JohnPD
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It seems the stars were aligned just right for you that day, Rosalie!
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How about joining us and play a game or enter a competition? The Weekly WET Challenge // The A-Z Alphabet Game // The Photo Chain Game
Post Your Lighthouses!
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greatgrandma
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In 1999 going north on the Chesapeake Bay
Went past Little Cove Point and anchored inside (south) of Cove Pt. close to shore. Discovered why no one anchors here. Very rolly - up to 20 deg roll (15 deg one way and 5 deg the other) from the wakes of passing barges and freighters. However it got quieter and we were well protected from the North wind.
Cove Point from the 'anchorage'
Cove Point Lighthouse was built of locally manufactured brick in 1828. It is visible for 12 miles. By August 16, 1986, Cove Point Lighthouse was officially automated. The new equipment included a fog detector to turn on the horn when visibility dropped below three miles, a lamp-changer in the lantern to change burned out lamps, and a computer to monitor everything. It is now all controlled from Baltimore.
The Calvert Marine Museum acquired the Cove Point Lighthouse. The United States Coast Guard is still responsible for its official operation because this is still an aid-to-navigation. You can get tickets to tour it from the museum, but I have not been successful in doing more than viewing it from a distance.
One of the distinguishing features of Cove Point is the big CNG pier that was built just next to it. So when I painted my picture, I included the pier
Went past Little Cove Point and anchored inside (south) of Cove Pt. close to shore. Discovered why no one anchors here. Very rolly - up to 20 deg roll (15 deg one way and 5 deg the other) from the wakes of passing barges and freighters. However it got quieter and we were well protected from the North wind.
Cove Point from the 'anchorage'
Cove Point Lighthouse was built of locally manufactured brick in 1828. It is visible for 12 miles. By August 16, 1986, Cove Point Lighthouse was officially automated. The new equipment included a fog detector to turn on the horn when visibility dropped below three miles, a lamp-changer in the lantern to change burned out lamps, and a computer to monitor everything. It is now all controlled from Baltimore.
The Calvert Marine Museum acquired the Cove Point Lighthouse. The United States Coast Guard is still responsible for its official operation because this is still an aid-to-navigation. You can get tickets to tour it from the museum, but I have not been successful in doing more than viewing it from a distance.
One of the distinguishing features of Cove Point is the big CNG pier that was built just next to it. So when I painted my picture, I included the pier
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I love all the details you give on the lighthouses, Rosalie. Really nice!
greatgrandma
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The Lighthouse Challenge includes places that you can get to by road. Sandy Point can be seen from Sandy Point State Park and from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (if you are a passenger).
Piney Point is a point of land covered by pines that extends toward the Potomac just upstream of St. George's Island. On this point was build a lighthouse.
I visited Piney Point Lighthouse in 2005 when the tower was open for visitors to climb and they also had boat tours. I didn't include it in my paintings because it is on the Potomac and not the Chesapeake, and also it is a fairly little lighthouse.
This is the photo of it from the Potomac River. In front of the lighthouse are the old Stewart Petroleum plant pipelines and piers where barges of gasoline were brought in and loaded and unloaded. The pipeline runs along the point north of the Piney Point lighthouse, and the access to this area is prohibited.
The Piney Point Lighthouse was built in 1836 by John Donohoo. It is about 14 miles up river from Point Lookout, and it is the oldest light on the Potomac River. Out of 11 lighthouses built on the Potomac, it is one of the four original lights still standing. Several U.S. Presidents, including James Madison, have used Piney Point as a summer retreat.
The squat white tower is only 35 feet tall, much the same as the other lighthouses that Donohoo built, such as Concord Point and Cove Point. The wall at ground level is four feet thick.
Just below the lantern floor, the interior is about seven feet in diameter and the walls are 18 inches thick. The original lighting apparatus consisted of 10 lamps with each in its own 15-inch reflector. In June of 1855 this was replaced with a 5th-order Fresnel lens which has since been removed.
Lighthouse from inside the Keeper's House which is now a museum
The light was decommissioned in 1964 and in 1980 the Coast Guard transferred ownership to the Saint Mary’s County Department of Recreation and Parks. The grounds were flooded during 2 hurricanes in the late 1990's, and again by Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
The restored tower steps allow visitors a bird's-eye view of the area during the Annual Piney Point Celebration held in May.
