Year first constructed 1875 Automated 1986 Height 13 m Opened 1875 | Year first lit 1875 Foundation screw-pile Construction started 1875 Phone +1 410-222-1777 | |
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Location off Thomas Point at the mouth of the South River in the Chesapeake Bay Tower shape Square lantern on hexagonal house Address 3890 Thomas Point Rd, Annapolis, MD 21403, USA Similar Drum Point Light, Sandy Point Shoal Light, Sharps Island Light, Seven Foot Knoll Light, Hooper Strait Light | ||
Exploring thomas point shoal lighthouse
The Thomas Point Shoal Light, also known as Thomas Point Shoal Light Station, is a historic lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States, and the most recognized lighthouse in Maryland. It is the only screw-pile lighthouse in the bay which stands at its original site. The current structure is a 1½ story hexagonal wooden cottage, equipped with a foghorn as well as the light.
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History
A stone lighthouse was constructed in 1825 on shore at Thomas Point by John Donahoo. It was replaced in 1838 by another stone tower. The point was subject to continuing erosion (which would eventually bring down the lighthouse on the point in 1894), and in 1873 Congress appropriated $20,000 for the construction of a screw-pile structure. With an additional $15,000 appropriation in 1875, the light was built and activated in November of that year.
Ice was a perpetual threat to screw-pile lights on the Chesapeake, and in 1877 the original lens was destroyed when it toppled by shaking from ice floes. This lens was replaced, and the additional piles and riprap were placed around the foundation in order to protect it. By 1964 it was the last manned light in the Chesapeake Bay, and it was not automated until 1986. It is currently the last unaltered screwpile cottage-type lighthouse on its original foundation in the Chesapeake Bay.
Preservation
Concerns for its preservation brought it a National Register of Historic Places listing in 1975 and National Historic Landmark status in 1999.
In 2004, ownership of the lighthouse passed to the city of Annapolis, Maryland, which now maintains the structure in conjunction with Anne Arundel County, Maryland, the Annapolis Maritime Museum, and the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society. The United States Coast Guard continues to maintain the navigational aids.
It is open to the public three months out of the year.