Bodkin Island Light
Encyclopedia
The Bodkin Island Light was a small lighthouse
on the Chesapeake Bay
, the first erected in Maryland
.
; it was built on Bodkin Island, and was the first lighthouse in Maryland. The station was built by Thomas Evans and William Coppeck, who completed the 35 feet (10.7 m) stone tower and attached one-storey keeper's dwelling in October 1821. Thirteen lamps were purchased from Winslow Lewis
, and the station was formally inaugurated in January 1822.
The lighthouse was plagued by problems stemming from its poor construction during much of its brief existence, and it was replaced in 1856 by the Seven Foot Knoll Light
in the Patapsco River
. A fisherman
is said to have lived in the dwelling for a time, but eventually the island was completely abandoned; the old tower collapsed in 1914. Today, Bodkin Island has completely disappeared, eaten away by erosion
. What remains of the site is marked as a "navigational hazard" on sea charts.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
on the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, the first erected in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
History
The lighthouse was constructed as an aid to shipping entering BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
; it was built on Bodkin Island, and was the first lighthouse in Maryland. The station was built by Thomas Evans and William Coppeck, who completed the 35 feet (10.7 m) stone tower and attached one-storey keeper's dwelling in October 1821. Thirteen lamps were purchased from Winslow Lewis
Winslow Lewis
Winslow Lewis was a sea captain, engineer, inventor and contractor active in the construction of many American lighthouses during the first half of the nineteenth century....
, and the station was formally inaugurated in January 1822.
The lighthouse was plagued by problems stemming from its poor construction during much of its brief existence, and it was replaced in 1856 by the Seven Foot Knoll Light
Seven Foot Knoll Light
The Seven Foot Knoll Light was built in 1855 and is the oldest screw-pile lighthouse in Maryland. It was initially installed on a shallow shoal, Seven Foot Knoll, at the mouth of the Patapsco River...
in the Patapsco River
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...
. A fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
is said to have lived in the dwelling for a time, but eventually the island was completely abandoned; the old tower collapsed in 1914. Today, Bodkin Island has completely disappeared, eaten away by erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
. What remains of the site is marked as a "navigational hazard" on sea charts.