Lower Cedar Point Light
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lower Cedar Point Light | |
|---|---|
| Location: | in the center of the Potomac River 1.5 mi south of the Harry W. Nice (US 301) Bridge |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
|
| Year first lit: | 1867 |
| Deactivated: | 1951 |
| Foundation: | screw-pile |
| Construction: | cast-iron/wood |
| Tower shape: | square house |
| Original lens: | fourth-order Fresnel lens |
The Lower Cedar Point Light was a historic lighthouse in the Potomac River near its eponymous point, south of the present U.S. Route 301 bridge. It has been replaced by a skeleton tower.
Note: this light should not be confused with the Cedar Point Light, which stood at a different site at the mouth of the Patuxent River.
[edit] History
Lightships were stationed at this location beginning in 1825. During the Civil War the lightship was burned by Confederate forces in 1861.
A screw-pile lighthouse was constructed on the spot in 1867. This light burned on Christmas Day in 1893 and was rebuilt in 1896. In 1951 the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the old foundation.
[edit] References
- Maryland Light Stations, from the United States Coast Guard
- Lower Cedar Point Lighthouse, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
- de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 156
