Fenwick Island Light

Fenwick Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Delaware, United States, on the Delaware/Maryland state line. The structure dates back to 1858 making it the oldest lighthouse in the state of Delaware.[2]

Fenwick Island Light
Spring 2008
LocationFenwick Island, Delaware
Coordinates38.4514°N 75.0548°W / 38.4514; -75.0548
Year first constructed1858
Year first lit1859
Automated1940
Deactivated1978-1982
FoundationNatural
ConstructionBrick
Tower shapeConical
Tower height87 feet (27 m)
Focal height25 metre 
Original lensThird order Fresnel lens
Current lensThird order Fresnel lens
Range15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)
CharacteristicWhite flash every 13s
Admiralty numberJ1354
ARLHS numberUSA-283
USCG number2-0205
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Fenwick Island Lighthouse Station
Area218 acres (88 ha)
Built1858 (1858)
Architectural styleGothic
NRHP reference No.79000642[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 13, 1979

History

In 1856, the United States Congress appropriated $25,000 for the Fenwick Island Lighthouse and on January 11, 1858 a ten-acre tract for the station was obtained from Mary C. Hall for only $50. The Fenwick Island Lighthouse was completed on December 29, 1858, but would not be lit until August 1, 1859. Construction was supervised by U.S. Army Captain William F. Raynolds. The lighthouse was built on an isolated peninsula in the southernmost portion of Delaware at the Maryland state line. It is 87 feet tall, brick, with a central cast iron spiral staircase, and equipped with a third-order Fresnel lens. It was automated in 1940.[3]

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1978 and remained dark for several years. A public movement to save the lighthouse resulted in ownership of the lighthouse being transferred to the State of Delaware, and the lighthouse was relit in 1982.[4] In 1997, after extensive fundraising efforts made it possible, the rapidly aging lighthouse underwent a full restoration. It was rededicated in July 1998.[5]

The lighthouse is owned by the state of Delaware and maintained by the private, non-profit New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse. The "isolated" lighthouse now stands surrounded by a neighborhood of houses and businesses. Visitors can enter the base to view a small museum and gift shop. The lighthouse, however, is not open for climbing.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]

  • Spring 2008
  • Looking west-northwest (2009)
  • Main entrance to lighthouse (2009)
  • Lantern room

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Unknown Author (March 11, 2011). Lighthouses of the Mid-Atlantic Coast. Voyageur Press. p. 149. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  3. Dick Carter (January 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fenwick Island Light". and Accompanying 13 photos
  4. "New” Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse website
  5. Lighthousefriends website
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