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 |
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Coordinates | 39°12′58.32″N 76°27′45.72″W / 39.2162000°N 76.4627000°WCoordinates: 39°12′58.32″N 76°27′45.72″W / 39.2162000°N 76.4627000°W |
Year first lit | 1886 |
Foundation | stone |
Construction | iron skeleton tower |
Tower shape | pyramidal with square central shaft |
Height | 64 feet (20 m) |
Characteristic |
Fixed red (originally white) |
Cut-off Channel Range Rear Light Station | |
| |
Nearest city | Edgemore, Maryland |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1886 |
MPS | Light Stations of the United States MPS |
NRHP Reference # | 02001423[1] |
Added to NRHP | December 02, 2002 |
Heritage | place listed on the National Register of Historic Places |
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.[2]
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
- ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ Ralph E. Eshelman (February 1996). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Cut-off Channel Range Rear Light Station" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
- "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
- Cut-off Channel Range Rear Light Station, Baltimore County, at Maryland Historical Trust