The first female keeper was Elizabeth Lusby, who took over for her husband Robert upon his death in 1844 and served until 1862. A 1,200-gallon water tank was used to pressure-wash the exterior before the tower was repaired and painted in 1997, the year the lighthouse made the National Register of Historic Places. This particular mortar was unique, as it had to be strong as well as possess enough flexibility to endure the expansion and contraction of the granite under changing weather conditions. The tower was the first of eleven lighthouses to be built along the river, and it is one of only three historic lighthouses that remain standing today (the other two being Jones Point and Fort Washington). The towers nine-sided lantern room is topped with a pyramidal iron roof and ventilator ball. Other outbuildings on the property included a stable, woodshed, and smokehouse. Click on lighthouse icons for more information. Visitors to the lighthouse and dwelling are now afforded a glimpse into the everyday lives of lighthouse keepers and their families, circa the late 1800s. ONeill achieved lasting fame during the War of 1812, when British ships commanded by Admiral Sir George Cockburn turned their guns on Havre de Grace. Following the passing of Keeper ONeill , the dwelling was sold to Michael Fahey in 1920 for $4,000, and the structure was subsequently used as a rooming house, restaurant, and bar. 4395 Turkey Point Rd North East, MD 21901 Turkey Point Lighthouse is located at the southern tip of the Elk Neck Peninsula. Assistant: Daniel McCahan (1889), John Barker (1889 1890), William S. Brown (1891), Joseph Parry (1891 1896), Patrick Reedy (1896 1898), John H. Williams (1898 1899), Albert Olsen (1899), Charles Kaonss (1900), James S. Brown (1900), G. Brown (1900), Frederick Farrell (1900 1901), Petro Beloso (1901 1903), Sigbjorn Johnson (1903 1905), Robert Arnold (1905), Oscar Reynolds (1905), George Prichard (1905), Sheldon R. Van Houter (1905 1906), Fabius E. Simpson, Jr. (1906 1908), Edward Jansen (1908), Bernard Dunigan (1908), James H. Hill (1908), James M. Ellis (1908 at least 1914). In 1992, it was reported that the stair treads, shutters, window sashes and other wooden parts were all torn from the building and used as fuel for a bonfire. Lighthouses that are in former U.S. territories are not listed here. Concord Point Lighthouse at Havre de Grace, Maryland was established to warn seafaring vessels away from the treacherous currents and shoals near the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Another uncle, A. J. Simpson, is keeper of Southwest point light, all in North Carolina. She rang the bell every fifteen seconds for nearly an hour until the steamer had safely passed from the river into the canal. In 1801, the stretch of land in Baltimore Harbor across from Fort McHenry, known as Gorsuch Point in honor of an important settler from colonial days, became the site for a lazaretto, a word of Italian origin meaning a hospital for those with contagious diseases. The structure housed a third order Fresnel lens with an 83 foot focal plane in its slender white tower. Due to the location of the Craighill Channel, it would have been problematic to construct range lights onshore and so the decision was made to build them on the bay. Originally painted red, the lanterns color was changed to black in the late 1800s. In the winter of 1895, an ice floe from the river struck the station and knocked over some chairs, although the lighthouse avoided further damage. Lighthouse Friends. In 1836, a fire destroyed the old smallpox hospital and damaged the keepers house. The lighthouse, a truncated conical tower topped by a lantern and deck, was built with Port Deposit granite, barged down the Susquehanna River. The lighthouse, which was constructed on the companys property, is believed to be located in the general proximity of where the original tower stood. Fishing Battery Lighthouse with fish hatchery, Fishing Battery Lighthouse after automation, Lighthouses: Left Behind by History, Silent Sentries Weather Neglect,. An enclosed square, wooden, stairway extended from the residence to the elevated service room, watchroom, and finally the lantern room. The 484-square-foot lighthouse tract was deeded to the federal government by the town commissioners in 1826, and on May 18 of that year Congress provided $2,500 for the lighthouse and added $1,500 to this amount on March 2, 1827. A contract for construction of the station was awarded to John Donahoo, and he completed both the lighthouse and the squat keepers building for just $4,355. ONeill was eventually captured by the British and sentenced to be hanged aboard one of their ships, prompting his fifteen-year-old daughter to reportedly row out in a skiff and plead for her fathers life. We visited the lighthouse with. Find out why Maryland developed the unusual "screwpile" lighthouse, then enjoy a bay sunset with one as the backdrop. The storm panels in the lantern are secured by iron mullions cast in an unusual fin shape. In 1988, the non-profit group turned its attentions to the keepers house, after the state acquired the property that year and turned it over to the city. Salter, lauded at her retirement in 1947 as the last of the lady lighthouse keepers, had only this to say: Oh, it was an easy-like chore, but my feet got tired, and climbing the tower has given me fallen arches. Fannie Salter was once forced to manually sound the fog bell during a mechanical failure as a steamer was heading into the Elk River in foggy conditions. The lighthouse is owned by the Calvert Marine Museum. The rear light was electrified in April 1929, at which time a submarine cable was used to connect the tower to commercial electricity. Portions of the lens annular rings are missing, and the original central bulls-eye has been replaced by a Pyrex version. The conical Lazaretto Point Lighthouse, built