Point of Shoals Light
The Point of Shoals Light was a lighthouse located in the James River in Virginia.
 Undated photograph of Point of Shoals Light (USCG) | |
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| Location | In Burwell Bay on the James River |
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| Coordinates | 37.0683°N 76.6530°W |
| Year first constructed | 1855 |
| Year first lit | 1871 (latest structure) |
| Automated | 1932 |
| Deactivated | 1933 |
| Foundation | screw-pile |
| Construction | cast-iron/wood |
| Tower shape | hexagonal house |
| Original lens | sixth-order Fresnel lens |
| Characteristic | Fixed white [1] |
History
The first request for a light to mark the shoal at this bend in the river came in 1835, but a light was not constructed here until 1855. It was the target of a Confederate raid in the Civil War, and by 1869 concerns were raised about its safety. These concerns were realized two years later when damage from ice flows brought about the rebuilding of the structure.
This light was automated fairly early, in 1932. Its unmanned life was brief, as continued shoaling in old channel led to the dredging of a new channel on the opposite side of the river the following year, at which point the light was deactivated. The house was removed in the 1960s, but the iron foundation remains, unlit.
Notes
- "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
References
- Point of Shoals Light, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
- de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 149.
