The Clay Island Light was a historic lighthouse located on Clay Island at the mouth of the Nanticoke River on the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

. Constructed in 1832, it continued to serve the area until 1892, when it was replaced by the Sharkfin Shoal Light. Two years later, the building collapsed, and nothing remains of it.

History

Since at least 1673, Clay Island had appeared on maps of the

area. In that year, it was included on the Augustine Herman map of the Chesapeake, although this map referred to the location as Phillips Point rather than Clay Island, and it was under that name that the location would appear in the novel '' Moll Flanders'' by Daniel Defoe. Clay Island is at an important nautical location, as it sits where the Nanticoke River and Fishing Bay intersect near the mouth of the Wicomico River on the lower

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula tha ...

. In 1828, land for the construction of a lighthouse was purchased for $600. The light was constructed four years later, in 1832, by

John Donahoo John Donahoo (sometimes spelled Donahoe) (1786–1858) was a lighthouse builder active in Maryland for much of the first half of the nineteenth century. Little is known of Donahoo's life, but he appears to have been an active citizen in Havre de ...

, at a total cost of $6,500. The structure he built consisted of a small house with a tower on its roof. This tower eventually enclosed a sixth order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

, which displayed a white light above the mean high water mark. By 1882, reports claimed that the structure was beginning to wash away. The Lighthouse Board chose not to repair it, preferring instead to replace it with a more modern light located on Sharkfin Shoal nearby. When the Sharkfin Shoal Light was finally completed in 1892, the Clay Island Light was decommissioned and abandoned. Two years later, the structure collapsed. No remnants of the lighthouse exist.

References

External links

* {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1832 Lighthouses in Maryland Transportation buildings and structures in Wicomico County, Maryland Lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay Nanticoke River