Map of Slaughter Beach town

Slaughter Beach is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States, located on the southwest shore of Delaware Bay. The population was 207 at the 2010 census, an increase of 4.5% over the past decade. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Slaughter Beach town overview:
Name:	Slaughter Beach town
LSAD Code:	43
LSAD Description:	town (suffix)
State:	Delaware
County:	Sussex County
Elevation:	7 ft (2 m)
Total Area:	1.44 sq mi (3.74 km²)
Land Area:	1.42 sq mi (3.68 km²)
Water Area:	0.03 sq mi (0.06 km²)
Total Population:	218
Population Density:	153.63/sq mi (59.31/km²)
Area code:	302
FIPS code:	1067050
GNISfeature ID:	214663
Website:	slaughterbeach.delaware.gov

Online Interactive Map

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Slaughter Beach online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Slaughter Beach location map. Where is Slaughter Beach town?

Slaughter Beach location on the U.S. Map. Where is Slaughter Beach town. — Slaughter Beach location on the U.S. Map.

Slaughter Beach location on the Delaware map. Where is Slaughter Beach town. — Location of Slaughter Beach in Delaware.

History

Slaughter Beach was founded in 1681 and incorporated in 1931. There are at least three stories of where the town’s name came from: The first is that it was named after William Slaughter, a local postmaster in the mid-19th century. The second story claims “the name may stem from the annual springtime appearance of hordes of horseshoe crabs that emerge from the waters of Delaware Bay to lay their eggs on the beach. Changing tides leave many crabs stranded, so that they fall victim to the beating sun or maraudinf foxes and raccoons—hence the name ‘Slaughter Beach.'” The third story, and the most contested source of the town’s name, stems from a local legend which tells of a man named Brabant who, in the mid-18th century, “slaughtered” several indigenous inhabitants by cannon in order to prevent an impending massacre. In 2018, PETA wrote to the mayor and followed up with a press release requesting the town change its name to “Sanctuary Beach” and offered to help pay for new signage if the name was adopted.