When living in Chestertown, MD, I was fifty miles from the Turkey point State park where the Turkey Point lighthouse has stood since 1833. It takes a walk of about two miles through woodlands and fields once used for farming. Is is actually a pleasant walk and not too strenuous. I have made this trip a few times to view the Chesapeake from an elevated bluff upon which this tower still sits.
This light is only 35 feet tall, but it is built on a one hundred-foot bluff. Thus it is one of the highest lights on the bay, 129 feet above mean high water. It was built from the same plans as that of Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre De Grace, only the stairs to the lantern are different. The stair treads at Turkey Point are made of cast iron, while they are stone in Concord Point.
Although Turkey Point had a number of lady keepers, Fannie Salter was the one most frequently written about. Her tenure extended from the death of her husband in 1925 to her retirement in 1947. At the time of her husband’s death the lighthouse service did not allow women to be full-time keepers. It took a petitioning of and grant from President Calvin Coolidge to obtain her appointment. Until the light was electrified in 1942, Ms. Salter carried oil to the lantern four times each night and rang the fog bell by hand on many nights when the automatic mechanism became inoperative.
The image on the bottom is one I made in the late 90's and not much has changed there since. The copy of the old postcard on top is a different matter. The card is from the 1940's and makes mention of Frannie Salter still being there. The inscription on the card reads;
“Week ago Sunday, we had a launch ride down river ( ) to this point, which is just where it goes into the bay also where the Susquehanna joins it on to Harve de Grace, MD. This light has a woman keeper on a bluff up from the bay. Pretty comfortable looking."
There is no indication as to who wrote the card but the place looks much as it did in the early years. I have two friends who had relatives who either worked at the light or farmed the surrounding farm and who confirm the authenticity of this scene.
This light is only 35 feet tall, but it is built on a one hundred-foot bluff. Thus it is one of the highest lights on the bay, 129 feet above mean high water. It was built from the same plans as that of Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre De Grace, only the stairs to the lantern are different. The stair treads at Turkey Point are made of cast iron, while they are stone in Concord Point.
Although Turkey Point had a number of lady keepers, Fannie Salter was the one most frequently written about. Her tenure extended from the death of her husband in 1925 to her retirement in 1947. At the time of her husband’s death the lighthouse service did not allow women to be full-time keepers. It took a petitioning of and grant from President Calvin Coolidge to obtain her appointment. Until the light was electrified in 1942, Ms. Salter carried oil to the lantern four times each night and rang the fog bell by hand on many nights when the automatic mechanism became inoperative.
The image on the bottom is one I made in the late 90's and not much has changed there since. The copy of the old postcard on top is a different matter. The card is from the 1940's and makes mention of Frannie Salter still being there. The inscription on the card reads;
“Week ago Sunday, we had a launch ride down river ( ) to this point, which is just where it goes into the bay also where the Susquehanna joins it on to Harve de Grace, MD. This light has a woman keeper on a bluff up from the bay. Pretty comfortable looking."
There is no indication as to who wrote the card but the place looks much as it did in the early years. I have two friends who had relatives who either worked at the light or farmed the surrounding farm and who confirm the authenticity of this scene.
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