Old Plantation Flats Light
Encyclopedia
The Old Plantation Flats Light was a lighthouse
located in the Chesapeake Bay
marking the channel to Cape Charles, Virginia
.
paralleling the Eastern Shore
near the mouth of the bay, taking its name from Old Plantation Creek which empties into the bay near the center of the shoal. A square screw-pile light was erected on the shoal in 1886. It was constantly plagued by ice floes
, with the original lens being destroyed in 1893, and more substantial damage done in 1918. After the latter the piles were reinforced with concrete and surrounded with rip-rap
. The resulting structure was unlike any other in the bay.
In the 1890s the Pennsylvania Railroad
established Cape Charles, Virginia
as the southern terminus of its Eastern Shore rail system. The Corps of Engineers
dredged out a lagoon and created a channel running across the flats, with the light serving to mark its entrance. This channel allowed the railroad to connect to points west through car float
operations.
In 1962 the house was removed from the light and replaced with the usual skeleton tower. However in 2004 a replica was constructed as part of the Bay Creek Resort and Club being built south of Cape Charles. This replica includes a 1940s-era fog bell taken from a retired buoy
and a new fourth-order lens, the first constructed in eighty years. Another half size replica sits astride a golf cart causeway, forming a sort of covered bridge
.
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....
located 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...
marking the channel to Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles is a town in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,134 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cape Charles is located at ....
.
History
Old Plantation Flats is a shoalShoal
Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
paralleling the Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore refers to many places, including:* Eastern Shore of Maryland* Eastern Shore of Virginia* Eastern Shore * Eastern Shore , of Mobile BayOther uses, a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919...
near the mouth of the bay, taking its name from Old Plantation Creek which empties into the bay near the center of the shoal. A square screw-pile light was erected on the shoal in 1886. It was constantly plagued by ice floes
Sea ice
Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....
, with the original lens being destroyed in 1893, and more substantial damage done in 1918. After the latter the piles were reinforced with concrete and surrounded with rip-rap
Riprap
Riprap — also known as rip rap, rubble, shot rock or rock armour or "Rip-rap" — is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour, water or ice erosion.It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite or...
. The resulting structure was unlike any other in the bay.
In the 1890s the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
established Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles is a town in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,134 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cape Charles is located at ....
as the southern terminus of its Eastern Shore rail system. The Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
dredged out a lagoon and created a channel running across the flats, with the light serving to mark its entrance. This channel allowed the railroad to connect to points west through car float
Car float
A railroad car float or rail barge is an unpowered barge with rail tracks mounted on its deck. It is used to move railroad cars across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go, and is pushed by a towboat or towed by a tugboat...
operations.
In 1962 the house was removed from the light and replaced with the usual skeleton tower. However in 2004 a replica was constructed as part of the Bay Creek Resort and Club being built south of Cape Charles. This replica includes a 1940s-era fog bell taken from a retired buoy
Buoy
A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
and a new fourth-order lens, the first constructed in eighty years. Another half size replica sits astride a golf cart causeway, forming a sort of covered bridge
Covered bridge
A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...
.