This image is the cover for the book Delaware Prohibition, True Crime

Delaware Prohibition, True Crime

Prohibition attempted to kill John Barleycorn, the personification of intoxicating drinks, but in Delaware the notice of his death was premature. Government agents tried in vain to stop bootleggers and rumrunners, who fed the speakeasies that quenched the thirst of the people of the First State. Against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties, bootleggers sped up and down the new Du Pont Boulevard, while enforcement agents, such as the Bible-thumping "Three Gun" Wilson, tried in vain to stop them. The stock market crash and the Great Depression ended dry laws and brought about the resurrection of Barleycorn. Local author Michael Morgan recounts the dramatic tales of this unique period of Delaware history.

Michael Morgan

Michael Morgan has been writing articles on the history of coastal Delaware for more than three decades. He is the author of the "Delaware Diary" (which appears weekly in the Delaware Coast Press), the Wave and the Salisbury Daily Times and has also published articles in Delaware Beach Life. Morgan is the author of several histories of Delaware and the Delmarva Peninsula, including Hidden History of Lewes, Delmarva's Patty Cannon: The Devil on the Nanticoke and Deadly Storms of the Delmarva Coast, along with other works.

The History Press