Bloody Point Bar Light

Infobox Lighthouse


caption = Bloody Point Bar Light prior to 1960 fire (USCG)
location = West of the southern end of Kent Island, Maryland
coordinates = coord|38.833|N|76.391|W|type:landmark
yearlit = 1882
automated = 1961
yeardeactivated =
foundation = caisson
construction = iron
shape = "spark plug" round tower
height = 54 ft
lens = fourth order Fresnel lens
currentlens = solar-powered acrylic
range = white 9 miles/red 7 miles
characteristic = Flashing white with two red sectors
status = standing/active

Bloody Point Bar Light is an early caisson lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay near Kent Island, Maryland.

History

Although a light at this location was first requested in 1865, funds were not appropriated until 1881. Based on experience with ice damage to screw-pile structures, a caisson design was chosen similar to that at Sharps Island Light, which was under construction at the time. Ironically, the newly completed light began to list its first winter due to scouring from storms. Riprap was laid immediately to halt further damage, and in 1884-85 a program of dredging and additional stone was successful in bringing the light to with a a few degrees of vertical. In the same period a room was added to the side to house a fogbell and its ringing mechanism.

In 1960 the interior of the light was destroyed by a fire that started from an electrical short in the equipment room and spread throughout the light. The two coastguardsmen stationed at the light were unsuccessful in fighting the fire and eventually had to abandon their post, narrowly escaping when their dinghy was caught at the end of its lines on the davits. Fortunately a large wave lifted them free in time to avoid being caught in the explosion of the light's fuel tanks. The interior of the light, including the lens, was a total loss, and it was completely gutted and automated with a new acrylic lens the following year.

In 2006 the light, like many others on the bay, was offered at auction, and it was purchased by Michael Gabriel, a Nevada-based lawyer who has announced plans to renovate the interior.

References

* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMD.asp Maryland Light Stations] , from the United States Coast Guard website
* [http://www.cheslights.org/heritage/bloodypt.htm Bloody Point Bar Light] , from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
* [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=427 Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse] , from Lighthousefriends
*cite book
last= de Gast
first= Robert
title= The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake
year= 1973
publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press pp. 122-125