27 Jun - Fort Story, First Landing, Cape Henry Lighthouse X 2

 

This morning we headed north about 10 miles to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story. Fort Story's origins date back to 1607 as the site of the "First Landing".  We will talk more about that later.  Little Creek was used during World War II for training Naval  amphibious forces.  It is an active base just a bit north of Virginia Beach at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Of interest to us on the fort are two lighthouses and  the site of the "First Landing".

The lighthouse did not open until 1000 hrs so we first stopped at the "First Landing" site monuments.  Just outside the gate is the First Landing State Park.   This area is so named because on 26 Apr 1607 three small ships carrying English colonists first landed here.  The area was named Cape Henry in honor of Henry, Prince of Wales, oldest son of King James I.  They also set up a "Crosse at Chesupioc Bay" built from English oak.  Later on 13 May 1607 they established Jamestown Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America.  

This monument was erected 26 Apr 1935 by the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists.

A statue presented by France of Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse, an Admiral who fought the British fleet which led to the surrender of Cornwallis.

 From here we headed to the lighthouses.  I don't think we have seen two lighthouses so close together before.  

The original Cape Henry lighthouse, on the left in the picture, was completed in October 1792.  Although not the oldest still standing, it is one of the oldest.  We actually climbed the oldest lighthouse which is Sandy Hook in New Jersey.  It was built in 1762.

Here they claim the Cape Henry Lighthouse was the "first construction project authorized by the new United States constitution", but unless there is something I don't understand, our research shows the first lighthouse "completed under the new Government of the United States of America" was actually another lighthouse we have visited - the Portland Head Light, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, which was completed in 1791.  Nevertheless, this is one of the oldest.

Back to the original lighthouse, it was damaged during the Civil War and later repaired to provide navigation for ships in the Chesapeake Bay. In 1881 there were serious concerns raised about it's stability, so they built a new one but left the old one standing. For a while both were used during the day for maritime triangulation. The new lighthouse is active and operated by the US Coast Guard but closed to visitors whereas the old Cape Henry Lighthouse is owned/operated by Preservation Virginia and open to the public.  Since we have retired military ID's, we were able to just drive on base ourselves, but civilians have to stop at the main gate and board a shuttle that takes them directly to the lighthouse and back.

You enter the lighthouse visitor center and after paying a nominal charge exit the rear and start climbing stairs

You climb 92 stairs before you even get to the base or entrance to the lighthouse.

A "Skink" checking us out on the way up the external stairs.  Never heard that name before.

The old Cape Henry Lighthouse really has an interesting past, and we were fortunate to have a very knowledgeable volunteer at the base of the lighthouse providing details.  We previously mentioned they were concerned with the stability of the old lighthouse so they built a new one.  

Part of the issue was the shifting sand here.  This is how it looked back in the day.  There was no soil to grow food so the lightkeeper received extra rations.

Throughout the years there have been many changes including fortification of the base, replacement of the wooden platform stairs with a circular metal staircase.

They have done a fantastic job preserving this structure.  You can feel and see how old it is when you first enter the door

They have funding to rework the entrance.  Notice the keystone above the door center!

You can sense the age of this lighthouse when you first enter the door

Only 102 steps up the spiral staircase with no interim landings

This is a concrete crack monitor, used by a structural engineer  It is attached to each side of the crack and measures opening or closing of a crack in one millimeter increments.  The measurements are logged and monitored over time.  I noticed many of these on the various cracks

At the very top there is a "ship's ladder" which is very steep

The top.  You cannot exit this area.  The lens has been removed.

The view from the top was really nice!  You could see Virginia Beach, the Chesapeake Bay, and Norfolk in the distance.

A postcard view of the new, operational Cape Henry Lighthouse and associated buildings

There was another couple up there and we took photos for each other.

The new Cape Henry Lighthouse is not open to the public but you can approach the white fence and take pictures.  

A picturesque photo of the new lighthouse compound in the distance

Unique picture of the old and the new together.  

We returned to the campground after our 194 step lighthouse climb.  Doreen did a couple loads of laundry and Liberty watched the door waiting for her mom to come home. 

 

Later we took a stroll into the Naval Training area and checked out two osprey nests.  Pretty interesting.

  

The one that landed had a fish in it's claws for the babies.

Tomorrow we had planned to visit the USS Wisconsin, but due to poor planning on our part, today we discovered it is closed Monday and Tuesday, and we leave Wednesday.  The good news is it is within reach from our next campground which is Kings Creek Cheatham Annex (Naval base) at Williamsburg.  So switching gears, tomorrow we are going to make the long drive about 110 miles north to visit one more lighthouse, the Assateague Lighthouse.