Fog Point Light

Infobox Lighthouse


caption =
location = Northwest tip of Smith Island, Maryland
coordinates = coord|38.0299|N|76.0417|W|type:landmark (approximate)
yearlit = 1827
automated =
yeardeactivated = 1875
foundation =
construction = stone/wood
shape = House with lantern on roof
height = 40 ft
lens = fifth-order Fresnel lens
currentlens =
range =
characteristic =
status = no longer extant The Fog Point Light was a historic lighthouse located at Fog Point, the northwestern tip of Smith Island, Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay.

History

This light was constructed in 1827 by John Donahoo to mark the entrance to the Kedges Strait north of Smith Island. Originally equipped with 10 Argand lamps and reflectors, it received a fifth-order Fresnel lens in 1855.

This light's isolated location on swampy ground was cause for concern, and in 1872 a Lighthouse Board report noted it as having little value. In 1875 it was supplanted by the Solomons Lump Light, which stood in the strait to the northeast. The old light was abandoned, and no trace of it remains.

References

* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMD.asp Maryland Light Stations] , from the United States Coast Guard website
* [http://www.cheslights.org/heritage/fogpoint.htm Fog Point Light] , from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
*cite book
last= de Gast
first= Robert
title= The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake
year= 1973
publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press p. 166