at a cost of $2,100, originally employed eleven oil lamps with fifteen-inch spherical reflectors to generate its light. The Event Organizer has priced these tickets according to their market value. Named after the long leaf yellow and loblolly pines lining the shores of the Potomac River, Piney Point provided a nature retreat to Presidents James Monroe, Franklin Pierce, and Teddy Roosevelt. Tickets do not include VIP packages. Electric outlet available. The "Friends" website presents a history of the lighthouse and other information. The Lighthouse is open to climbers on weekends from 10AM to 2PM (weather permitting). It was suspected that the boats crew was drunk, especially since one of them fell overboard and had to be rescued. This light is best viewed from the water, but it can be seen from areas Turn right and follow Lighthouse Road Point Lookout Lighthouse. Fishing Battery is an artificial island created by Robert Gale and John Donahoo off Havre de Grace in the early 1800s to profit from the shad runs near the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Anna Weems Ewalt, who was born at the lighthouse in 1903, provided detailed recollections of its interior furnishings and donated some of her familys heirlooms to increase its historical authenticity. Located off of I-95, exit 89 between Baltimore and Philadelphia. A second staircase ascends to the lantern room, which has cast-iron mullions and a pyramidal roof capped by a ventilator ball and lightning rod. Another is that shortly after the completion of the lighthouse, Poe took out an ad in the local paper making the very dramatic claim that a man would fly from the Shot Tower, which at that time was the tallest building in America, to Lazaretto Lighthouse. Head Keepers: Sylvester Nugent (at least 1829 at least 1837), John McGaw (at least 1839), William Read (at least 1841 1843), Ezekiel Morrison (1843 1849), Benedict F. Waters (1849 1853), James W. Stapleford (1853 1861), Isaac Allen (1861 1865), Benjamin Legos (1865), Isaac J. Allen (1865 1870), Benjamin Cole (1870), Isaac J. Allen (1870 1893), Stephen A. Cohee (1893 1915), Amasa J. Simpson (1915 at least 1917). Henry E. ONeill became keeper of the light after his mother resigned in 1881 and served until his death in 1919. Shaded boxes identify lighthouses where the historic structure has been completely or mostly destroyed. Workers began assembling the structure on July 17, 1883, and the lighthouse was activated just over a month later on August 20. Having been abandoned for nearly fifty years, the lighthouse was in poor condition before the massive restoration effort was finally launched by the Army in 1997. Box 212 Havre de Grace, MD 21078 410-939-3213 info@concordpointlighthouse.org Hours of Operation The Lighthouse and Keeper's House Museum and Gift Shop are open! Although only thirty-five feet in stature, Turkey Point Lighthouse has a focal plane of 129 feet above mean high tide. On February 20, 2021, Dan spinella, owner of Artworks Florida, installed a replica of the fifth-order Fresnel lens used at Piney Point in a small lantern room at the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum. The jettisoned pedestal was later found in the sand by a resident of the area. Lighthouse Maps Select a blue-colored state or province to see a map of its lighthouses. The keepers quarters, vandalized and neglected, were finally torn down by Marylands Parks Service in 1972. Freshly mixed mortar, rendered by a cement mixer, was finally applied to the tower before it was painted. Located fourteen miles up the Potomac River from the Chesapeake Bay, Piney Point Lighthouse is situated on the Maryland shore of the river. Many of ONeills soldiers were too old to serve in the regular United States Army, and when the British opened fire they all quickly abandoned their posts. Murdaugh, the inspector for the Fifth Lighthouse District, visited the site where a number of boats had grounded on a shallow strip of land and decided that the lighthouse should be placed on the extreme south point of land, and that the beacon should be twenty-five feet high and equipped with a sixth-order Fresnel lens. A long reed horn replaced the bell in 1936. The company brought a tugboat and barge with a steam powered crane, which had a 110-foot boom to lift the screwpile lighthouse. Twenty-six-foot-tall Piney Point originally employed ten lamps, set in spherical reflectors, to produce a fixed white light. History Map Visitor Info. A district court ruled against the owner, stating that the government had the absolute right to erect and maintain a light-house wherever it was necessary, on any submerged land in navigable waters.. In 1994, a metal plaque indicating the lighthouses historical value was stolen the same weekend it was put up. The first proposal to build a lighthouse near the shoals at the northern approach to the Patuxent River occurred in 1838 in the form of a report from Lt. William D. Porter to the Secretary of the Treasury that noted that many vessels sought protection in the lee of Drum Point but often ran aground on the low sandspit that projects from the point. a mile to the lighthouse. IN NEED OF SHELTER OR OTHER SERVICES? In August 1985, just over one year after Rukert had passed away, his family built the replica in his honor. The situation became so dire that ex-keeper John Hansen, who still lived close to the lighthouse, purposely stayed away from Drum Point as he could not bear to see the condition of the structure.. Peregrine Wethered purchased the 280-acre, narrow island in 1808 and ran it as a slave plantation whose produce evoked the wonder and admiration of the farmers all along the bay. While the island was plundered by British soldiers during the War of 1812, it quickly returned to profitability. Painted white, this tower stood fifteen feet west of the lighthouse and possessed a mechanical