Matthew Jenkins, Photos - Bay Lighthouses

Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project

Middle Bay Lights

Sandy Point Shoal Light
North of Annapolis, MD
cir. 1883

An earlier, Sandy Point Light had been built on land in what is now Sandy Point State Park just north of Annapolis, MD. However, it was not well situated. This newer caisson light was constructed without mishaps in 1883, and is visible from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It was electrified in 1929 and fully automated in 1963. In its heavily trafficked location it was open to vandalism and in 1979 the Coast Guard discovered that someone had completely smashed the handmade 19th century crystal Fresnel lens, apparently with a baseball bat. (It has been replaced with an acrylic lens.) Major restoration work was undertaken by the Coast Guard in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Sandy Point Shoal Light)

Thomas Point Shoal Light
South of Annapolis, MD
cir. 1875

This is perhaps the most famous of the Chesapeake Bay lighthouses and is the only screw-pile light on the Bay still in its original location. It was Built in 1875 at the mouth of the South River, replacing an earlier, Donahoo built, shore light that eventually succumbed to shore erosion. In 1964 it was the last manned lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay, staffed by four Coast Guardsmen, three of whom were on duty at any one time. When the Coast Guard announced plans to discontinue the lighthouse in 1972 and replace it with a steel tower there was a huge public outcry. In 1975 the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse was declared a historic landmark and it has become one of the most recognizable symbols of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Thomas Point Shoal Light)

Bloody Point Bar Light
South of Kent Island, MD
cir. 1882

Standing off the southern end of Kent Island, MD, the water approaching this light is over 140 feet deep then dramatically shoals up to only 6 feet. This light was constructed and commissioned in 1882. However, it began to tilt noticeably within a year. Corrections were quickly made and the light stabilized, but a mild angle is still visible. In 1960, the lighthouse caught on fire, suffered a fuel explosion in its storage room, and the two Coast Guard keepers barely escaped in time. The fire gutted the structure and it has not been manned since. Like Sharps Island Light to the south, which it resembles, it is now a rusting tower with a battery powered light.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Bloody Point Bar Light)

Hooper Strait Light
(moved to) The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum - St. Michaels, MD
cir. 1880

Navigational lights at Hooper Strait date back to 1827 when a light vessel station was established there. A first screwpile style lighthouse, built on sleeve-piles, was constructed in 1867. However, this structure lasted only ten years before being destroyed by ice flows. (The resident keepers made a harrowing escape by pulling a small boat across the ice to safety.) In January 1879 Congress appropriated money for a second lighthouse. The structure was designed and built in Baltimore, then dismantled and re-erected at the site in October of that year on stronger, solid iron, screw piles. It remained active until December 1852 when it was fully automated. Soon after being boarded up, the dwelling began to deteriorate and succumb to vandalism. It had been slated for destruction in 1966 when it was acquired by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD. The lighthouse was cut from its original pilings and transported up the Bay to its new site in November of that year. It is now beautifully restored and one of only four screwpile lighthouses left on the Bay.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Hooper Strait Light)

Sharps Island Light
Southern mouth of the Choptank River, MD
cir. 1882

This is the third lighthouse that has marked this area. The first was built in 1837 on the (then) 900 acre Sharps Island, which has since been completely reclaimed by the Bay. This original light consisted of a wooden keepers dwelling with a cupola light on top. It was moved inland once due to shore erosion. However, after it became evident that the island was doomed, a second light of the screwpile design was constructed in 1865. This lighthouse lasted until 1881, when it was torn off its pilings by ice flows and carried 5 miles down the Bay with the keepers still inside. They escaped, safely, when it ran aground. That structure was replaced in 1882 with the current caisson lighthouse which stood 55 feet above the water. This final structure withstood time reasonably until the it was tilted badly by scour and heavy ice during the winters of 1976 and 1977. Its current condition draws inevitable references to the leaning tower of Pizza. Unfortunately, it is in an extreme state of decay.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Sharps Island Light)

Cove Point Light
Four miles North of the Patuxent River
cir. 1828

Cove Point light was built in 1828 to meet the needs of mariners traveling south down the Bay and to the Patuxent River. It was designed and built by John Donahoo. The brick tower is just over 38 feet tall from its base to the lantern deck. Originally 11 lamps were used, each with a 18" reflector. These were replaced in 1855 with a fifth order Fresnel lens, then again in 1899 with a fourth order lens. While the light is now electrified, the old winding mechanism and counterweights are still in working order. Like other land based lights on the Bay, the keepers dwelling began as a simple single story home and was later enlarged (1883) by the addition of a second story. Several fog bell towers have also graced the site over the years. The light was fully automated in 1986. In the Fall of 2000 it was transferred to the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, MD. Shore erosion has always been a problem and several projects have been undertaken to keep the waters at bay. (pun intended.)

