Lower Cedar Point Light

The Lower Cedar Point Light was a historic lighthouse in the Potomac River near its eponymous point, south of the present U.S. Route 301 bridge. It has been replaced by a skeleton tower.

Lower Cedar Point Light
Locationin the center of the Potomac River 1.5 mi south of the Harry W. Nice (US 301) Bridge
Coordinates38.340°N 76.993°W / 38.340; -76.993
Year first lit1867
Deactivated1951
Foundationscrew-pile
Constructioncast-iron/wood
Tower shapesquare house
Focal height11.5 metre 
Original lensfourth-order Fresnel lens
CharacteristicFI G 2.5 s 

History

Lightships were stationed at this location beginning in 1825. In 1861, during the Civil War, the lightship at the station was burned by Confederate forces.

A screw-pile lighthouse was constructed on the spot in 1867. This light burned on Christmas Day in 1893 and was rebuilt in 1896. In 1951 the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the old foundation.

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gollark: Beavers are faster than God, actually.
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References

  • "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maryland" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
  • Lower Cedar Point Lighthouse, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
  • de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 156.
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