Clay Island Light
Encyclopedia
The Clay Island Light was a historic lighthouse
located on Clay Island at the mouth of the Nanticoke River
on the Chesapeake Bay
. Constructed in 1832, it continued to serve the area until 1892, when it was replaced by the Sharkfin Shoal Light
. Two years later, the building collapsed, and nothing remains of it.
area. In that year, it was included on the Augustine Herman map of the Chesapeake, although this map referred to the location as Phillips Point rather than Clay Island, and it was under that name that the location would appear in the novel Moll Flanders
by Daniel Defoe
. Clay Island is at an important nautical location, as it sits where the Nanticoke River
and Fishing Bay
intersect near the mouth of the Wicomico River
on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland
.
In 1828, land for the construction of a lighthouse was purchased for $600. The light was constructed four years later, in 1832, by John Donahoo
, at a total cost of $6,500. The structure he built consisted of a small house with a tower on its roof. This tower eventually enclosed a sixth order Fresnel lens
, which displayed a white light 36 feet (11 m) above the mean high water mark. By 1882, reports claimed that the structure was beginning to wash away. The Lighthouse Board chose not to repair it, preferring instead to replace it with a more modern light located on Sharkfin Shoal nearby. When the Sharkfin Shoal Light
was finally completed in 1892, the Clay Island Light was decommissioned and abandoned. Two years later, the structure collapsed. No remnants of the lighthouse exist.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
located on Clay Island at the mouth of the Nanticoke River
Nanticoke River
The Nanticoke River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in southern Kent County, Delaware, flows through Sussex County, Delaware, and forms the boundary between Dorchester County, Maryland and Wicomico County, Maryland. The river course proceeds southwest...
on 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...
. Constructed in 1832, it continued to serve the area until 1892, when it was replaced by the Sharkfin Shoal Light
Sharkfin Shoal Light
The Sharkfin Shoal Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located at the mouth of the Nanticoke River in the Chesapeake Bay.-History:This light was constructed in 1892 to replace the Clay Island Light to the northeast. In 1964 the house was dismantled and a skeleton tower light placed on the...
. Two years later, the building collapsed, and nothing remains of it.
History
Since at least 1673, Clay Island had appeared on maps of the Chesapeake BayChesapeake 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...
area. In that year, it was included on the Augustine Herman map of the Chesapeake, although this map referred to the location as Phillips Point rather than Clay Island, and it was under that name that the location would appear in the novel Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...
by Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
. Clay Island is at an important nautical location, as it sits where the Nanticoke River
Nanticoke River
The Nanticoke River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in southern Kent County, Delaware, flows through Sussex County, Delaware, and forms the boundary between Dorchester County, Maryland and Wicomico County, Maryland. The river course proceeds southwest...
and Fishing Bay
Fishing Bay
Fishing Bay is a large saltwater bay in Maryland bordered by to the east Elliot's Island, Maryland and the rest of south Dorchester County, Maryland to the west. It is a part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed....
intersect near the mouth of the Wicomico River
Wicomico River (Maryland eastern shore)
The Wicomico River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern shore of Maryland. It drains an area of low marshlands and farming country in the middle Delmarva Peninsula. The name "Wicomico" derives from the words wicko mekee, meaning "a place where houses are built," apparently...
on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland
Eastern Shore of Maryland
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a territorial part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies predominately on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay and consists of nine counties. The origin of term Eastern Shore was derived to distinguish a territorial part of the State of Maryland from the Western...
.
In 1828, land for the construction of a lighthouse was purchased for $600. The light was constructed four years later, in 1832, by John Donahoo
John Donahoo
John Donahoo was a lighthouse builder active in Maryland for much of the first half of the nineteenth century....
, at a total cost of $6,500. The structure he built consisted of a small house with a tower on its roof. This tower eventually enclosed a sixth order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
, which displayed a white light 36 feet (11 m) above the mean high water mark. By 1882, reports claimed that the structure was beginning to wash away. The Lighthouse Board chose not to repair it, preferring instead to replace it with a more modern light located on Sharkfin Shoal nearby. When the Sharkfin Shoal Light
Sharkfin Shoal Light
The Sharkfin Shoal Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located at the mouth of the Nanticoke River in the Chesapeake Bay.-History:This light was constructed in 1892 to replace the Clay Island Light to the northeast. In 1964 the house was dismantled and a skeleton tower light placed on the...
was finally completed in 1892, the Clay Island Light was decommissioned and abandoned. Two years later, the structure collapsed. No remnants of the lighthouse exist.