Harbor of Refuge Light

Last updated
Harbor of Refuge Light
Harbor of Refuge lighthouse USACE 2011-12-14.jpg
Harbor of Refuge Light from the Cape Henlopen Ferry
Harbor of Refuge Light
Location Lewes, Delaware
Coordinates 38°48′52.6″N75°05′32.6″W / 38.814611°N 75.092389°W / 38.814611; -75.092389
Tower
Constructed1908
Foundation Sparkplug Style Cast-iron Caisson
Construction Cast-iron
Automatedsince December 1973
Height76 feet (23 m)
ShapeConical
HeritageNRHP contributing property  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit1926
Focal height72 feet (22 m)
Lens Fourth Order Fresnel Lens (original), VRB-25 (current)
Range19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi)
Characteristic white flash every 10 s

The Harbor of Refuge Light (originally Harbor of Refuge West End Light, though its east end counterpart has been long since discontinued) is a lighthouse built on the ocean end of the outer Delaware Breakwater at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, just off Cape Henlopen. It was built to function with the Delaware Breakwater East End Light in order to mark the National Harbor of Refuge. [1]

Contents

History

Establishment of Delaware breakwater

In 1825, an act of Congress authorized the initial construction of a breakwater off of Cape Henlopen in order to create a harbor for ships in stormy weather. This breakwater was not completed until 1869. As shipbuilding advanced into the second half of the 19th century, this harbor was no longer sufficiently deep for the newer and larger ships of the US Navy. Thus an outer breakwater was constructed to solve this problem in 1892. The new breakwater was built about 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north of the original breakwater. Work on this 7,950-foot (2,420 m) breakwater was finally completed in 1901. The new safe harbor was called the National Harbor of Refuge.

Temporary beacon and first tower

The breakwater was first illuminated by a pair of temporary beacons placed at either end. The south end, where the current lighthouse stands, featured a white frame tower of 30 feet (9.1 m) with a “five-day” lens lantern exhibiting a red light. The tower, completed on January 1, 1902, also had a fog horn. Both beacons were destroyed in a storm the following year and were subsequently replaced.

The First Harbor of Refuge Light from 1908 Harbor of refuge 1906.jpg
The First Harbor of Refuge Light from 1908

In 1906 construction began on a permanent structure for the southern end of the outer breakwater. The brown, cylindrical, iron foundation was completed in 1907. The 52-foot (16 m) frame tower was white and hexagonal in shape, had three stories and lead colored trim topped with a black lantern. This structure was finally completed on November 20, 1908. The original plan had called for a brick structure, though this was changed to wood during the final planning. This initial lighthouse was fitted with a fourth order Fresnel lens, which flashed with white every 10 seconds. In addition a first-class fog siren operated by compressed air was installed. This station quickly proved to be ill-suited to the conditions, however. Storms threw waves completely over the top of the tower. The lighthouse was moved two inches off its foundation in a 1918 storm, and by another two inches in 1920. As a result, it was rendered uninhabitable and it was then dismantled by United States Lighthouse Service in 1925.

The current tower

On November 15, 1926, the new Harbor of Refuge light was established. This new cast-iron structure was designed to endure the most intense of Atlantic storms. The current structure of 76 feet (23 m) is a white, conical tower with a black lantern. The house itself lies on a cast-iron caisson which is built into the breakwater. The pier of the tower is lined inside with reinforced concrete, while the interior of the tower in lined with brick. All of this rest on a block of concrete within the breakwater. Originally the tower was equipped with a four-panel fourth order Fresnel lens that flashed every 10 seconds at a 72-foot (22 m) focal point. The lens revolved on ball bearings and was driven by a clockwork mechanism driven by weights within a hollow central iron column.

This construction was severely tested on several occasions. A 1929 storm hit the lighthouse with 78 mph winds. In 1960, Hurricane Donna broke a window on the main deck. The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 then hit Delaware Bay, partially flooding the lighthouse when a wave broke a second story window. Intense winds shook the tower, and the high seas completely submerged the breakwater. The caisson was also even struck by a ship in 1986.