Originally I thought I would not climb the lighthouse. I could have done so as it was open to climb. However the space inside at the top is limited. By the time I changed my mind about it, there was a long line waiting (photo 3). So I went to stand in line, but it was too long for me to stand. They let me sit at the bottom of the tower and I took a picture looking up. Then Bob was getting impatient, so I left before I got to climb and went home.
Piney Point is a point of land covered by pines that extends toward the Potomac just upstream of St. George's Island. On this point was build a lighthouse.
I visited Piney Point Lighthouse in 2005 when the tower was open for visitors to climb and they also had boat tours. I didn't include it in my paintings because it is on the Potomac and not the Chesapeake, and also it is a fairly little lighthouse.
This is the photo of it from the Potomac River. In front of the lighthouse are the old Stewart Petroleum plant pipelines and piers where barges of gasoline were brought in and loaded and unloaded. The pipeline runs along the point north of the Piney Point lighthouse, and the access to this area is prohibited.
The Piney Point Lighthouse was built in 1836 by John Donohoo. It is about 14 miles up river from Point Lookout, and it is the oldest light on the Potomac River. Out of 11 lighthouses built on the Potomac, it is one of the four original lights still standing. Several U.S. Presidents, including James Madison, have used Piney Point as a summer retreat.
The squat white tower is only 35 feet tall, much the same as the other lighthouses that Donohoo built, such as Concord Point and Cove Point. The wall at ground level is four feet thick.
Just below the lantern floor, the interior is about seven feet in diameter and the walls are 18 inches thick. The original lighting apparatus consisted of 10 lamps with each in its own 15-inch reflector. In June of 1855 this was replaced with a 5th-order Fresnel lens which has since been removed.
Lighthouse from inside the Keeper's House which is now a museum
The light was decommissioned in 1964 and in 1980 the Coast Guard transferred ownership to the Saint Mary’s County Department of Recreation and Parks. The grounds were flooded during 2 hurricanes in the late 1990's, and again by Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
The restored tower steps allow visitors a bird's-eye view of the area during the Annual Piney Point Celebration held in May.
Originally I thought I would not climb the lighthouse. I could have done so as it was open to climb. However the space inside at the top is limited. By the time I changed my mind about it, there was a long line waiting (photo 3). So I went to stand in line, but it was too long for me to stand. They let me sit at the bottom of the tower and I took a picture looking up. Then Bob was getting impatient, so I left before I got to climb and went home.
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greatgrandma
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There is more to Piney Point than just the lighthouse, including a marker in the river which shows where a submarine was sunk.
The Lighthouse Keeper's house was built at the same time as the lighthouse (by the same builder) in 1836. Originally it was a one story building with a central fireplace
The Keeper’s Quarters are now a private residence for security and grounds keeping purposes, but during the annual open house in 2005, the house was vacant (and empty) so we could tour it.
Lighthouse Keepers
* 1836 Philip Clark
* 1840 Henry C. Heard
* 1845 Charlotte Suter
* 1846 William B. Taylor
* 1849 John N. Nuthall
* 1850 Martha Nuthall
* 1861 Robert Marshall
* 1865 Henry Steinhise
* 1869 Noah Wilson
* 1873 Elizabeth Wilson
* 1877 Helen Tune
* 1883 Thomas W. Costin
* 1910 George Costin
* 1910 William Slacum
* 1911 Loch Humphries
* 1910 William Yeatman
* 1931 William Goeshy
!n 1880, a bell tower was built next to the lighthouse. Bells were used as a warning in fog when mariners might not be able to see the light. The bell was replaced in 1936 with a reed horn (foghorn). The tower was severely damaged in a storm, and afterwards was dismantled, although the outline can still be seen on the west side of the lighthouse.
greatgrandma
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The original Piney Point Lighthouse Museum was flooded and closed by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. The building they are now using used to be a garage, and they were setting it up as a museum when we visited during the Annual Piney Point Days in May 2005. The museum was on on-going operation and was expected to be finished in 2008. It includes exhibits on the construction and operation of the Lighthouse.
On the grounds of the lighthouse is what is called the Potomac River Maritime Exhibit which houses the collection of four historic wooden vessels including a 67-foot skipjack (Joy Parks), an 84-foot bugeye, (Dorothy A. Parsons), a log canoe, and Potomac River dory boat.
The buoy in the Potomac where the U-1105 was sunk can't be seen from Piney Point, and is hard to find out in the river.
