Today we drove over 200 mile loop south of the DC area on the west side of Chesapeake Bay to see four different lighthouses. Doreen actually got to climb two of them. Liberty rode along as it was a long day.
#1 - Cove Point Lighthouse
The first stop was Cove Point Lighthouse near Lusby MD. This lighthouse was closed to visitors but very much open as it can be rented for overnight stays. They do open it a couple days a week but not today. So we had to settle for looking through the gate.
Cove Point Light was built in 1828 for a cost of $5600. It was officially automated 16 Aug 1986 and the beacon is now controlled from Baltimore. It stands 40 feet above the tide.
#2 - Drum Point Lighthouse
From here we drove to Drum Point Lighthouse near Solomons MD. This is one of four surviving Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses. It is very similar to the one we saw at Baltimore last weekend. This lighthouse is located near the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomon. Also similar to the one in Baltimore, the Drum Point lighthouse was relocated to i's current location from Drum Point. As explained before, these lighthouses sat directly in the water and were anchored with screw-piles into the bay. It is 46 feet high and is made of cast iron and wood. The keeper and his family lived in the lighthouse rather than a separate keeper's house because it was in the water. The building is hexagon shaped and was first lit in 1883. It was automated in 1960 and deactivate in 1962. It was open for climbing if you purchased a museum pass. Doreen climbed this lighthouse.
#3 - Piney Point Lighthouse
Our third stop was Piney Point lighthouse near Piney Point MD. This lighthouse was also open and for a nominal fee you received a personal guided tour of not only the lighthouse but the keeper's quarters. They were very accommodating and allowed Liberty and I to wait inside the base of the lighthouse in the shade while Doreen climbed it.
Piney Point lighthouse was built in 1836. It is supposedly the "oldest lighthouse on the Potomac". It was automated in 1939, deactivated in 1946, decommissioned in 1964 and has since become a museum. It is only 33 ft tall and has a circular stairway and a ladder to the top. On the grounds is a white two-story keeper's quarters and an oil house.
This lighthouse is called a "keeper's house with a lantern on the roof" due to it's unique design. The lighthouse actually juts out from the top of the building. It is closed for renovation until 2022.
Point Lookout Lighthouse was built in 1830 of wood and brick. The tower height is 41 feet. It was first lit in 1830, deactivated in 1966 and is now part of the state park. It used a fourth order Fresnel lens and reach out 12 miles from the shore. During it's lifetime, the lighthouse saw many changes. The biggest was during the Civil War where they built a hospital at Point Lookout to care for Union wounded. In 1863 Confederate prisoners were held at the same hospital. They created a prisoner of war camp to house over 20,000 Confederate prisoners here. This lighthouse has a paranormal history and has been featured on several TV shows. It is supposedly the most haunted lighthouse in the US!
There are tracks coming out of the adjacent building assuming it was a lifesaving operation.
Thats a wrap. We left at about 0830 hrs and got back right at 1600 hrs, so we are tired. I "ran out of gas" last night and did not finish last nights blog until tonight, so this one is #2 for tonight.
Tomorrow we clean, dump tanks, fuel the truck, do last loads of laundry, final restock of the pantry, etc and then Thursday morning we will pull chocks and head for a rural campground in Pennsylvania west of Valley Forge.
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