After the Fresnel lens became outdated, the house was fitted with a DCB-36 Aerobeacon operated by commercial power. This was used from about 1945 until 1997, when it too became outdated. Today the tower operates with a Vega VRB-25 operated by solar power and displaying a flashing white light every 10 seconds and is visible up to 19 miles (31 km) away. It also has two red sectors which can be seen for 16 miles (26 km) and warn of nearby shoals. As a backup, there is a 250-mm lantern operated by solar power, though its visibility is only 9 miles (14 km). Lastly, the fog signal is an FA/232 and also operated by solar power, emitting 2 blasts every 30 seconds. The lighthouse was automated in 1973 and is still an active aid to navigation.

History

The exterior of the tower was restored by the United States Coast Guard in 1999. Also in 1999, the Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation began working for its restoration. In 2001 the Coast Guard repaired the docking platform and ladders to improve safety of access to the building. In April 2002, the Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation, a non-profit, volunteer organization, signed a lease to manage the structure. The station's dock landing was restored in March 2003 and the first tour was held in June. Except for a brief hiatus in 2005 because of an inability to get insurance for the lighthouse, the Foundation has continued a regular schedule of tours each summer since then. The organization was granted ownership by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2004 under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The first step was to restore the windows, which had been removed and boarded up by the Coast Guard. Damage by Hurricane Isabel in September was quickly repaired, but there is concern that the lighthouse is endangered by the poor condition of the Harbor of Refuge Breakwater on which it is built and which is still owned by the Federal Government and is the maintenance responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With the blessing of the Corps of Engineers, the Delaware River & Bay Lighthouse Foundation began seeking Federal appropriations to fund repairs to the breakwater. An appropriation of just under $350,000 was finally made with the Federal budget for 2008 and the Corps began survey and planning work in preparation for repairs. The Corps and the Foundation estimate that at least $2.7 million is needed to stabilize the 100-year-old structure. Meanwhile, the Foundation continues to preserve the lighthouse itself and, in 2008 procured a new stainless steel door system for the main entryway.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lighthouse</span> Structure designed to emit light to aid navigation

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Henlopen</span>

Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast on the bay side are two lighthouses, called the Harbor of Refuge Light and the Delaware Breakwater East End Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware Breakwater East End Light</span> Lighthouse

The Delaware Breakwater East End Light is a lighthouse located on the inner Delaware Breakwater in the Delaware Bay, just off the coast of Cape Henlopen and the town of Lewes, Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkner Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Connecticut, United States

Falkner Island Light, also known as the Faulkner Island Lighthouse, is a lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, on Falkner Island which is off Guilford Harbor on Long Island Sound. The lighthouse was constructed in 1802 and commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. The lighthouse has had three keeper's houses: the original house of 1802 was rebuilt in 1851 and then again in 1871. The 1871 keeper's house survived to 1976, when it was destroyed by fire; the Coast Guard repaired and automated the lighthouse two years later. A volunteer group, the Faulkner's Light Brigade, has undertaken the restoration and preservation of the lighthouse since 1991, completing the last major restoration work in March 2011. Access to Falkner Island and the light is restricted during the nesting season of the roseate terns from May to August yearly. The Falkner Island Lighthouse, as the second oldest extant lighthouse in Connecticut, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Light</span> Lighthouse

Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation located off the coast of Oswego, New York. It was built in 1934 to replace an earlier light constructed in 1880. It stands at the end of a 2,000-foot-long (610 m) breakwater at mouth of Oswego River, extending one-half mile (0.80 km) out onto Lake Ontario. It is accessible by boat or from land over the abutting breakwater. It is open to the public for tours during the summer. It is owned by the City of Oswego and operated by the United States Coast Guard. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manistique East Breakwater Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Manistique East Breakwater Light is a lighthouse is located in the harbor of Manistique, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harbor Beach Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Harbor Beach Lighthouse is a "sparkplug lighthouse" located at the end of the north breakwall entrance to the harbor of refuge on Lake Huron. The breakwall and light were created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to protect the harbor of Harbor Beach, Michigan, which is the largest man-made freshwater harbor in the world. Harbor Beach is located on the eastern edge of the Thumb of Huron County, in the state of Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquette Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Marquette Harbor Light is located on Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan, a part of the Upper Peninsula. It is an active aid to navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Point Light</span> Lighthouse in Massachusetts, United States

