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Sharps Island Lighthouse 

(Chesapeake Bay, SW of Tilghman Island, Maryland)

Sharps Island Lighthouse is located on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay about four miles from the southern tip of Tilghman Island. The lighthouse is the third one to have been built in the area.

Sharps Island, now completely cover by water, had been an island in the Chesapeake Bay that consisted of about 900 acres of land.  The Island was named after Peter Sharp, a Quaker doctor who was one of the island’s owners.  Eventually, however, the island became the victim of erosion and advancing waters of the bay such that during the 1800s the land was receding at a rate of about 100 feet per year. 

In 1837, Congress appropriated funds for the purchase of ten acres of land on Sharps Island and the construction of the first lighthouse.  The lantern room sat on top of the wooden keepers quarters.  In 1848 the lighthouse was relocated further inland due to the advancing waters and in 1855 it was fitted with a fifth-order Fresnel lens.  By 1865 the water had reach the base of the lighthouse and it was clear that a new structure was needed.

The second lighthouse, built in 1866, was a screwpile design that was a common design for that area.  Unfortunately, the screwpile lighthouses were susceptible to the ice floes that periodically occurred in the bay.  Although the second lighthouse held firm for 14 years, in 1881 heavy ice floes caused the lighthouse to be torn from its foundation and carried five miles down stream where it grounded.  Fortunately, no one was hurt.

The third, and present, lighthouse was built using a caisson design.  A cast-iron caisson, 30-feet in diameter and 30-feet in height was used.  On top of the concrete filled caisson base was a 37-foot iron tower.  A fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed and the lighthouse became operational February 1, 1882.  The lighthouse was automated in 1938.

The inclination of the tower today was the result of the ice floes in 1977.  That year the ice floes were particularly severe and the ice pushed against the caisson base causing it to become tilted.  As a result of the tilt, the Fresnel lens was removed and a 250 mm plastic lens was installed.  The light was angled so as to be vertical.

As can be seen in the pictures, the lighthouse today is very poor condition but still remains operational.  

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All pictures are the original work of Rick Totton and are protected under copyright laws. 

Do not reproduce any images from this website without permission of the author.

Copyright (c) 2000 Rick Totton.