Cherrystone Bar Light
The Cherrystone Bar Light was a lighthouse located at the entrance to Cape Charles, Virginia harbor in the Chesapeake Bay. It was the only light in the bay moved to another location, becoming the Choptank River Light in 1921.
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| Location | SW of Cape Charles, Virginia harbor in the Chesapeake Bay |
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| Coordinates | 37.2564°N 76.0324°W |
| Year first lit | 1858 |
| Deactivated | 1919 |
| Foundation | screw-pile |
| Construction | cast-iron/wood |
| Tower shape | hexagonal house |
| Original lens | fourth-order Fresnel lens |
History
This light was constructed shortly before the Civil War, and like the other Virginia lights, it was put out of commission by the Confederate forces. It was reactivated by Union forces in 1862.
In 1919, a simple skeleton tower on a small caisson was erected to replace the old light. The following year, the house was lifted from its foundation and barged north, where it was set on a new foundation to replace the Choptank River Light, which had been destroyed by ice in 1918. This light was eventually dismantled in 1964, but the caisson light at the original location remains in use.
References
- "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
- Cherrystone Bar 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. 170.
