Assateague Light is the lighthouse located on the southern end of

Assateague Island Assateague Island is a long barrier island located off the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland while the southern third is in Virginia. The Maryland sect ...

off the coast of the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

Eastern Shore, United States. The lighthouse is located within the

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife preserve operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. It is primarily located on the Virginia half of Assateague Island with portions (only about 3%) located on the Maryland side of the ...

and can be accessed by road from

Chincoteague Island Chincoteague may refer to: Geography in the United States *Chincoteague Bay, a bay on the coast of Maryland and Virginia *Chincoteague Channel, a channel in Virginia connecting Chincoteague Bay and Chincoteague Inlet *Chincoteague Inlet, an inlet o ...

over the Assateague Channel. It is owned by the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

and operated by the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

and is still used as an active aid in navigation. The keeper's quarters are used as seasonal housing for refuge temporary employees, volunteers, and interns. Constructed in 1867 to replace a shorter lighthouse built in 1833, the lighthouse is

conical A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

in shape and is painted in alternating bands of red and white. A $1.5 million renovation was completed in October 2013. This included replacement of the lower gallery deck, removal & replacement of glass, restoration of the widow's walk & painting of the exterior.

History

Originally, no light existed between

Cape Henlopen Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast on the bay side are ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

and

Cape Charles, Virginia Cape Charles is a town / municipal corporation in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,009 as of the 2010 Census. History Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on Virginia's Eastern Shore, ...

. In 1830 the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

appropriated money for a light in the general vicinity of Chincoteague Island. The following year, the Collector of Customs in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

selected Assateague Island. The original Assateague Lighthouse was built on the southern tip of the island. Since barrier islands like Assateague shift and change, it is no wonder that the island has grown approximately 5 miles since the site was first designated. Over the years, a hook has developed to the south and the cove created by that hook has been gradually filling with sand. It originally housed a first-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the ...

which has since been replaced with a more powerful

electronically The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification a ...

powered

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

. The first-order Fresnel lens from the lighthouse is on display at the Museum of Chincoteague Island."Assateague Lighthouse info"
Lighthouse Friend's website, retrieved 2017-11-04 The grounds also contain a keeper's house and oil house. The lighthouse is depicted on the 2003–2004

Federal Duck Stamp The Federal Duck Stamp, formally known as the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, is an adhesive stamp issued by the United States federal government that must be purchased prior to hunting for migratory waterfowl such as ducks and gee ...

, designed by Ron Louque. The light is open for public tours on weekends during the summer.

Gallery

File:USCGassateaguelight.JPG, Assateague Lighthouse – U.S. Coast Guard Archive File:AssateagueLighthouse.jpg, Assateague Lighthouse, Aug 2007 File:Williamsburg 07 063.jpg, Assateague Lighthouse plaque, Aug 2007 File:Assateague Lighthouse donors plaque.jpg, Assateague Island Lighthouse plaque set in 2013 File:Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge 1.jpg, Assateague Channel with Assateague Light in distance

References

External links

Lighthousefriends: Assateague LighthouseU.S. Fish an& Wildlife Service: Assateague Island Lighthouse
* ttp://gravesinternationalart.com/RonLouque.html Graves International Art - Ron Louque Original Paintings {{authority control Assateague Island Lighthouses completed in 1833 Lighthouses completed in 1867 National Register of Historic Places in Accomack County, Virginia Buildings and structures in Accomack County, Virginia Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Tourist attractions in Accomack County, Virginia 1833 establishments in Virginia