ASSATEAGUE ISLAND LIGHT
Atlantic Ocean
Assateague Island, Virginia
Congress appropriated funds for a lighthouse near the Maryland/Virginia border
in 1831. The proposed light was to be about half way between the Delaware and Chesapeake bays and designed to warn ships away from the barrier islands and the shoals that ran offshore from them. Built in 1833, the light itself proved too weak to accomplish the purpose, but nothing was done until the late 1850’s.
The Lighthouse Board concentrated efforts in the late 1850’s to upgrade the southern coastal lighthouses and correct existing deficiencies. The Assateague Island lighthouse was upgraded as a result of those efforts. The Civil War intervened however, and repairs were not completed until October 1867. Improvements were made with the addition of a huge first order Fresnel lens, which made the light visible up to 19 miles at sea.
The eastern shore of the Chesapeake bay in Virginia is the home of two major coastal lights, one being the Assateague light. The other is a steel tower offshore on a small island at Cape Charles which was built in 1894. To complete a trio of lights along that peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay, the Cape Henlopen light was build in Delaware in 1824. Unfortunately, erosion caused the demise of this light in 1926 when it fell into the ocean.
Atlantic Ocean
Assateague Island, Virginia
Congress appropriated funds for a lighthouse near the Maryland/Virginia border
in 1831. The proposed light was to be about half way between the Delaware and Chesapeake bays and designed to warn ships away from the barrier islands and the shoals that ran offshore from them. Built in 1833, the light itself proved too weak to accomplish the purpose, but nothing was done until the late 1850’s.
The Lighthouse Board concentrated efforts in the late 1850’s to upgrade the southern coastal lighthouses and correct existing deficiencies. The Assateague Island lighthouse was upgraded as a result of those efforts. The Civil War intervened however, and repairs were not completed until October 1867. Improvements were made with the addition of a huge first order Fresnel lens, which made the light visible up to 19 miles at sea.
The eastern shore of the Chesapeake bay in Virginia is the home of two major coastal lights, one being the Assateague light. The other is a steel tower offshore on a small island at Cape Charles which was built in 1894. To complete a trio of lights along that peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay, the Cape Henlopen light was build in Delaware in 1824. Unfortunately, erosion caused the demise of this light in 1926 when it fell into the ocean.
http://www.assateagueisland.com/
The lighthouse can be viewed daily at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge offers a multitude of opportunities to view wildlife in its natural habitat, the wild ponies, the lighthouse, as well as public access to the beach. Cormorants can be seen flying over the light in the accompanying image.
The lighthouse can be viewed daily at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge offers a multitude of opportunities to view wildlife in its natural habitat, the wild ponies, the lighthouse, as well as public access to the beach. Cormorants can be seen flying over the light in the accompanying image.
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