Drum Point Light
Encyclopedia
Drum Point Light is one of three surviving Chesapeake Bay
screw-pile lighthouse
s. Originally located off Drum Point at the mouth of the Patuxent River
, it is now an exhibit at the Calvert Marine Museum
.
. In the 1850s funds were appropriated and some initial surveys made; disputes between the state of Maryland
and the federal government
over the property to be used eventually brought these efforts to naught. If this project had been carried through, it would have been an early example of a screw-pile lighthouse
in the bay, as the Pungoteague Creek Light
had been finished only two years earlier. In spite of subsequent requests by steamship operators, it was not until 1882 that a $25,000 appropriation was made, and in the following year a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) offshore lot was obtained. The original appropriation was to construct a pair of range lights, for reasons that remain obscure. The funds were not adequate for such a project and it was never seriously considered for execution. Instead, a screw-pile light was prefabricated in parts at Lazaretto Point, and the light was erected in about a month, being lit for the first time in August of that year.
The light was needed in the first place because of the considerable shoaling around the point. This gradually shifted the shoreline to the point where the light, which originally stood in ten feet of water, was entirely on land in 1970. At the turn of the century a small bridge was constructed from the light to the shore (as visible in the photograph), allowing the keeper's family to live with him in the light.
Unlike may such lights, Drum Point escaped ice damage. The storm of 1933 flooded the house and sank the tender, however.
Originally a fixed red light was shown, with dark sectors added starting in 1989. This was changed in 1911 to a fixed white light with red sectors. The light was converted to electricity in 1944 and automated in 1960. The light was discontinued two years later, replaced at first by a lighted buoy, and then a fixed offshore light. Unlike other such conversions, however, the house was not torn down, but simply abandoned. The Calvert County Historical Society attempted to acquire the light as early as 1966, but they did not gain possession until 1974, and the federal government retained the land on which it sat. However, due to a grant and the timely assistance of the B.F. Diamond Construction Company (which was constructing a bridge over the Patuxent nearby) the light was cut from the ground and barged to its current location. Restoration was aided by many grants and the donation of much period furnishings, and the light was rededicated as an exhibit in June 1978. Fortuitously, the complete logbooks from 1883 to 1943 survive as well, providing an excellent glimpse into the life of a lighthouse keeper.
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...
screw-pile lighthouse
Screw-pile lighthouse
A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse was built by blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell...
s. Originally located off Drum Point at the mouth of the Patuxent River
Patuxent River
The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River between...
, it is now an exhibit at the Calvert Marine Museum
Calvert Marine Museum
The Calvert Marine Museum is a maritime museum, founded in 1970, located in Solomons, Maryland. Among its exhibits are the Drum Point Light and the bugeye Wm. B. Tennison, the latter a National Historic Landmark. It also houses artifacts from the old Cedar Point Light, and maintains the Drum...
.
History
The earliest recorded call for a light at Drum Point came in report by one Lt. William D. Porter to the Secretary of the TreasuryUnited States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
. In the 1850s funds were appropriated and some initial surveys made; disputes between the state of 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...
and the federal government
Federal government
The federal government is the common government of a federation. The structure of federal governments varies from institution to institution. Based on a broad definition of a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and...
over the property to be used eventually brought these efforts to naught. If this project had been carried through, it would have been an early example of a screw-pile lighthouse
Screw-pile lighthouse
A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse was built by blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell...
in the bay, as the Pungoteague Creek Light
Pungoteague Creek Light
The Pungoteague Creek Light was a small screwpile lighthouse constructed in the Chesapeake Bay in 1854. Destroyed in 1856, it had the shortest recorded existence of any lighthouse on the Bay, and possibly the United States, at just 459 days....
had been finished only two years earlier. In spite of subsequent requests by steamship operators, it was not until 1882 that a $25,000 appropriation was made, and in the following year a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) offshore lot was obtained. The original appropriation was to construct a pair of range lights, for reasons that remain obscure. The funds were not adequate for such a project and it was never seriously considered for execution. Instead, a screw-pile light was prefabricated in parts at Lazaretto Point, and the light was erected in about a month, being lit for the first time in August of that year.
The light was needed in the first place because of the considerable shoaling around the point. This gradually shifted the shoreline to the point where the light, which originally stood in ten feet of water, was entirely on land in 1970. At the turn of the century a small bridge was constructed from the light to the shore (as visible in the photograph), allowing the keeper's family to live with him in the light.
Unlike may such lights, Drum Point escaped ice damage. The storm of 1933 flooded the house and sank the tender, however.
Originally a fixed red light was shown, with dark sectors added starting in 1989. This was changed in 1911 to a fixed white light with red sectors. The light was converted to electricity in 1944 and automated in 1960. The light was discontinued two years later, replaced at first by a lighted buoy, and then a fixed offshore light. Unlike other such conversions, however, the house was not torn down, but simply abandoned. The Calvert County Historical Society attempted to acquire the light as early as 1966, but they did not gain possession until 1974, and the federal government retained the land on which it sat. However, due to a grant and the timely assistance of the B.F. Diamond Construction Company (which was constructing a bridge over the Patuxent nearby) the light was cut from the ground and barged to its current location. Restoration was aided by many grants and the donation of much period furnishings, and the light was rededicated as an exhibit in June 1978. Fortuitously, the complete logbooks from 1883 to 1943 survive as well, providing an excellent glimpse into the life of a lighthouse keeper.
External links
- Drum Point Lighthouse at the Calvert Marine Museum website
- Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project - Drum Point Light