Long Point Light Station is a historic lighthouse at the northeast tip of Long Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts. As a navigational aid, it marks the southwest edge of the entrance to Provincetown Harbor. The United States Coast Guard Light List describes it simply as a "white square tower". The light it casts is green, occulting every 4 seconds, and, at a focal height of 35.5 feet (10.8 m) above mean sea level, has a visible range of 8 nautical miles. When the weather affords low-visibility, one can hear the station's fog horn – sounding a single blast for two seconds, and repeating every 15 seconds – as it seems to call out for its nearly-identical closest neighbor, the Wood End Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandywine Shoal Light</span> Lighthouse

The Brandywine Shoal Light is a lighthouse on the north side of the ship channel in Delaware Bay on the east coast of the United States, west of Cape May, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It was the site of the first screw-pile lighthouse in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Harbor of Refuge and Delaware Breakwater Harbor Historic District</span> Historic district in Delaware, United States

The National Harbor of Refuge and Delaware Breakwater Historic District encompasses a series of seacoast breakwaters behind Cape Henlopen, Delaware, built between 1828 and 1898 to establish a shipping haven on a coastline that lacked safe harbors. The Harbor of Refuge is at the mouth of the Delaware Bay estuary where it opens into the Atlantic Ocean, at Lewes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigeon Point Lighthouse</span> Historic lighthouse in California, United States

Pigeon Point Light Station or Pigeon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States. It is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. Pigeon Point Light Station is located on the coastal highway, 5 miles (8 km) south of Pescadero, California, between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. The 115-foot (35 m), white masonry tower, resembles the typical New England structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Rivers Light</span> Lighthouse

The Two Rivers Light is a lighthouse formerly located at the harbor entrance to Two Rivers, Wisconsin. It is now located in a museum in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duluth South Breakwater Inner Light</span> Lighthouse

The Duluth South Breakwater Inner Light is a lighthouse on the south breakwater of the Duluth Ship Canal in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It forms a range with the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light to guide ships into the canal from Lake Superior. The current structure was built from 1900 to 1901.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Marais Harbor of Refuge Inner and Outer Lights</span> Lighthouses in Michigan, United States

The Grand Marais Harbor of Refuge Inner and Outer Lights are a pair of lighthouses located on the west pier at the entry to Grand Marais Harbor of Refuge, in Grand Marais, Michigan. They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabine Bank Light</span> Lighthouse in Texas, United States

The Sabine Bank Light is a caisson lighthouse in the Gulf of Mexico south of the mouth of the Sabine River. It is still active, though the original tower has been replaced with an automated beacon on a skeleton tower.

The Delaware Breakwater Range Rear Light was a lighthouse west of Lewes, Delaware. It was made obsolete by the shifting of Cape Henlopen and was disassembled and moved to Florida to become the Boca Grande Entrance Range Rear Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Henlopen Beacon</span> Lighthouse

The Cape Henlopen Beacon was a lighthouse built to mark the point of the cape, supplementing Cape Henlopen Light just to the south. It was decommissioned in 1884 and demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light, also known as the Portage Entry Light, is a lighthouse located at the south end of breakwater at mouth of the Portage River in Torch Lake Township. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racine North Breakwater Light</span> Lighthouse in Racine, Wisconsin

The Racine North Breakwater Light is a lighthouse located on Lake Michigan, connected via breakwater to Racine, Wisconsin. The light was deactivated in 1987 yet still stands in its original location, now a tourist destination.

References

  1. Mele, Chris (2022-11-10). "Shoring up the Harbor of Refuge lighthouse". Delaware Currents. Retrieved 2023-09-01.