The Sharps Island Light is the third

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 ...

to stand nearly 3 miles (5 km) south-southwest from the southern end of

Tilghman Island Tilghman Island is an island in the Chesapeake Bay. It is part of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. History Initially known as Great Choptank Island, the island became identified with a series of local families. It was owned by Matthew ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. The structure is best known today for evoking the

Leaning Tower of Pisa The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( ), or simply the Tower of Pisa (), is the , or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable Foundation (engineering), foundation. The tower is on ...

, a condition caused by an

ice floe An ice floe () is a segment of floating ice defined as a flat piece at least across at its widest point, and up to more than across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may cause ice jams on freshwate ...

in 1977. The first lighthouse was built on Sharps Island in 1838, but due to the island's erosion it was moved in 1848. This was replaced with a

screwpile lighthouse A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw piles, screw-pile lighthouse to begin construction was built by the blind Northern Ireland, Irish engineer Al ...

in 1866 near the original location of the first structure. The second lighthouse lasted until 1881 when it was forced off its foundations by an ice floe. It floated nearly five miles down the Chesapeake—with its keepers still inside—until it ran aground, allowing the men to escape unharmed. The third light was manufactured by the Builder's Iron Company of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. It consisted of a cylindrical caisson in diameter and tall. It was constructed of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

plates which were thick. These were bolted together on site. The caisson was sunk approximately into the bottom and then filled with concrete to resist the force of waves and ice. On top of the caisson was a cylindrical tower tall, which tapered from in diameter at its base to at the top. The iron plates forming the tower were thick. The new light was built by the 5th Lighthouse District Engineer, O. E. Babcock, his staff, and a temporary force of laborers recruited for the project. Laborers were paid $2.40 a day plus board, and proved difficult to recruit in sufficient numbers. USLHT ''Tulip'' carried men and materials to the site. ''Tulip's'' replacement, the newly-launched USLHT ''Jessamine'', with Babcock aboard, sailed for Sharp's Island on 27 September 1881, even before she was officially commissioned. She took a load of iron plates from Baltimore on 22 November 1881. On 15 December 1881 ''Jessamine'' left Baltimore with the last iron plates for the new lighthouse. The current light, a

sparkplug lighthouse A caisson lighthouse (also referred to as a sparkplug lighthouse, or bug light) is a type of lighthouse whose superstructure rests on a concrete or metal caisson. Caisson lighthouses were developed in the late nineteenth century as a cheaper alter ...

, was completed in 1882. Its fourth-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

was replaced with a lens in 1977; the focal plane is above sea level. The tower includes an integral dwelling and was staffed until 1938 when the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

automated the light. Leaning by about 15° since it was ice-damaged in 1977, the structure is picturesque, but in poor condition. The Sharps Island Light was listed on 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 ...

(reference # 82002821) on July 22, 1982. It is one of the many historic features along

Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail is a series of water routes in the United States extending approximately along the Chesapeake Bay, the nation's largest estuary, and its tributaries in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and i ...

. It is also on the ''

Lighthouse Digest ''Lighthouse Digest'', a specialty magazine from FogHorn Publishing in East Machias, Maine, is about maritime history with particular attention to the preservation of lighthouses and their past. Though it is geared toward enthusiasts and an ...

Doomsday List ''Lighthouse Digest'', a specialty magazine from FogHorn Publishing in East Machias, Maine, is about maritime history with particular attention to the preservation of lighthouses and their past. Though it is geared toward enthusiasts and ant ...

of endangered lighthouses. As of 2006, the lighthouse was a candidate for sale under the

National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA; Public Law 106-355; 16 U.S.C. 470w-7) is United States, American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally owned lighthouses into private hands. It was created a ...

. It was deactivated in January 2010.

References

External links

Aerial photographs at
Marinas.com.
Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, Sharps Island Light.

including timeline.

{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1838 Lighthouses completed in 1882 Lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay Inclined towers Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Transportation buildings and structures in Talbot County, Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Talbot County, Maryland

References

Further reading

External links