Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light

Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light

Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light
Location	East side of Sparrows Point on the north shore of the Patapsco River
Coordinates	39°12′58.32″N 76°27′45.72″W / 39.2162000°N 76.4627000°W / 39.2162000; -76.4627000Coordinates: 39°12′58.32″N 76°27′45.72″W / 39.2162000°N 76.4627000°W / 39.2162000; -76.4627000
Year first lit	1886
Automated	1929
Foundation	stone
Construction	iron skeleton tower
Tower shape	pyramidal with square central shaft
Height	64 feet (20 m)
Characteristic	Fixed red (originally white)

The Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light is one of a pair of range lights that marks the second section of the shipping channel into Baltimore harbor.

History

This light was constructed in 1885 as part of a range light pair to mark the then newly-excavated Craighill Cutoff Channel. A modest iron skeleton tower was erected, pyramidal in form with a wooden, corrugated iron-sheathed square shaft at its center to house the lamp and the access stairway. Its only architectural ornaments were a few windows to light the stairwell and a gallery to allow the outside of the light's window to be cleaned. A keeper's house was built nearby, connected to the light by a brick walk. The original light was a locomotive headlight displaying a fixed white light; this has since been replaced with a more conventional fixture displaying a red light.

The grounds were (and are) surrounded by private property, and in 1888 there was a dispute over access to the light. Other than that the light has passed a quiet life, punctuated only by automation in 1929 and the demolition of the keeper's house. It is still an active aid to navigation.

References

• "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maryland". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 
• Craighill Range Lighthouses, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
• Craighill Channel Upper Rear Lighthouse at lighthousefriends.org

External links

• http://www.craighillrange.org
• Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Maryland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
• Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project - Craighill Channel Range Lights

U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Topics Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types Lists by county Allegany Anne Arundel Baltimore County Calvert Caroline Carroll Cecil Charles Dorchester Frederick Garrett Harford Howard Kent Montgomery Prince George's Queen Anne's Somerset St. Mary's Talbot Washington Wicomico Worcester Lists by city Baltimore: (Central North and Northwest West and Southwest East and Northeast South and Southeast) Other lists Bridges National Historic Landmarks Category:National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Portal:National Register of Historic Places

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