Lower Cedar Point Light

Lower Cedar Point Light
Location	in the center of the Potomac River 1.5 mi south of the Harry W. Nice (US 301) Bridge
Coordinates	38°20′24″N 76°59′35″W / 38.340°N 76.993°W
Tower
Foundation	screw-pile
Construction	cast-iron/wood
Shape	square house
Light
First lit	1867
Deactivated	1951
Focal height	11.5 m (38 ft)
Lens	fourth-order Fresnel lens
Characteristic	Fl G 2.5s

The Lower Cedar Point Light was a historic lighthouse in the Potomac River near its eponymous point, south of the present Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, which carries U.S. Route 301 between Maryland and Virginia. It has been replaced by a skeleton tower.

History

Lightships were stationed at this location beginning in 1825. In 1861, during the Civil War, the lightship at the station was burned by Confederate forces.

A screw-pile lighthouse was constructed on the spot in 1867. This light burned on Christmas Day in 1893 and was rebuilt in 1896. In 1951 the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the old foundation.

References

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maryland" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
Lower Cedar Point Lighthouse, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 156. ISBN 9780801815485.

External links

Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Maryland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.