Greenbury Point Light
Encyclopedia
Greenbury Point Light was the name of two lighthouse
s in the Chesapeake Bay
, both located at the mouth of the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland
.
, later replaced with a fourth order lens. By 1878 the Lighthouse Board was reporting that erosion at the point threatened the light, and that it was ill-located and too small to be seen against the lights of the town. An appropriation to replace the light was made in 1889, and in 1892 a new screw-pile lighthouse
was activated. This sat on the shoal about half a mile south of the point, and was sometimes referred to as "Greenbury Point Shoal Light".
Like many such lights in the bay, the screwpile foundation proved vulnerable to ice, and in 1918 it was badly damaged. In 1934 the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the piles. This light is still in use.
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....
s in 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...
, both located at the mouth of the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
.
History
The first light on this site was constructed in 1848 and bears little resemblance to other lights in the area. Original equipped with Argand lamps and reflectors, it was upgraded in 1855 with a sixth order Fresnel lensFresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
, later replaced with a fourth order lens. By 1878 the Lighthouse Board was reporting that erosion at the point threatened the light, and that it was ill-located and too small to be seen against the lights of the town. An appropriation to replace the light was made in 1889, and in 1892 a new 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...
was activated. This sat on the shoal about half a mile south of the point, and was sometimes referred to as "Greenbury Point Shoal Light".
Like many such lights in the bay, the screwpile foundation proved vulnerable to ice, and in 1918 it was badly damaged. In 1934 the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the piles. This light is still in use.