Mayor Otis Smith

Mayor Otis Smith. . , Otis Smith was born in Brooklyn, NY, on December 6, 1909. During his lifetime, he became a "captain of industry" whose complex of family companies extended along the east coast of the US and as far away as Peru and Chile. He was motivated to come to Lewes because of the abundance of menhaden fish, located off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware, prized for their oil and used as fertilizer. Under his leadership, the Fish Products Company employed over 500 people and grew to a fleet of 25 ships and spotter planes. Lewes became one of the largest fishing ports in the country. In 1953 alone, over 390 million pounds of fish came into this port., Otis was recognized locally and statewide. He was Mayor of Lewes for 38 years, exercising much generosity toward the betterment of Lewes by building a public dock, running electric and water lines to Lewes Beach, and supporting local churches. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Beebe Hospital from 1956 - 1973. A building at the University of Delaware campus in Lewes is named in his honor. He was on the Delaware Civil Rights Advisory Committee and urged the desegregation of public accommodations. National recognition came in 1962 with a Conservation Award from the US Department of the Interior., By the mid-1960s, the abundance of menhaden declined in this region and Smith reluctantly moved his operations to Louisiana where the fish still thrived. He retired to Selma, Alabama where he died on June 20, 2001. This plaque honors his life and service to the community of Lewes., Source: Lewes Historical Society