Hooper Island Light

Infobox Lighthouse


caption = 1951 photograph of Hooper Island Light (USCG)
location = 4 mi west of Middle Hooper Island in the Chesapeake Bay
coordinates = coord|38.256|N|76.250|W|type:landmark
yearlit = 1902
automated = 1961
yeardeactivated =
foundation = Pneumatic caisson
construction = iron
shape = round "sparkplug" tower
height = 63 ft
lens = fourth-order Fresnel lens
currentlens = solar-powered
range = 9 mi
characteristic = double white flash
status = standing/active

The Hooper Island Light is a lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay, west of Middle Hooper Island in Maryland.

History

The initial request of a light at this site was made in 1897, but construction was delayed until 1901 after the Variety Iron Works Company failed to deliver materials in time. Unlike earlier caisson lights in the bay, the foundation was placed using the pneumatic process, in which the caisson is kept under pressure to expel water, and the interior is excavated to bring the cylinder down to the desired depth.

The tower is taller than other Maryland "sparkplug" lights because of the provision for a watch room as well as a lantern atop the tower, the only example in the state. A fog bell was originally housed on the lower gallery but was later moved to the watch room level, a backup to the fog horn added in the 1930s. The characteristic was changed several times through the years, with different patterns of flashes and eclipses.

Along with many other Chesapeake Bay lights, automation came in the early 1960s. In 1976 the original fourth-order Fresnel lens was stolen, and it was replaced with a solar-power lamp. The light remains in active service.

References

* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMD.asp Maryland Light Stations] , from the United States Coast Guard
* [http://www.cheslights.org/heritage/hooperisland.htm Hooper Island Lighthouse] , from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
* [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=433 Hooper Island Lighthouse] , from Lighthousefriends.com
*cite book
last= de Gast
first= Robert
title= The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake
year= 1973
publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press pp. 134-137