Type:
Year Established:
1875
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1879
Download:
File Type:
jpg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2017
Photo Credit:
Tony Pasek
Photo Courtesy of:
U.S. Lighthouse Society
Collection / Donor:
LOCATION
Location:
CHESAPEAKE BAY/SOUTH RIVER ENTRANCE
Latitude:
38° 53.9'
Longitude:
76° 26.2'
City / Town:
ANNAPOLIS
U.S. State:
Maryland
Location County:
ANNE ARUNDEL
Country:
United States
OWNER & ACCESS
Owner / Manager:
City of Annapolis / Chesapeake Chapter of U.S. Lighthouse Society
Open to Public:
No
STRUCTURE
Year Tower Established:
1875
Tower Construction Material:
WOOD
Tower Foundation:
SCREWPILE
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
48
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
48
Tower Shape:
SQUARE ON HEXAGONAL DWELLING
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1875
Keeper's Quarters Style:
HEXAGONAL (INTEGRAL)
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
WOOD FRAME
Other Structures:
NONE
OPTICS
Current Optic:
250 MM, SOLAR POWERED
Original Optic Type:
FOURTH ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed:
1875
Private Aid:
No
Year Automated:
1986
USCG Access to Optics:
Yes
Entered by:
Entered Date:
Jul 20, 2017
Thomas Point Shoals Light Station -
Historic Significance: High. Last spider-like screwpile, cottage-type lighthouse still in original location in Chesapeake Bay. Seven Foot Knoll Light Station (1855), Maryland, has a screwpile foundation, but is not a wooden cottage-type lighthouse. Mobile Middle Bay Light Station (1905), Mobile Harbor, Alabama, is a screwpile, cottage-type lighthouse, but the cottage was destroyed in an 1916 hurricane and the present cottage is a 1984 reproduction of the Hooper Straight Lighthouse. Carysfort Reef Light Station (1852), Florida Keys, is a screwpile foundation skeletal tower lighthouse; not a spider-like, cottage-type. The Southwest Reef Light Station (1858), Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana, has a screwpile foundation but not a cottage-type keeper’s quarter on top. Seven Foot Knoll Light Station (1855), Maryland, was moved to shore with only a portion of it's screwpile foundation (from water line up); Drum Point Light Station (1883), Maryland, was moved to shore with only a portion of it's screwpile foundation (from water line up); Half Moon Reef Light Station (1858), Texas, moved to shore but its screw-pile foundation was left in place; Hooper Straight Light Station (1879), Maryland, was moved to shore but all of it's screwpile foundation was left in place. There are several additional former spider-like screwpile lighthouse sites where the screwpiles are still present, some with modern beacons fabricated on top; examples include Southwest Point Royal Shoal Light Station (1887), North Carolina; and Rebecca Shoal Light Station (1886), Florida. The first screwpile lighthouse in the United States was built in 1848 on Brandywine Shoal, Delaware, replacing a non-screwpile structure which was destroyed by ice within one year of being built in 1828. Thomas Point Shoals Light Station was the last manned screwpile lighthouse on Chesapeake Bay. The Thomas Point Shoals Light Station remains as built in 1875 with only minor alterations and is the last unaltered spider-like, cottage-type screwpile lighthouse on its original foundation in the United States and warrants National Historic Landmark status. Thomas Point Shoals Light Station also has high public visibility, especially for an offshore lighthouse, due to the high yachting activity off Patapsco River.
Historic Integrity - High. Thomas Point Shoals Light Station retains a major percentage of original fabric both exterior and interior. Nearly all the original interior flooring, walls, and ceiling boards are original. Some of the cast iron screwpile foundation elements are damage replacements.