LIGHTHOUSE PHOTOS
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Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light
Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light 22 Aug 1885 by Major Jared A. Smith
Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light circa 1960s
Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light circa 1912.
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Edgemere, Maryland, USA
Designated Waterway: Chesapeake Bay
The Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light in it's original location. The front Lower range light is located at the entrance to the Patapsco River, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.
Named after William Price Craighill, the Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light was the first caisson lighthouse built in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. 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 has been owned by non-profit organization Historical Place Preservation, Inc. since 2005.
This light was constructed in 1873 and is considered a greater feat of engineering than its predecessor, the Duxbury Light (the first caisson lighthouse, built in 1872), as it was built in deeper water under more difficult conditions. The caisson type quickly became the preferred type of lighthouse to be built in climates where ice floe damage was a possibility. The front range light is unusual for having two lights and is the only surviving example in Chesapeake Bay. A beacon light is fixed above the gallery deck which serves as the front light for the range and a light in the lantern serves as a general aid to navigation.
The station has never suffered ice damage despite it being located in a very exposed position; however the station was once abandoned and the light extinguished on February 11, 1936, because of dangerous ice conditions. It was not relit till February 24. In 1899 the station received "new model fifth-order lamps." A fog bell operated by gas was established at the station in 1923. The light was changed from oil to electric on November 26, 1929. The fog signal was changed to an air whistle on October 24, 1932. In 1938 the light was described as having a Reynolds flasher to produce the one-second flash with two-second eclipse. A spare fourth-order "wick lamp" was kept as a backup. Oil was stored in a 225-gallon tank kept in the cellar. The fog signal was a number 4 Typhone Horn with an eight-inch-diameter whistle, which gave a three-second blast every 27 seconds. A backup Gamewell weight-driven clock mechanism produced a double strike every 30 seconds. The weight had to be rewound every hour and a half. The fog bell was a standard 1000-pound bell.
Water was collected from the roof and stored in two steel 500-gallon tanks. The station had a 18-foot "motor boat" and a 16-foot "skiff" hung from davits. There was a keeper and an assistant until the station was automated on May 5, 1964.
In November 2005, ownership of the lighthouse was transferred to the nonprofit organization Historical Place Preservation, Inc. under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA). HPP plans to restore the lighthouse and open it to the public.
| Location Type |
Offshore |
|
Construction Type |
Caisson |
| Original Optics |
Fifth order Fresnel lens |
| Current Optics |
250 MM, Solar Powered |
| Year Built |
1873 |
| Builder: |
|
| Operational: |
Yes |
| Date Deactivited: |
|
| Automated: |
Yes |
|
Markings: |
|
| Shape: |
Round caisson with circular dwelling / tower. |
| Height: |
39 feet |
| Focal
Plane Height: |
22 feet |
| Range: |
|
| Sound
Signal Building: |
No |
| Sound
Device: |
|
| Existing
Keepers Quarters: |
Integrated |
| Current
Use: |
Active ATON |
| Current
Owner/Manager: |
Historical Place Preservation, Inc. |
| Open to
the Public: |
No |
| Web
Site: |
Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light |
National Register Status:
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 2 December 2002.
Miscellaneous
Range lights are used in pairs to mark a channel. Each one of the pair supports a light of different heights. When the two lights are aligned one is in the channel. Named after an engineer and longtime member of the lighthouse board, Craighill Channel cuts roughly five miles off the southern approach to Baltimore, entering Brewerton Channel (the main Patapsco River / Baltimore channel). As a major segment of the approach to the commercial ports of Baltimore this was a very important channel and the need to use it at night was acutely felt. The four Craighill Channel range lighthouses are really two separate ranges built a bit over ten years apart. The older and larger pair is the Lower Range and its construction coincided with a major dredging and enlarging of the Channel in 1870.
A "Notice of Avaibility" was issued for the Craighill Channel Front Light Station under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA) during the Fall 2002 National Pilot Program. Two non-profit organizations applied to take ownership and become the stewards of the lightstation. Historical Place Preservation, Inc. was awarded a letter of recommendation by the Secretary of the Department of Interior in July 2005 after successfully completing the lengthy application process. Conveyance of title of the Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Beacon was completed in November 2005.
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