The Bells Rock Light was a

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

located in the York River in Virginia.

History

In the nineteenth century,

West Point, Virginia West Point (formerly Delaware) is an incorporated town in King William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,306 at the 2010 census. Geography West Point is located at (37.543733, −76.805366). The York River is formed at West ...

was the

head of navigation The head of navigation is the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships. Determining the head of navigation can be subjective on many streams, as the point may vary greatly with the size or the draft of the ship be ...

on the York River, and this light was requested in order to facilitate navigation there. A house was built for it at Lazaretto Point in 1880, but this was diverted to

Thimble Shoal Light Thimble Shoal Light is a sparkplug lighthouse in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay, north of the Hampton Roads channel. The third light at this location, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History The first light at t ...

when the latter burned down. A second house was constructed and installed on this spot in 1881. Three years later it was struck by a schooner, breaking three of the support columns; these were repaired expeditiously, however, and the light passed the rest of its days uneventfully. The diminishing of commercial traffic on the river made the light less important, and in 1928 the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the iron foundation. This arrangement continues to the present.

References

*
Bells Rock Light
from the Chesapeake Chapter of the

United States Lighthouse Society The United States Lighthouse Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding in the restoration of American lighthouses and educating the public about their history. With four chapters, and more than a dozen affiliates, it is one of the ...

* {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1881 Lighthouses in Virginia Lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay York River (Virginia) 1881 establishments in Virginia Buildings and structures demolished in 1928