In the Museum is the exhibit on this German submarine, the Black Panther. It was a revolutionary feature in military weaponry because it was covered with a synthetic rubber coating making it “invisible” to the sonar of the day and creating one of the first stealth weapons.
The U-1105 Black Panther patrolled off the shore of Scotland. When the war was over, it was ordered to an Allied base in northern Scotland where it surrendered. The British later turned the submarine over to the United States Navy for study and experimentation in the U.S.
After preliminary testing the U-1105 was fatally damaged on September 19, 1949 and was sunk in 90 feet of water in the Potomac River at Piney Point by a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.
In June of 1985, the U-1105 was 'rediscovered' by a team of sports divers from Virginia, and after some archeological exploration, the U-1105 was designated as Maryland’s first Historic Shipwreck Dive Preserve and a National Historic Landmark. There are recreational diving opportunities for experienced divers. The U-1105 is a United States Naval ship and is protected by federal law.
On the grounds of the lighthouse is what is called the Potomac River Maritime Exhibit which houses the collection of four historic wooden vessels including a 67-foot skipjack (Joy Parks), an 84-foot bugeye, (Dorothy A. Parsons), a log canoe, and Potomac River dory boat.
The buoy in the Potomac where the U-1105 was sunk can't be seen from Piney Point, and is hard to find out in the river.
In the Museum is the exhibit on this German submarine, the Black Panther. It was a revolutionary feature in military weaponry because it was covered with a synthetic rubber coating making it “invisible” to the sonar of the day and creating one of the first stealth weapons.
The U-1105 Black Panther patrolled off the shore of Scotland. When the war was over, it was ordered to an Allied base in northern Scotland where it surrendered. The British later turned the submarine over to the United States Navy for study and experimentation in the U.S.
After preliminary testing the U-1105 was fatally damaged on September 19, 1949 and was sunk in 90 feet of water in the Potomac River at Piney Point by a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.
In June of 1985, the U-1105 was 'rediscovered' by a team of sports divers from Virginia, and after some archeological exploration, the U-1105 was designated as Maryland’s first Historic Shipwreck Dive Preserve and a National Historic Landmark. There are recreational diving opportunities for experienced divers. The U-1105 is a United States Naval ship and is protected by federal law.
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greatgrandma
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Point Lookout Lighthouse
Point Lookout is on the extreme southernmost tip of St. Mary's County Maryland on the northern shore of the Potomac River.
It was the site of Indian raids in colonial times, and British raids during the Revolution. During the War of 1812, it served as a lookout point, which is where it got its name. The waters are often rough around Point Lookout. The first time we came around this point, windsurfers were having a marvelous time in the boisterous weather. After the first year, our boat was in a marina off the Potomac so every time we go out to the Chesapeake, we pass Point Lookout
In the 1850s Point Lookout was a popular vacation destination, but it is probably best known as the location of a Union hospital and prison camp during the Civil War. There is a memorial to the prisoners outside the state park, which is the only memorial ever erected by the federal government to an 'enemy'. After the war the area reverted to a resort area which included a luxury hotel. Now it is a state park. There is a lake, with a channel from the river, and beaches and various other recreational activities available. The Point Lookout lighthouse is on the extreme end of the point, but it is not actually part of the park.
Point Lookout Lighthouse was originally built in 1830 by John Donahoo for $3350.
Oil House
Point Lookout is on the extreme southernmost tip of St. Mary's County Maryland on the northern shore of the Potomac River.
It was the site of Indian raids in colonial times, and British raids during the Revolution. During the War of 1812, it served as a lookout point, which is where it got its name. The waters are often rough around Point Lookout. The first time we came around this point, windsurfers were having a marvelous time in the boisterous weather. After the first year, our boat was in a marina off the Potomac so every time we go out to the Chesapeake, we pass Point Lookout
In the 1850s Point Lookout was a popular vacation destination, but it is probably best known as the location of a Union hospital and prison camp during the Civil War. There is a memorial to the prisoners outside the state park, which is the only memorial ever erected by the federal government to an 'enemy'. After the war the area reverted to a resort area which included a luxury hotel. Now it is a state park. There is a lake, with a channel from the river, and beaches and various other recreational activities available. The Point Lookout lighthouse is on the extreme end of the point, but it is not actually part of the park.
Point Lookout Lighthouse was originally built in 1830 by John Donahoo for $3350.
