LIGHTHOUSE PHOTOS
Click photo to enlarge
Choptank River light, 38° 39.4' x 76° x 11.1', White hexagonal on brown piles - no date
Picture of Cherrystone Light Station showing false work under the structure preparatory to being transferred onto a scow for moving to Choptank River; 15 December 1920; photo by F. C. Hingsburg
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Cambridge, Maryland, USA
Designated Waterway: Choptank River
The Choptank River Light no longer exists. The lighthouse was located at Bernoni Point, just south of Oxford inside the Choptank River - entrance to the Tread Avon River and Island Creek.
A contract to build a screw-pile lighthouse at Bernoni Point in the Choptank River was awarded to Francis A. Gibbons in late 1870. At about this time lightship #25, a wooden schooner that had served as a lightship on the bay since 1827, was anchored at the site and remained there until construction of the station was completed. The Choptank River Light was commissioned in December 1871. The design of this first light was similar to the one at York Spit, Virginia. A hexagonal cottage sat upon ten pilings sleeved with iron. Six of these supported the light, with the remaining four designed to protect the others. The lantern was outfitted with a 6th order Fresnel lens.
In 1881 during a bad freeze ice piled up against the lighthouse shaking the foundation, cracking some of the pilings, and tilting the dwelling slightly. The keeper abandoned the station. When it was later determined that the damage was not to the supporting piles he was asked to resign.
In 1881 the lens was upgraded to a 5th order Fresnel lens.
In January 1918 the first light structure was destroyed by ice flows that climbed 30 feet around the structure, eventually knocking the dwelling off its pilings.
Some thought was given to replacing the light with a hybrid design consisting of a caisson foundation topped by a screw-pile-type cottage. This was deemed too costly and the superstructure from the decommissioned Cherry Stone lighthouse in Cape Charles, Virginia was moved to the site and erected atop a new screw-pile foundation. The light was re-commissioned in 1921. This is the only lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay to have been replaced with an existing lighthouse from another location.
In 1964 the cottage was dismantled. The screwpile legs and rubble still remain at the site supporting a small flashing light.
Researched and written by Matthew B. Jenkins, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society.
| Location Type |
Offshore |
|
Construction Type |
Screwpile |
| Original Optics |
Fifth order Fresnel lens |
| Current Optics |
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| Year Built |
First structure 1871, Second structure 1921 |
| Builder: |
First structure - Francis A. Gibbons |
| Operational: |
No |
| Date Deactivited: |
|
| Automated: |
No |
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Markings: |
|
| Shape: |
A hexagonal cottage sat upon ten pilings sleeved with iron |
| Height: |
|
| Focal
Plane Height: |
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| Range: |
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| Sound
Signal Building: |
No |
| Sound
Device: |
Bell |
| Existing
Keepers Quarters: |
|
| Current
Use: |
No Longer Exists |
| Current
Owner/Manager: |
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| Open to
the Public: |
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| Web
Site: |
Choptank River Light |
National Register Status:
Miscellaneous
The City of Cambridge, Maryland, has approved plans to build an exact replica of the lost Choptank River Lighthouse. The new replica will be on Long Wharf at the city’s waterfront park at the entrance to Cambridge Creek.
The Choptank River Lighthouse, a replica of the original lighthouse, is being built on Long Wharf in Cambridge, Maryland. It is being funded with a combination of donations from various sources and individual memberships in the Keepers of the Light program.
The new Choptank River lighthouse in the Cambridge marina will be an exact replica of this last lighthouse, utilizing existing plans available from the National Archives. The hexagonal cottage style house will stand on pilings similar to the original screwpile skeletal network an be placed on a platform at the end of a primary dock to be built at the new Cambridge City marina. The footprint of the structure is 42' from one hex point to the other, and will sit on a 60' by 60' platform with an overall height approximately 40'. The lighthouse will be visible by water, greeting boating visitors to the marina, as well as being easily seen from the Choptank River bridge and the nearby city. Dramatic lighting in the evening will highlight its value as a gateway to the city.
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