Dutch Gap Canal Lights
Encyclopedia
The Dutch Gap Canal Lights were built to mark the ends of Dutch Gap Canal, now called Dutch Gap Cutoff, which is a ¾ nm cut across the base of an oxbow
in the James River
between Hopewell
and Richmond
, Virginia
. They were on Farrar's Island, on the south side of the river. The ox-bow is actually just to the west of Dutch Gap
, which is now a conservation area.
The first two structures were small wood frame towers, together with a keeper's house, which were built in 1875. The second tower washed away in December 1878; the first had been lost earlier. Both were replaced by lights on posts. The keeper's house was threatened by erosion of the cliff and was moved inland in 1890.
In 1910 the lights were replaced by fixed lights. Their function survives, in modern form, as lights on skeleton towers, both with the characteristic Quick Flashing Green, numbers "151" and "155", Light List numbers 2-12705 and 2-12735. The coordinates shown are for light 151 which is actually in the river. The original light was on the bank to the south.
Oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...
in the James River
James River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
between Hopewell
Hopewell, Virginia
Hopewell is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 22,591 at the 2010 Census . It is in Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. They were on Farrar's Island, on the south side of the river. The ox-bow is actually just to the west of Dutch Gap
Dutch Gap
Dutch Gap is located on the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia near the site of the lost 17th-century city of Henricus.In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale, according to a method he had learned while campaigning in Holland, cut a ditch across a portion of land behind town...
, which is now a conservation area.
The first two structures were small wood frame towers, together with a keeper's house, which were built in 1875. The second tower washed away in December 1878; the first had been lost earlier. Both were replaced by lights on posts. The keeper's house was threatened by erosion of the cliff and was moved inland in 1890.
In 1910 the lights were replaced by fixed lights. Their function survives, in modern form, as lights on skeleton towers, both with the characteristic Quick Flashing Green, numbers "151" and "155", Light List numbers 2-12705 and 2-12735. The coordinates shown are for light 151 which is actually in the river. The original light was on the bank to the south.