. Together, these projects reflect the heart of preservation: honoring historic character while giving places a meaningful future.
A New Step Forward for the Fort DuPont Chapel
Fort DuPont’s preservation work recently received an important boost. The Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation was awarded a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to support an ADA Accessibility Plan for the Fort DuPont Chapel.
This planning work is a critical step toward the Chapel’s long-term rehabilitation. Accessibility is not separate from preservation. It is central to it. If historic places are going to continue serving the public, they must be welcoming and usable for people of all abilities.
The ADA Accessibility Plan will help guide future improvements so that the Chapel can be preserved in a way that respects its historic character while expanding public access. This is exactly the kind of careful, thoughtful planning that makes preservation projects stronger and more fundable over time.
More Than $1 Million in Preservation Funding Requests
The Friends of Fort DuPont and FDRPC are also pursuing a broad range of preservation-related funding opportunities. Together, the organizations currently have more than $1 million in active grant requests for preservation planning, rehabilitation, and related improvements across the Fort DuPont campus.
These funding efforts reflect both the scale of the need and the strength of the opportunity.
Historic preservation at Fort DuPont requires many different types of investment, including architectural planning, accessibility improvements, building rehabilitation, stabilization, interpretation, and public programming. Each grant application helps move the campus closer to a future where more historic buildings are preserved, activated, and opened for meaningful community use.
This work takes time, partnership, and persistence. It also requires public support.
Why Preservation Month Matters at Fort DuPont
The National Trust’s 2026 Preservation Month theme reminds us that historic places are not static monuments. They are active parts of our shared civic life. They help communities ask important questions: Whose stories are being told? What places deserve protection? How can historic resources serve people today?
Fort DuPont offers a powerful local example of those questions in action.
Its history includes military service, wartime mobilization, changing federal uses, community recreation, and decades of transition. Today, its future depends on preservation, reinvestment, and public engagement. The campus has the potential to become an even stronger center for history, arts, culture, outdoor recreation, and community life in Delaware City.
Preservation Month gives us a chance to recognize that the work of saving places is also the work of strengthening communities.
Help Preserve Fort DuPont’s Future
The Friends of Fort DuPont are proud to support preservation efforts that keep Fort DuPont’s history visible, active, and connected to the public. Through fundraising, grant writing, public programs, volunteer opportunities, and partnerships, the Friends are helping ensure that Fort DuPont’s historic resources remain part of Delaware’s future.
As we celebrate Historic Preservation Month, we invite you to follow our work, attend an event, volunteer, share Fort DuPont’s story, or make a donation to support ongoing preservation efforts.
The places that make us who we are deserve to be celebrated. They also deserve to be protected.
Fort DuPont’s story is still being written, and preservation is how we make sure that story continues.
