Solomons Lump Light

Solomons Lump Light
Location	Kedges Straits North of Smith Island
Coordinates	38.04806°N 76.01502°W
Year first constructed	1875 (original screwpile)
Year first lit	1895 (current caisson)
Automated	1950
Foundation	Pneumatic caisson
Construction	brick
Tower shape	square tower on cylindrical base
Markings / pattern	white tower on brown base
Tower height	11.5 metre
Focal height	47 feet (14 m)
Original lens	fourth order Fresnel lens
Current lens	7.9 inches (200 mm)
Range	White: 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi); Red: 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 6s with two red sectors
Admiralty number	J1980
ARLHS number	USA-767
USCG number	2-23475 [1][2][3]

Solomons Lump Light is a lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay, the abbreviated remains of a caisson light built in 1895. That structure replaced a screw-pile light built on the same spot in 1875, which in turn superseded the Fog Point Light.

History

The Fog Point Light, on the northwestern corner of Smith Island, marked the entrance to Kedges Strait from 1827. By 1872 it was held to be ineffective in protecting a shoal extending north from the island, and a new light was sought specifically to mark the shoal. In 1875 a five-legged screw-pile structure was built, which survived until 1893, when ice knocked it over. Initial plans to replace it with a new screw-pile light were changed when extra funds became available from the savings in constructing Wolf Trap Light in Virginia, so a caisson structure was erected instead in 1895, using the pneumatic process to sink it in place. The bottom being soft, the caisson sank further than expected, and an extra course of plates had to be added to the top. A brick tower and octagonal wooden house were erected on this foundation.

Originally the new light was given a fifth-order fresnel lens. In 1919, however, this lens was replaced with the fourth-order lens from Cherrystone Bar Light in Virginia. Automation came in 1950, and some years later the house was removed, leaving the brick tower standing off-center on the platform.

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References

Light List, Volume II, Atlantic Coast, Shrewsbury River, New Jersey to Little River, South Carolina (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 200.
"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maryland" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
Rowlett, Russ (2010-02-28). "Lighthouses of the United States: Maryland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

External links

Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Maryland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project – Solomons Lump Light

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[1] Light List, Volume II, Atlantic Coast, Shrewsbury River, New Jersey to Little River, South Carolina (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 200.

[2] "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maryland" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.

[rowlett-3] Rowlett, Russ (2010-02-28). "Lighthouses of the United States: Maryland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.