The Jones Point Light is a small river

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

located on the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. It was built in 1855.

Lighthouse

It is a small, one-story house with a lantern on top and served primarily as a warning light for naval ships approaching the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...

. The lighthouse was discontinued in 1926, replaced by a small steel skeletal tower located nearby; this smaller tower was in use for ten years before being discontinued. After being dark for more than half a century, Jones Point Light was relit by a private concern in 1995, however, it was eventually put out again after ownership switched from the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

Foundation to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. Certain local efforts have called for the structure to be relit, but as of 2017, the only working lighthouse on the

is the Fort Washington Point Lighthouse, located five miles downriver. The lighthouse is located on Jones Point in Alexandria, and is part of Jones Point Park. Visitors can approach the lighthouse, but it is currently impossible to enter the building. The lighthouse is immediately north of the confluence of Hunting Creek and the Potomac River. The 1791-1792 survey of the boundaries of the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

began at a spot that was then at the tip of a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

at the Point. The south cornerstone from the boundary survey remains in the

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation, ...

adjacent to the lighthouse. In 1980, the lighthouse and the cornerstone were listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as reference #80000352. The lighthouse is also listed in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

as survey number VA-641. The listing shows lighthouse drawings and several black-and-white photos of the lighthouse prior to restoration.

Gallery

File:Jones Point seen from Belle Haven.jpg, The lighthouse and the

Woodrow Wilson Bridge The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, also known as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge or the Wilson Bridge, is a bascule bridge that spans the Potomac River between Alexandria, Virginia and Oxon Hill, Maryland in Prince George's County, Maryland. The ...

, seen from the bank of the Potomac River at Belle Haven File:Jones Point lens.jpg, Fifth-order Fresnel lens once used at the lighthouse, on display at The Lyceum, Alexandria's history museum File:Jones Point Lighthouse (1996).jpg, Jones Point Lighthouse in 1996 Image:USCGJones_Point_1.jpg, Skeleton tower at the point, which replaced the earlier structure File:South_cornerstone_plaque_1926.jpg, Plaque placed in the sea wall next marking the south cornerstone. File:South_cornerstone_in_sea_wall.jpg, The boundary cornerstone is located in the lighthouse's sea wall. File:Boundary Stone (District of Columbia) South Cornerstone close-up.jpg, A close-up of the cornerstone. File:Jones Point Light, Jones Point, Alexandria, Virginia, 2017.jpg, Jones Point Light, Jones Point, Alexandria, Virginia, in the spring of 2017 File:JonesPointLight.jpg, Jones Point Lighthouse, Looking Southeast

References

External links

NPS Inventory of Historic Light Stations

Lighthousefriends: Jones Point LighthouseJones Point Lighthouse, Jones Point, Potomac River, Alexandria, Independent City, VA
at the

(HABS)
America's Byways: Jones Point Lighthouse
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1855 Buildings and structures in Alexandria, Virginia Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia George Washington Memorial Parkway National Park Service areas in Virginia