Location | mouth of the Wicomico River in the Chesapeake Bay |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°12′51″N75°52′46″W / 38.2143°N 75.8794°W Coordinates: 38°12′51″N75°52′46″W / 38.2143°N 75.8794°W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1884 |
Foundation | screw-pile |
Construction | cast-iron/wood |
Height | 37 feet (11 m) |
Shape | square house |
Light | |
First lit | 1884 |
Deactivated | 1966 |
Focal height | 11 m (36 ft) |
Lens | fifth-order Fresnel lens |
Characteristic | Fl W 6s |
Great Shoals Light was a screw-pile lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Wicomico River.
This light was constructed to mark a narrow channel at the entrance to the Wicomico River, as requested by the Maryland General Assembly in 1882. An appropriation was not made until the following year, and further delays pushed the commissioning date to August 1884.
In 1966 the light was dismantled and a modern automated light was erected on the old foundation.
A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse to begin construction was built by the blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell. Construction began in 1838 at the mouth of the Thames and was known as the Maplin Sands lighthouse, and first lit in 1841. However, though its construction began later, the Wyre Light in Fleetwood, Lancashire, was the first to be lit.
The Seven Foot Knoll Light was built in 1855 and is the oldest screw-pile lighthouse in Maryland. It was located atop Seven Foot Knoll in the Chesapeake Bay until it was replaced by a modern navigational aid and relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor as a museum exhibit.
The Thomas Point Shoal Light, also known as Thomas Point Shoal Light Station, is a historic lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States, and the most recognized lighthouse in Maryland. It is the only screw-pile lighthouse in the bay which stands at its original site. The current structure is a 1½ story hexagonal wooden cottage, equipped with a foghorn as well as the light.
The Mathias Point Light was a screw-pile lighthouse in the Potomac River in Maryland; the station was located near the Port Tobacco River. It was particularly noted for its ornate woodwork.
Sandy Point Shoal Light is a brick three story lighthouse on a caisson foundation that was erected in 1883. It lies about 0.6 mi (0.97 km) off Sandy Point, north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, from whose westbound span it is readily visible.
Point Lookout Light is a lighthouse that marks the entrance to the Potomac River at the southernmost tip of Maryland's western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, south of the town of Scotland in Saint Mary's County, Maryland, USA. It is known for its association with ghost stories and has been the subject of paranormal investigations. The lighthouse is located in Point Lookout State Park. It is not open to the public..
Solomons Lump Light is a lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay, the abbreviated remains of a caisson light built in 1895. That structure replaced a screw-pile light built on the same spot in 1875, which in turn superseded the Fog Point Light.
The Choptank River Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located near Oxford, Maryland. In its second incarnation it was the only such light moved from another location in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Maryland Point Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located in the Potomac River.
The Ragged Point Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located in the Potomac River. It was the last lighthouse built in Maryland waters and the last built at a location in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Cobb Point Bar Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located in the Potomac River.
The Cove Point Light is a lighthouse located on the west side of Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland.
The Sharkfin Shoal Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located at the mouth of the Nanticoke River in Chesapeake Bay, US.
The Clay Island Light was a historic lighthouse located on Clay Island at the mouth of the Nanticoke River on the Chesapeake Bay. Constructed in 1832, it continued to serve the area until 1892, when it was replaced by the Sharkfin Shoal Light. Two years later, the building collapsed, and nothing remains of it.
Greenbury Point Light was the name of two lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay, both located at the mouth of the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Cedar Point Light was the last house-type lighthouse built in the Chesapeake Bay. An early victim of shoreline erosion, the cupola and gables are preserved at museums.
The Janes Island Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located near Crisfield in the U.S. state of Maryland. Twice destroyed by ice, it was replaced in 1935 with an automated beacon.
The Great Wicomico River Light was a lighthouse located at the mouth of the Great Wicomico River, south of the Potomac River on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay. It was first lit in 1889 and was deactivated in 1967.
The Great Wicomico River is a 15.2-mile-long (24.5 km) river in the U.S. state of Virginia, located approximately 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Richmond. In 1864, during the American Civil War, one of the torpedo boats of Admiral David Dixon Porter's fleet ran into the Great Wicomico River and was captured.