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Cove Point Light)

Drum Point Light
(moved to) The Calvert Marine Museum - Solomons, MD
cir. 1883

This screw-pile lighthouse was commissioned in 1883 and had been located at the Northern mouth of the Patuxent River. Not very far from shore to begin with, 80 years of silting made it an easy target to vandals once it was automated in 1962. It was moved a couple miles west to its current location at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, MD in 1975 and restored. There is currently a lighted buoy where it once stood and you can still see the stubs of the old structure's solid iron pilings.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Drum Point Light)

Hooper Island Light
West of Hooper Island, MD
cir. 1902

One of only 4 Bay lighthouses built in the 20th century, Hooper Island light was erected to warn ships off the shoals on the eastern side of the Bay along the 30 mile stretch from Smith Point and Cove Point. It is one of only 11 lighthouses built in the U.S. where the caisson was sunk using a pneumatic process. In 1961 the light was fully automated and in the mid 1970s the valuable Fresnel lens was stolen. It's shape and color have earned it the nickname of "the spark plug". It is still an active navigational aid.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Hooper Island Light)

Point No Point Light
3 miles north of the Potomac River, MD
cir. 1905

Point No Point was constructed to "fill in" a 30 mile stretch of the Bay south of Cove Point where no other lights existed. After numerous construction mishaps, this octagonal lighthouse was commissioned in 1905. It is located about 6 miles north of the mouth of the Potomac River (and Point Lookout Light). In 1938 it was fully automated and it has been unmanned since 1962.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Point No Point Light)

Solomon's Lump Light
Kedges Strait, south of Blodsworth Island, MD
cir. 1895

This caisson light was commissioned in 1895 and is one of the more remote Bay lighthouses. Originally, an earlier screwpile Light had stood here. However, it was destroyed by ice in 1893. The current structure looks a bit odd with the tower off to the side. There had been a wooden, hexagonal, keepers dwelling that surrounded the tower. This was torn down in the early 1950s after the lighthouse was automated, leaving the current, somewhat lop-sided, structure.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Solomons Lump Light)

Jones Point Light
Alexandria, VA
cir. 1856

This white clapboard lighthouse was constructed in 1856 to warn ships entering the ports of Alexandria, Georgetown, and Washington, DC off sandbars in the Potomac River. Like many early lights, it was originally fueled with whale oil. However in 1858 gas lines were laid and the lamp converted. After numerous problems with the lines, the lamp was converted to mineral oil in 1900 and acetylene in 1919. By the early 1900s construction in the area had limited the usefulness of the light and in 1926 it was replaced by steel frame tower on the shore and discontinued. The structure was turned over to the Daughters of the American Revolution who later deeded it over to Department of the Interior. It is now surrounded by a 50 acre park next to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The DAR, in conjunction with the National Park Service and volunteers, maintain the structure which has been partially renovated.

Fort Washington Light
Fort Washington on the Potomac River, MD
cir. 1857 / 1882

One of the more diminutive lights of the region, Fort Washington Light was commissioned in 1857 at the site of the like-named fort guarding the approach to Washington DC. At that time it was an iron pole with a light pulled to the top. After a number of complaints about the inadequacy of this arrangement, a new tower was constructed in 1870, exhibiting a sixth order Fresnel lens. A wooden bell tower was constructed in 1882 and an adjacent keepers house was added in 1885. By 1900, gun batteries and a pier newly constructed by the Army were blocking the light. After failing to obtain money for a new light tower, the fog bell tower was modified in 1901 to house the light and it is the lighthouse we see today. The original light tower(s) and keepers dwelling have since been torn down. (Note: Many shore based Bay lights had wooden fog bell towers that looked very much like this one. Fort Washington is the only such fog bell tower that has survived on the Bay.) In 1999 the little fog bell tower lighthouse was renovated. Both Fort Washington and the Light are now part of a National Park.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Fort Washington Light)

Piney Point Light
Potomac River, MD
cir. 1836

Piney Point is named after the loblolly pines which abound in the area. This lighthouse, which warns mariners of shoals off the point, was commissioned in 1836 and is the oldest of the Potomac River lights. (Of the 11 that once operated along the river, only 3 are left.) John Donahoo's design style is recognizable in the gnome-like brick tower which stands 30 feet from its base to the center of the lantern. The keeper's lived in a small, one story house next to the tower. This was enlarged and a second story added in 1884. A 30 foot wooden fog bell tower was added to the site in 1880. However, this was destroyed by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. The light was decommissioned in 1964 and in 1980 the U.S. Coast Guard transferred the property to St. Mary's County. It is currently operated by the St. Clement's Island Potomac River Museum (located about 20 miles up the road). The site has been renovated into a nice little park.

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Piney Point Light)

Point Lookout Light
Northern mouth of the Potomac River, MD
cir. 1830

Formal efforts to put a lighthouse at the Northern entrance to the Potomac River go back to 1825. However, the owner of the property protested the government's valuation. Finally, after several years of litigation, the Fifth Auditor simply went ahead and erected the station while the land purchase was still under litigation. The design consisted of a small building, built by John Donahoo, with a red shingle roof and black lantern on top. It was commissioned in September of 1830. The lamp itself underwent several upgrades over the years. In 1883 a second story was added to the building, the station then being run by two families. The land next to it was used as a depot for a while. In 1965 the light was replaced by an offshore steel tower and retired from service. It is currently owned by the U.S. Navy. After its retirement, many ghost stories arose. (The neighboring park land was a notoriously harsh and squalid prisoner of war camp during the Civil War.)

(U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Point Lookout Light)