Fenwick Island Light

Fenwick Island Light

Spring 2008
Location Off DE 54, On the Delaware/Maryland border, Delaware Side
Coordinates 38°27′05″N 75°03′17″W / 38.4514°N 75.0548°W / 38.4514; -75.0548Coordinates: 38°27′05″N 75°03′17″W / 38.4514°N 75.0548°W / 38.4514; -75.0548
Year first constructed 1858
Year first lit 1859
Deactivated 1978-1982
Foundation Natural
Construction Brick
Tower shape Conical
Height 87 feet (27 m)
Original lens Third order Fresnel lens
Current lens Third order Fresnel lens
Range 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)
Characteristic White flash every 3 s
Admiralty number J1354
ARLHS number USA-283
USCG number

2-0205

Fenwick Island Lighthouse Station
Area 218 acres (88 ha)
Built 1858 (1858)
Architectural style Gothic
NRHP Reference # 79000642[1]
Added to NRHP August 13, 1979
Heritage place listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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Fenwick Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Delaware, United States, on the Delaware/Maryland border.

History

In 1856, the United States Congress appropriated $25,000 for the Fenwick Island Lighthouse and on January 11, 1858 a ten-acre tract for the station was obtained from Mary C. Hall for only $50. The Fenwick Island Lighthouse was completed on December 29, 1858, but would not be lit until August 1, 1859. Construction was supervised by U.S. Army Captain William F. Raynolds. The lighthouse was built on an isolated peninsula in the southernmost portion of Delaware at the Maryland state line. It is 87 feet tall, brick, with a central cast iron spiral staircase, and equipped with a third-order Fresnel lens. It was automated in 1940.[2]

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1978 and remained dark for several years. A public movement to save the lighthouse resulted in ownership of the lighthouse being transferred to the State of Delaware, and the lighthouse was relit in 1982.[3] In 1997, after extensive fundraising efforts made it possible, the rapidly aging lighthouse underwent a full restoration. It was rededicated in July 1998.[4]

The lighthouse is owned by the state of Delaware and maintained by the private, non-profit New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse. The "isolated" lighthouse now stands surrounded by a neighborhood of houses and businesses. Visitors can enter the base to view a small museum and gift shop. The lighthouse, however, is not open for climbing.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Dick Carter (January 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fenwick Island Light" (PDF). and Accompanying 13 photos
  3. ↑ "New” Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse website
  4. ↑ Lighthousefriends website
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