White Shoal Light (Virginia)
Encyclopedia
The White Shoal Light was a lighthouse
located in the James River
near Newport News, Virginia
. It outlasted all other lighthouses in the James, finally succumbing to ice in the 1970s.
and Point of Shoals
, were erected at the same time.
By 1869 the structure at White Shoal was leaning badly and was declared unsafe, being described by the Lighthouse Board as being "of the oldest and most inferior design". A new light was constructed in 1871 and given a fifth-order Fresnel lens
. In spite of its exposed location it managed to survive until 1934 without serious incident. In that year, it was sold to a private individual and a new unmanned tower was erected a short distance upstream. The structure gradually decayed, but remained in place until the mid 1970s, when iceflows pushed the house off its foundation. At the time of its demise, White Shoal Light was the last surviving lighthouse on the James River, and one of only two privately-owned lighthouses along the Chesapeake Bay
.
The foundation of the lighthouse still survives, but is not lit.
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 James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
near Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
. It outlasted all other lighthouses in the James, finally succumbing to ice in the 1970s.
History
White Shoal sits in the center of the James just upstream of Newport News. A light was first lit here in 1855, replacing a daybeacon placed the previous year. Two other lights, those at Deepwater ShoalsDeepwater Shoals Light
The Deepwater Shoals Light was a lighthouse located in the James River upstream from Newport News, Virginia.-History:This light was erected in 1855 to mark the western edge of the channel...
and Point of Shoals
Point of Shoals Light
The Point of Shoals Light was a lighthouse located in the James River in Virginia.-History:The first request for a light to mark the shoal at this bend in the river came in 1835, but a light was not constructed here until 1855. It was the target of a Confederate raid in the Civil War, and by 1869...
, were erected at the same time.
By 1869 the structure at White Shoal was leaning badly and was declared unsafe, being described by the Lighthouse Board as being "of the oldest and most inferior design". A new light was constructed in 1871 and given a fifth-order Fresnel lens
Fresnel 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...
. In spite of its exposed location it managed to survive until 1934 without serious incident. In that year, it was sold to a private individual and a new unmanned tower was erected a short distance upstream. The structure gradually decayed, but remained in place until the mid 1970s, when iceflows pushed the house off its foundation. At the time of its demise, White Shoal Light was the last surviving lighthouse on the James River, and one of only two privately-owned lighthouses along 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 foundation of the lighthouse still survives, but is not lit.