striker that tolled the bell every twenty seconds during thick and foggy weather. (credit:. The Battery Island Preservation Society, working closely with the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, proposed a plan in the 1990s to transform the eroding island and dilapidated lighthouse into a public park and historic bed and breakfast. ONeill stayed on the job from 1827 until his death in 1838. An 1887 drawing of Fishing Battery shows that the Bureau of Fisheries had a residence on the island along with a mechanics cottage, a storehouse and icehouse, a water tower, a boat basin, coal bins, and a boiler. Master builder John Donahoo was responsible for the construction of the lighthouse in his hometown, where he also served multiple terms as a Havre de Grace town commissioner. Henry C. Wingate, the last keeper of the light, retired when the brick lighthouse was torn down. The old bell tower was torn down after being heavily damaged by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Craighill Channel Lower Range Rear Light Stations National Register of Historic Places Nomination, 2002. Donahoo built the thirty-foot-tall lighthouse and the associated keepers dwelling, which was located 200 feet away, between May and November of 1827. A letter mentioning ONeills sacrifice reached President Woodrow Wilson, to which he replied, The inclosed letter is not only interesting but touching, and I am cheered to have seen it.. Man is no longer able to take advantage of the islands fertile soil, but eagles, blue herons, geese, osprey, and a small herd of deer are now thriving on their island home. This site includes photographs, directions, histories, and GPS coordinates garnered while personally visiting every lighthouse in the United States and nearly every lighthouse in Canada. A dark sector was added to the lighthouse's fixed red light on December 10, 1899, after a petition was presented to the Lighthouse Board the previous year requesting that a sector be added to cover Sandy Point bar off Solomons Island. Apparently this inspectors high standards were well satisfied, as he once told the elder Loch Humphreys: Your place looks like a man o war.. The lantern floor is composed of radially cut stone pieces, which are held in place by flat iron keys. Winter Harbor, ME Wood Island. Are you looking for a historic vacation filled with magnificent views and delicious food? The four-room dwelling measured thirty-four by twenty feet, and a boathouse and stable were also provided for the convenience of the keeper. About Lighthouse Senior Living at Hopkins Creek Located near Middle River, Baltimore County, Maryland, Lighthouse Senior Living at Hopkins Creek reflects the look and feel of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Mertens Avenue. The pedestal, which once supported the lens, had been removed from the lantern room and dumped nearby. The light was switched over to electrical operation in November 1918. The lens was specially manufactured by the French firm of Henry-Lepaute to shine light over only 270 degrees of a full circle, as the remaining portion would have been cast over land. The panes in the lantern room are rectangular in shape, and a metal roof with a large ventilator ball caps off the structure. As a local militia lieutenant in charge of some four dozen men, ONiells mission was to hold a small parapet of three cannons named Potato Battery. Concord Point Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in Maryland that is accessible to the public. Following automation in 1947, the remote lighthouse was subject to vandalism. He relates how he knew every part of the machinery that operated [the] light and the fog signalas good as my dad. He claims that his father was a stickler for proper procedures, and that it was beat into your head that what you were doing was for the protection of the lives of people. Later in the article, we learn that this attitude emanated from the top down. Local architects and engineers have donated time towards a feasibility study for the restoration of the island. The floor and foundation of the tower is made of cement, beneath which wooden pilings lend structural stability. The service was not going to let her assume her husbands position due to her relatively young age of forty-three, but she appealed to her senator, who took up the issue with the President. and go 7.4 miles to Lighthouse Road. This structure was positioned about 100 yards closer to the water, so that it would not be so detrimentally affected by the surrounding industrial buildings. While the reproduction does possess a light, the structure is not an active aid to navigation. Work at the Lazaretto depot slowed considerably as more and more lights were automated and much of the remaining duties were transferred to the Portsmouth depot. After the mortar work had dried for two months, the entire structure was painted. Find the closest hotels to Drum Point Lighthouse, Select a photograph to view a photo gallery. Photographs taken of the station in 1938 show that it had a garage, chicken and sheep houses, a water closet, and a concrete water cistern. The keepers house when first constructed was a one-and-a-half-story brick building, but in 1889 a full second story, built of whitewashed board and sporting gingerbread eaves, was added. Grounds open, dwelling/tower closed. The Friends helped turn the lighthouse grounds into a beautiful tree-lined park, which attracts thousands of visitors each year. In 1835, Congress set aside $5,000 for construction of a land-based beacon to replace the lightship, and the contract was awarded to the prolific lighthouse builder John Donahoo. The lighthouse grounds are open daily during daylight hours. Humphreys father was assigned to the station in 1911, and young Marion was often called upon to help with various tasks. 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