Bloody Point Bar Light
Encyclopedia
Bloody Point Bar Light is an early sparkplug lighthouse
in the Chesapeake Bay
near Kent Island, Maryland
.
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 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.
Sparkplug lighthouse
A sparkplug lighthouse, sometimes known as a bug light, is a type of caisson lighthouse so named because of its shape. Generally speaking, a sparkplug lighthouse consists of a three-story living area, with the lantern on top; the whole is then placed upon a concrete or metal caisson. The...
in the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
near Kent Island, Maryland
Kent Island, Maryland
Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay, and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is separated from Sandy Point, an area near Annapolis, by...
.
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-pileScrew-pile lighthouse
A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse was built by blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell...
structures, a caisson design was chosen similar to that at Sharps Island Light
Sharps Island Light
The Sharps Island Light is the third lighthouse to stand nearly 3 miles south-southwest from the southern end of Tilghman Island in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay...
, 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 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.