Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Sepia

To my knowledge, this is the only screwpile type lighthouse still in open water. Thomas Point is offshore of Annapolis, MD in the Chesapeake. The... more

by Skip Willits

Title

Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Sepia

Artist

Skip Willits

Medium

Photograph - Epson Lustre Paper

Description

To my knowledge, this is the only screwpile type lighthouse still in open water. Thomas Point is offshore of Annapolis, MD in the Chesapeake. The only screw pile lighthouse left in Chesapeake Bay waters is the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, built on November 20, 1875. This was also the last manned lighthouse on the bay, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The light is located off the mouth of the South River at Annapolis. The original light at this location was built on a seven-acre parcel of land on Thomas Point. The land was sold to the government for $530 in 1824, and the following year the first light was built by John Donohoo on that point of land. This was the first lighthouse constructed by Donohoo, who went on to build several more around the bay including Concord Point at Havre De Grace. This first light was doomed because of Donohoo�s relative inexperience and by 1838, it had to be rebuilt. The total cost of the original light surpassed $5,600.

In 1882 it became apparent to the Lighthouse Board that the light, in its original location, was of little use because it was so removed from the expanding shoal. A new and less expensive screw pile light was constructed and remains today. The land on the point where the original house was built was sold to private interests for $426, one hundred dollars less than the original purchase price.

Uploaded

January 10th, 2012