Oil House
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greatgrandma
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When the Point Lookout Lighthouse was removed from service in 1966, the United States Navy assumed control of the building and its surrounding area.
Sign says "Point Lookout Tracking Station - Chesapeake Test Range"
The U.S. Navy utilized the grounds for a variety of projects until 2006.
I took a picture of the lightouse when anchored off Point Lookout on the 4th of July in order to paint a screen. We took our son-in-law, daughter and grandson out for a picnic and anchored for lunch. My grandson who was 4 was adamantly against wearing a life jacket - it took both his parents to wrestle him into it. So after lunch he said tentatively that the dock was lonesome for the boat and maybe we should go back. At that time the lighthouse belonged to the US Navy and there were a great many antennas and other equipment around the lighthouse. When I painted the lighthouse I included some of this material
Point Lookout has now been repainted in the original colors and is in the process of being listed in the National Historic Register.
Lighthouse from the water after 2006
The lighthouse is said to be haunted
Sign says "Point Lookout Tracking Station - Chesapeake Test Range"
The U.S. Navy utilized the grounds for a variety of projects until 2006.
I took a picture of the lightouse when anchored off Point Lookout on the 4th of July in order to paint a screen. We took our son-in-law, daughter and grandson out for a picnic and anchored for lunch. My grandson who was 4 was adamantly against wearing a life jacket - it took both his parents to wrestle him into it. So after lunch he said tentatively that the dock was lonesome for the boat and maybe we should go back. At that time the lighthouse belonged to the US Navy and there were a great many antennas and other equipment around the lighthouse. When I painted the lighthouse I included some of this material
Point Lookout has now been repainted in the original colors and is in the process of being listed in the National Historic Register.
Lighthouse from the water after 2006
The lighthouse is said to be haunted
greatgrandma
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The last one of the 2019 Lighthouse Challenge Lighthouses that I have photos for is
Seven Foot Knoll
The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse is a beautiful red round screw pile lighthouse which was at the end of Bodkin Creek, near the Patapsco River. Screw pile lighthouses are suspended above the water by a system of cast-iron pilings with cork-screw-like bases which are screwed into the soft mud of the sea floor.
The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, which was the second screw pile built on the Chesapeake Bay (dating from 1856), was constructed with nine cast-iron screw piles supporting a gallery deck some nine feet above mean high water. It is the oldest surviving one in Maryland. It was moved to the inner harbor of Baltimore in 1989.
My husband's (and now my BIL's) home was on Bodkin Creek and they remember this lighthouse when it was active. The shoal is still there (now marked by a simple post) where the waves from wakes and wind would sometimes be 7 to 15 feet or more tall. The last picture is one I painted of Seven Foot Knoll as it would have originally appeared
The Seven Foot Knoll light is included in the Maritime Museum which also includes the TORSK and CONSTELLATION
The darker red color photos were taken before 2005. The brighter red were taken in 2021
Seven Foot Knoll
The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse is a beautiful red round screw pile lighthouse which was at the end of Bodkin Creek, near the Patapsco River. Screw pile lighthouses are suspended above the water by a system of cast-iron pilings with cork-screw-like bases which are screwed into the soft mud of the sea floor.
The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, which was the second screw pile built on the Chesapeake Bay (dating from 1856), was constructed with nine cast-iron screw piles supporting a gallery deck some nine feet above mean high water. It is the oldest surviving one in Maryland. It was moved to the inner harbor of Baltimore in 1989.
My husband's (and now my BIL's) home was on Bodkin Creek and they remember this lighthouse when it was active. The shoal is still there (now marked by a simple post) where the waves from wakes and wind would sometimes be 7 to 15 feet or more tall. The last picture is one I painted of Seven Foot Knoll as it would have originally appeared
The Seven Foot Knoll light is included in the Maritime Museum which also includes the TORSK and CONSTELLATION
The darker red color photos were taken before 2005. The brighter red were taken in 2021
greatgrandma
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Lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay need to withstand current, wind and ICE. Some of them are Caisson lighthouses. . A caisson was essentially a hollow tube made of heavy rolled-iron plates. The caissons were bolted together on land, transported into place, sunk and filled with sand, gravel, rock or cement. Then the lighthouse and the quarters for the lighthouse keeper are built on top.
