Fenwick Island Light

Fenwick Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Delaware, United States, on the Delaware/Maryland border. The structure dates back to 1858 making it the oldest lighthouse in the state of Delaware.[2]

Fenwick Island Light

Spring 2008
Location	Fenwick Island, Delaware
Coordinates	38.4514°N 75.0548°W / 38.4514; -75.0548
Year first constructed	1858
Year first lit	1859
Automated	1940
Deactivated	1978-1982
Foundation	Natural
Construction	Brick
Tower shape	Conical
Tower height	87 feet (27 m)
Focal height	25 metre
Original lens	Third order Fresnel lens
Current lens	Third order Fresnel lens
Range	15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)
Characteristic	White flash every 13s
Admiralty number	J1354
ARLHS number	USA-283
USCG number	2-0205
Heritage	place listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Fenwick Island Lighthouse Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	218 acres (88 ha)
Built	1858 (1858)
Architectural style	Gothic
NRHP reference No.	79000642[1]
Added to NRHP	August 13, 1979

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.[3]

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.[4] In 1997, after extensive fundraising efforts made it possible, the rapidly aging lighthouse underwent a full restoration. It was rededicated in July 1998.[5]

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]

• 
  Spring 2008
• 
  Looking west-northwest (2009)
• 
  Main entrance to lighthouse (2009)
• 
  Lantern room

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Unknown Author (March 11, 2011). Lighthouses of the Mid-Atlantic Coast. Voyageur Press. p. 149. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
3. Dick Carter (January 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fenwick Island Light". and Accompanying 13 photos
4. "New” Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse website
5. Lighthousefriends website

External links

• Official Fenwick Island Lighthouse Website - includes 2009 season visiting information
• Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project - Fenwick Island Light