Mispillion Light

Mispillion Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Delaware, United States, located on the Mispillion River near Delaware Bay.

Mispillion Light
Mispillion Light
Delaware
LocationMispillion River, Delaware
Coordinates38°56′51.0″N 75°18′54.5″W
Year first constructed1831
Year first lit1873
Automated1926
Deactivated1929
FoundationNatural
ConstructionWood Frame
Tower shapeSquare
Tower height65 feet (20 m)
Original lensSixth order Fresnel lens
Current lensRemoved
CharacteristicFlashing white every 3 seconds, flash duration 0.3 seconds, with a red sector from 301° to 308°
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Mispillion Lighthouse and Beacon Tower
Nearest cityMilford, Delaware
Area0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built1873 (1873)
Architectural styleGothic Revival, Carpenter Gothic
NRHP reference No.86002919[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 18, 1987

History

The original Mispillion Lighthouse was built in 1831. The second Mispillion Lighthouse was a 65-foot (20 m) square wood tower rising from one corner of a two-story Gothic style wood keeper's house and was built in 1873. It served until 1929, when it was deactivated and replaced by a steel skeleton tower that had originally served at Cape Henlopen. Over many years of private ownership and neglect, the lighthouse had fallen into an extreme state of disrepair, and was considered by Lighthouse Digest magazine to be "America's Most Endangered Lighthouse". After a fire started by lightning destroyed most of the tower portion of the lighthouse, the remains of the lighthouse were sold in 2002. A replica of the lighthouse was rebuilt at Shipcarpenter Square in Lewes, Delaware, in 2004 using what was left of the structure of the old lighthouse, and based on the original plans. The new owners also made a substantial addition during reconstruction, used as their living quarters. The steel skeletal tower remains at the original location but is not active or open to the public.[2][3]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[1]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. DE-23, "Mispillion Lighthouse"
  3. Richard B. Carter (January 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Mispillion Lighthouse and Beacon Tower". and Accompanying two photos

Media related to Mispillion lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons


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