 Undated photograph of Tangier Sound Light (USCG) | |
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| Location | South of Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°47′16″N75°58′26″W / 37.7878°N 75.9740°W |
| Tower | |
| Foundation | screw-pile |
| Construction | cast-iron/wood |
| Height | 45 feet (14 m) |
| Shape | square house |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1890 |
| Deactivated | 1961 |
| Characteristic | white 6 sec flash with red sector |
The Tangier Sound Light was a lighthouse located south of Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay.
This light was constructed in 1890 to mark a shoal extending south from Tangier Island, delimiting the western edge of the sound. Its exposed location made it vulnerable to ice, and on February 15, 1905, the sunken pungy Mary L. Colburn was lifted up by the ice and cast against the lighthouse. The light survived when the wind changed and blew the wreck clear. In the only other incident of note, the assistant keeper was drowned in 1914 in spite of an attempted rescue by the keeper. At some later date the light was surrounded by rip rap to protect it from ice.
As with other screw-pile lights in the bay, the house was removed in 1961 and an automated light set upon the foundation.
Tangier is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States, on Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 436 at the 2020 census. Since 1850, the island's landmass has been reduced by 67%. Under the mid-range sea level rise scenario, much of the remaining landmass is expected to be lost in the next 50 years and the town will likely need to be abandoned.
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 Holland Island Bar Light was a screw-pile lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay which existed from 1889 to 1960. It is remembered for the unexplained death of one of its keepers, and for being "attacked" by United States Navy pilots during a training exercise.
The Bodkin Island Light was a lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay, United States, the first erected in Maryland.
The Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light, named for William Price Craighill, was the first caisson lighthouse built in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, USA. First lit in 1873, the range marks the first leg of the maintained Craighill Channel from the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Patapsco River into the Baltimore harbor and works in conjunction with the Craighill Channel Lower Range Rear Light. It was owned by non-profit organization Historical Place Preservation, Inc. from 2005 until the government took back the property in 2017 due to neglect. The lighthouse was put up for auction and sold to the highest bidder on September 15 2017 for $95,000.
The Sharps Island Light is the third lighthouse to stand nearly 3 miles (5 km) south-southwest from the southern end of Tilghman Island in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. The structure is best known today for evoking the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a condition caused by an ice floe in 1977.
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. The lighthouse is located in Point Lookout State Park. It is not open to the public.
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.
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.
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.
Drum Point Light Station also known as Drum Point Lighthouse is one of four surviving Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses. Originally located off Drum Point at the mouth of the Patuxent River, Maryland, United States, it is now an exhibit at the Calvert Marine Museum.
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.
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 Watts Island Light was a historic lighthouse located near Watts Island in the Chesapeake Bay. It was the only lighthouse built by John Donahoo outside of Maryland.
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.
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.
Tangier Sound is a sound of the Chesapeake Bay bounded on the west by Tangier Island in Virginia, and Smith Island and South Marsh Island in Maryland, by Deal Island in Maryland on the north, and the mainland of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Pocomoke Sound on the east. It stretches into Virginia as far south as Watts Island.
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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