The Sharkfin Shoal Light was a screw-pile lighthouse located at the mouth of the

Nanticoke River The Nanticoke River is a 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 ...

in Chesapeake Bay, US.

History

This light was constructed in 1892 to replace the

Clay Island Light 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. ...

to the northeast. During an accident on 21 December 1947, two men, Charles E. Palmquist and G. F. Cotte, died by Tangier Island in a boat departed close by from Sharfin Shoal Light that "burned on the water's edge". The investigation was led by Captain Morris G. Jory. The posthumous investigation was led by Lieutenant Commander Joseph R. Scullion. Changed in 1950, the light pattern emitted from the lighthouse was altered to be "flashing every 10 seconds, flash two seconds, eclipse 8 seconds" with 600 white candlepower and 130 red candlepower. The change came into effect on October 27, and was switched from a manually operated station to an unattended, automatic station. In 1964, the house was dismantled and a skeleton tower light placed on the foundation.

List of lightkeepers

* Henry C. Sterling (April 1901-?) * (Assistant) Walter C. Carew (?-31 August 1904) * (Assistant) Addison S. Hall (December 1909-?)

References

*
Sharkfin Shoal Light
from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society *

External links

* {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1892 Lighthouses in Maryland Transportation buildings and structures in Wicomico County, Maryland Lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay Nanticoke River