Point of Shoals Light

Last updated
Point of Shoals Light
Point of shoals light.PNG
Undated photograph of Point of Shoals Light (USCG)
Point of Shoals Light
LocationIn Burwell Bay on the James River
Coordinates 37°04′06″N76°39′11″W / 37.0683°N 76.6530°W / 37.0683; -76.6530 Coordinates: 37°04′06″N76°39′11″W / 37.0683°N 76.6530°W / 37.0683; -76.6530
Tower
Constructed1855
Foundation screw-pile
Construction cast-iron/wood
Shapehexagonal house
Light
First lit1871 (latest structure)
Automated1932
Deactivated1933
Lenssixth-order Fresnel lens
Characteristic Fixed white [1]

The Point of Shoals Light was a lighthouse located in the James River in Virginia.

Contents

History

The first request for a light to mark the shoal at this bend in the river came in 1835, but a light was not constructed here until 1855. It was the target of a Confederate raid in the Civil War, and by 1869 concerns were raised about its safety. These concerns were realized two years later when damage from ice flows brought about the rebuilding of the structure.

This light was automated fairly early, in 1932. Its unmanned life was brief, as continued shoaling in old channel led to the dredging of a new channel on the opposite side of the river the following year, at which point the light was deactivated. The house was removed in the 1960s, but the iron foundation remains, unlit.

Notes

  1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.

Related Research Articles

Screw-pile lighthouse

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.

Thomas Point Shoal Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

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.

Mathias Point Light 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.

Sandy Point Shoal Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

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.

Solomons Lump Light Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

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 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.

Great Shoals Light was a screw-pile lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Wicomico River.

Wolf Trap Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

Wolf Trap Light is a caisson lighthouse in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay, about seven and a half miles northeast of New Point Comfort Light. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

New Point Comfort Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

New Point Comfort Light is a lighthouse in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay, United States, off the tip of the Middle Peninsula. Finished in 1804, it is the third-oldest surviving light in the bay, and the tenth-oldest in the United States.

Thimble Shoal Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

Thimble Shoal Light is a sparkplug lighthouse in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay, north of the Hampton Roads channel. The third light at this location, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Deepwater Shoals Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

The Deepwater Shoals Light was a lighthouse located in the James River upstream from Newport News, Virginia.

White Shoal Light, Virginia Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

The White Shoal Light was a lighthouse located in the James River near Newport News, Virginia. It outlasted all other lighthouses in the James, finally succumbing to ice in the 1970s.

Bells Rock Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

The Bells Rock Light was a lighthouse located in the York River in Virginia.

Old Plantation Flats Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

The Old Plantation Flats Light was a lighthouse located in the Chesapeake Bay marking the channel to Cape Charles, Virginia.

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

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.

Craney Island Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

The Craney Island Light was a screwpile lighthouse located just east of Craney Island at the mouth of the Elizabeth River in Virginia. This light replaced the first permanently stationed lightship in the United States.

Killock Shoal Light Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

The Killock Shoal Light was a lighthouse located at the north end of the channel west of Chincoteague, Virginia.

References