One of these is Bloody Point Bar off Kent Island which also has a lean to it. The lean was because a storm scoured the foundation out from under one side of the light 2 years after it was commissioned in 1882 and was never fixed
One of these is Bloody Point Bar off Kent Island which also has a lean to it. The lean was because a storm scoured the foundation out from under one side of the light 2 years after it was commissioned in 1882 and was never fixed
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greatgrandma
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Another caisson lighthouse is Point No Point
August 16th, 2000
This morning we got fuel (8 gals) to top off the tanks, and a bag of ice. We put up the main and staysail before we were out of Smith Creek, as he is wont to do, but this time it made sense. Sailed out to the bay in 15 knots. Rounded Pt Lookout and it dropped to 6. The autopilot handles it wonderfully tho and I can look around and even take pictures without being white-knuckle-focused on the wind direction. Also we can both concentrate on swatting flies. He discovered that the wind vane switch was labeled wrong, and it had been turned off all this time.
Bob built a nice box for the computer, but the power outlet that he put in didn't work. Discovered extra screws packed in the socket which made a short. Worked fine after that. With the autopilot on, he can leave me on 'watch' and work on stuff and he doesn't have to yell at me for not paying attention to my steering. I will say, if we'd had an autopilot at the beginning, I never would have learned to steer even as well as I now can.
The Navy was using the target off Pt No Pt (or as a British gent who called the Coast Guard called it "Your No Point Point, or Point Pointless or whatever it is"). He wanted to know if his course was OK, but since he was talking to the Baltimore. Coast Guard (90 miles away), they didn't have a clue.
As we passed Point No Point, the wind picked up and we were 'racing' another sailboat. He had a big headsail (unlike our little Yankee jib) and was really heeled over. I tried to see how far we were heeled by looking over the side to see how much of the bottom paint showed, but couldn't do it - Bob said I would fall in.
As we approached the targets, we called the range boat, and asked if we were OK, and we were. The other boat dropped behind us after the radio exchange Saw a couple of helicopters there - usually we see jets.
Thro binoculars, saw them put 3 men on the Point No Point lighthouse from a little boat maybe 20 feet long. The men looked like dollhouse figures on an out of scale boat - they looked much too big for the boat. They were about 1/2 to 1/3rd as tall as the boat was long. There were four on the bow, and one would leapt for the ladder and then a second one and you could see them attain the platform level, and then after another approach, a third one was on the ladder. The 4th one didn't go. Too far away for pictures unfortunately.
August 16th, 2000
This morning we got fuel (8 gals) to top off the tanks, and a bag of ice. We put up the main and staysail before we were out of Smith Creek, as he is wont to do, but this time it made sense. Sailed out to the bay in 15 knots. Rounded Pt Lookout and it dropped to 6. The autopilot handles it wonderfully tho and I can look around and even take pictures without being white-knuckle-focused on the wind direction. Also we can both concentrate on swatting flies. He discovered that the wind vane switch was labeled wrong, and it had been turned off all this time.
Bob built a nice box for the computer, but the power outlet that he put in didn't work. Discovered extra screws packed in the socket which made a short. Worked fine after that. With the autopilot on, he can leave me on 'watch' and work on stuff and he doesn't have to yell at me for not paying attention to my steering. I will say, if we'd had an autopilot at the beginning, I never would have learned to steer even as well as I now can.
The Navy was using the target off Pt No Pt (or as a British gent who called the Coast Guard called it "Your No Point Point, or Point Pointless or whatever it is"). He wanted to know if his course was OK, but since he was talking to the Baltimore. Coast Guard (90 miles away), they didn't have a clue.
As we passed Point No Point, the wind picked up and we were 'racing' another sailboat. He had a big headsail (unlike our little Yankee jib) and was really heeled over. I tried to see how far we were heeled by looking over the side to see how much of the bottom paint showed, but couldn't do it - Bob said I would fall in.
As we approached the targets, we called the range boat, and asked if we were OK, and we were. The other boat dropped behind us after the radio exchange Saw a couple of helicopters there - usually we see jets.
Thro binoculars, saw them put 3 men on the Point No Point lighthouse from a little boat maybe 20 feet long. The men looked like dollhouse figures on an out of scale boat - they looked much too big for the boat. They were about 1/2 to 1/3rd as tall as the boat was long. There were four on the bow, and one would leapt for the ladder and then a second one and you could see them attain the platform level, and then after another approach, a third one was on the ladder. The 4th one didn't go. Too far away for pictures unfortunately.
JohnPD
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Nice account and a really nice painting as well! I like the frame.
