LIGHTHOUSE PHOTOS
Click photo to enlarge
Fishing Battery Light - current photo
Fishing Battery Light
|
Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA
Designated Waterway: Chesapeake Bay
The Fishing Battery Light in it's original location. The light is located on Fishing Battery Island, South of Havre de Grace, MD, Northern Chesapeake Bay at 39.495° N 76.083° W.
Fishing Battery is a man-made island just south of Havre de Grace, MD in the northern Chesapeake Bay, 2 1/2 miles below the mouth of the Susquehanna River. In 1851 Congress appropriated $5,000 for a light to work in conjunction with the Turkey Point and Concord Point lights to guide vessels to the mouth of the river. A contract was awarded in 1852 to John Donahoo. This was the last lighthouse built by Donahoo (out of 12 total) and was the last Maryland lighthouse built under the administration of the 5th Auditor of the Treasury, Stephen Pleasonton.
Interestingly, Donahoo had once owned the Island and it had once been known as Donahoo Battery. He brokered the Government’s purchase. The one and a half story brick dwelling, with an old-style lantern on the roof, was completed by early 1853 and outfitted with 5 lamps and reflectors. A keeper was appointed January 7th.
The original structure was a brick one and half story house with the lantern in the center of the roof ridge, similar in former to those built at Point Lookout and Blakistone Island. Originally equipped with an all-but-obsolete wick and reflector, it gained a sixth order Fresnel lens in 1864 because the original was deemed an old design of “exceedingly defective character”, to be followed by a fifth order lens in 1899. The character of lantern was much criticized in official reports, and it was replaced in 1864 and again in 1867. In 1867 the lantern was replaced again (as were those on the Pooles Island, Turkey Point, and Concord Point Lights)
From 1880 to 1891 the United States Bureau of Fisheries leased the island, employing it as a fish hatchery, and eventually purchased it outright. Among a series of other improvements, the grade of the island was raised; when the floor of the light was raised to match the new grade, the walls were extended upwards and in essence the operation, including all of the keepers' habitation, was moved to the new second floor. The lower level may have been redesigned as a boathouse.
In 1921 the light was moved to a 38 foot steel tower next to the original lighthouse and converted to acetylene gas.
The keepers continued to reside in the house until 1939, when the operation was automated. In 1942 the island was transferred to the Department of the Interior and was made part of the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.
The light was automated in 1939 when the U. S. Coast Guard took over management of all aids to navigation. In 1942 the island was transferred to the Department of the Interior and was made part of the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge. Thought the tower continues in use running off solar cells and batteries, the old lighthouse was abandoned and has been heavily vandalized over the years. Local conservation and museum groups have been working to put together an effort to restore and conserve the light. The original building is now a historic landmark.
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 |
Brick |
| Original Optics |
Wick and reflector |
| Current Optics |
|
| Year Built |
1853 |
| Builder: |
John Donahoo |
| Operational: |
Yes |
| Date Deactivited: |
|
| Automated: |
Yes |
|
Markings: |
|
| Shape: |
1 1/2 story, 36 x 16 foot, brick dwelling with lantern on roof |
| Height: |
32 feet (original), 38 feet (current steel tower) |
| Focal
Plane Height: |
|
| Range: |
White sector 4 miles, Red sector 3 miles (current steel tower light) |
| Sound
Signal Building: |
No |
| Sound
Device: |
|
| Existing
Keepers Quarters: |
Attached |
| Current
Use: |
Active ATON |
| Current
Owner/Manager: |
USCG |
| Open to
the Public: |
No |
| Web
Site: |
Fishing Battery Light |
National Register Status:
Miscellaneous
The abandoned lighthouse is now on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List of critically endangered lighthouses due to neglect and vandalism. The Chesapeake Heritage Conservancy along with the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, are seeking the funds needed to save and restore the lighthouse.
|
