Lower Cedar Point Light

Last updated
Lower Cedar Point Light
Lower Cedar Point Light
Locationin the center of the Potomac River 1.5 mi south of the Harry W. Nice (US 301) Bridge
Coordinates 38°20′24″N76°59′35″W / 38.340°N 76.993°W / 38.340; -76.993 Coordinates: 38°20′24″N76°59′35″W / 38.340°N 76.993°W / 38.340; -76.993
Tower
Foundation screw-pile
Construction cast-iron/wood
Shapesquare house
Light
First lit1867
Deactivated1951
Focal height11.5 m (38 ft)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Lensfourth-order Fresnel lens
Characteristic Fl G 2.5s  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Lower Cedar Point Light was a historic lighthouse in the Potomac River near its eponymous point, south of the present U.S. Route 301 bridge. It has been replaced by a skeleton tower.

Contents

History

Lightships were stationed at this location beginning in 1825. In 1861, during the Civil War, the lightship at the station was burned by Confederate forces.

A screw-pile lighthouse was constructed on the spot in 1867. This light burned on Christmas Day in 1893 and was rebuilt in 1896. In 1951 the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the old foundation.

Related Research Articles

United States lightship <i>Chesapeake</i> (LV-116)

United States lightship Chesapeake (LS-116/WAL-538/WLV-538) is a museum ship owned by the National Park Service and on a 25-year loan to Baltimore City, and is operated by Historic Ships in Baltimore Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of a small number of preserved lightships. Since 1820, several lightships have served at the Chesapeake lightship station and have been called Chesapeake. Lightships were initially lettered in the early 1800s, but then numbered as they were often moved from one light station to another. The name painted on the side of lightships was the short name of the Light Station they were assigned to and was the day time visual aspect of the many Aids to Navigation on board lightships. The United States Coast Guard assigned new hull numbers to all lightships still in service in April 1950. After that date, Light Ship 116 was then known by the new Coast Guard Hull number: WAL-538. In January 1965 the Coast Guard further modified all lightship hull designations from WAL to WLV, so Chesapeake became WLV-538.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Cedar Point Light</span> Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

The Upper Cedar Point Light was a screw-pile lighthouse in the Potomac River in Maryland. It was first lit in 1867 and served, except for a brief period of inactivity, until being dismantled in 1963.

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

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.

Fishing Battery Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

Fishing Battery Light was the last lighthouse constructed in Maryland by John Donahoo. While still standing, it has been supplanted by a steel tower which stands adjacent to it.

Choptank River Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somers Cove Light</span> Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

The Somers Cove Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located near Crisfield, Maryland. Dismantled early, its remains are a landmark to watermen in the area.

Ragged Point Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

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.

Cove Point Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

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 Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooper Strait Light</span> Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

Hooper Strait Light is one of four surviving Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses in the U.S. state of Maryland. Originally located in Hooper Strait, between Hooper and Bloodsworth Islands in Dorchester County and at the entrance to Tangier Sound, it is now an exhibit at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland.

Cedar Point Light (Maryland) Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

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.

Craighill Channel Lower Range Rear Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

The Craighill Channel Lower Range Rear Light is one of a pair of range lights that marks the first section of the shipping channel into Baltimore harbor. It is the tallest lighthouse in Maryland.

Fort Carroll Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

Fort Carroll Light is a derelict lighthouse consisting of a short wooden tower on the walls of its namesake fortifications in the Patapsco River.

The Leading Point Light was an unusual lighthouse which displayed the rear light to the Brewerton Channel Range. It was eventually superseded by an iron tower on the same foundation.

The Windmill Point Light was a lighthouse located at the mouth of the Rappahannock River.

Smith Point Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

Smith Point Light is a caisson lighthouse in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Potomac River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Chesapeake Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

Chesapeake Light is an offshore lighthouse marking the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. The structure was first marked with a lightship in the 1930s, and was later replaced by a "Texas Tower" in 1965. The lighthouse was eventually automated and was used for supporting atmospheric measurement sites for NASA and NOAA. Due to deteriorating structural conditions, the lighthouse was deactivated in 2016. At the time it was the last remaining "Texas Tower" still in use due to obsolescence.

References