Craighill Channel Upper Range Front Light

The Craighill Channel Upper Range Front Light is one of a pair of range lights that marks the second section of the shipping channel into Baltimore harbor.

Craighill Channel Upper Range Front Light
undated photograph of the Craighill Channel Upper Range Front Light (USCG)
LocationWest of Fort Howard (North Point) on the north shore of the Patapsco River
Coordinates39.1971°N 76.4482°W / 39.1971; -76.4482
Year first lit1886
Automated1929
Foundationstone
Constructionbrick
Tower shapesquare tower
Tower height15 feet (4.6 m)
Focal height4.5 metre 
CharacteristicFixed red (originally white)
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Cut-Off Channel Range Front Light Station
Nearest cityFort Howard, Maryland
Arealess than one acre
Built1886 (1886)
MPSLight Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.02001415[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 2, 2002

History

Work on the upper range lights commenced in 1885 and was completed in time to allow activation in January 1886. An initial plan to reuse the west North Point Range Light was discarded in favor of a tiny brick structure constructed on the foundation of the old light. The keeper's house was built on the shore, and a long wooden bridge allowed access to the light itself. Initially a locomotive headlight was installed to show a fixed white light.[2]

Three years after improvements to the keeper's house were made in 1890, the bridge to the light was destroyed by a storm. Rather than rebuild it, the headlight was moved to the exterior of the light, and the keeper took up residence in the light itself. The light was electrified and automated in 1929. Although there are some claims that the light was rebuilt in 1938, this is believed to be a misunderstanding based on discrepancies in the reported height of the light over the years.

Notes
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Ralph E. Eshelman (March 1996). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Cut-off Channel Range Front Light Station" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-03-01.

References
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