Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse

[HOME] [SCREENSAVERS] [DOWNLOAD] [PURCHASE & REGISTRATION] [LIGHTHOUSE FACTS] [WALLPAPER] [USER'S GUIDE]

Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse

(Chesapeake Bay, Near Annapolis, Maryland)

The Thomas Point Lighthouse is the only screwpile lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay that is in its original location. Near Annapolis, Maryland, the lighthouse is approximately one and one-half miles southeast of Thomas Point near the entrance to the South River on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

The current Thomas Point lighthouse is the third to be built at the mouth of the South River. The first lighthouse was built on a seven-acre lot in 1824 but was poorly designed and lasted only ten years. In 1838 Winslow Lewis constructed the second lighthouse, also built on land. The shoal that the lighthouse was protecting ships from extended into the bay about one and one-quarter miles. Realizing that the lighthouse was inadequate as a warning to ships at that distance the Lighthouse Board decided that a new lighthouse built out on the shoal was needed.

Although, due to concern about ice floes, a caisson type light was initially desired, inadequate funding forced a change of plans and a less expensive screwpile light was built instead. The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse was constructed and first lit on November 20, 1875.

The lighthouse is the classic cottage style building. It is a hexagonal shape that is 35 feet in diameter and sits on seven piles. All seven piles are 10-inch- diameter wrought-iron screwpiles and screwed 11 feet, 6 inches into the sandy bottom. In 1877 the foundation was damaged by the ice floes. To protect the foundation three connected screwpiles were driven on the northern side of the foundation to serve as an ice-break to break up ice flows. In addition The light is 43 feet above the height of the water. In 1886 and 1887 approximately 1600 cubic yards of riprap stone were also placed around the lighthouse to protect it. A 4^th-order Fresnel lens was installed in 1899.

In 1972 the U.S. Coast Guard announced plans to destroy a number of lighthouses that included that Thomas Point Shoal Light. Public outcry was so strong that Coast Guard changed it plans and the lighthouse remained. On January 23, 1975, the light was declared a historic landmark.

The Thomas Point Lighthouse was the last manned lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay. It wasn’t fully automated until 1986. Still in excellent condition, the lighthouse is the only remaining screwpile lighthouse on the bay.

Directions: Being out in the Chesapeake Bay, the Baltimore Light is best viewed by boat. Watermark Cruises in Annapolis, MD has lighthouse cruises that visit Thomas Point Shoal Light, Baltimore Harbor Light, and Sandy Point Shoal Light. More information may be found on their web site at: http://www.watermarkcruises.com.

[Back to the Maryland Lighthouse Page]

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.