The Seven Foot Knoll Light was built in 1855 and is the oldest

screw-pile 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-pile lighthouse to begin construction was built by the blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell. Construction ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It was located atop Seven Foot Knoll in the

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 the parts: the ...

until it was replaced by a modern

navigational aid Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

and relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor as a museum exhibit.

Location

It was initially installed on a rocky

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...

called Seven Foot Knoll (at ), in the mouth of the

Patapsco River The Patapsco River mainstem is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal port ...

. The northern tidal reach of this river is the

Baltimore Harbor Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities fo ...

, where the now-decommissioned lighthouse has been placed as a museum exhibit. In 1997 the lighthouse was transferred to the Baltimore Maritime Museum (now the

Historic Ships in Baltimore Historic Ships in Baltimore, created as a result of the merger of the USS Constellation Museum and the Baltimore Maritime Museum, is a maritime museum located in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. The museum's collecti ...

museum) and is permanently installed at the south end of Pier 5. The Seven Foot Knoll Light at the south end of Pier 5

Construction

Constructed of rolled

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

, the lighthouse consists of three main sections. The gallery deck was located above the average high tide waters. The house was the second section, sitting directly atop the gallery deck. This is where the keeper and his family would live. Atop the housing area was the third section of the lighthouse, the light beacon. A 4th 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 ...

was housed in the small light compartment. It was visible for .

History

The first requests for a light came in 1848, with initial appropriations in 1851. Delays in planning and bidding pushed the start of construction to 1854. The house consisted of a cylindrical structure of wrought iron plates, with the ninth pile in the center. Total construction costs came to $43,000 by its completion the following year. Most parts were fabricated in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

at the Murray and Hazelhurst iron

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

. The parts were then shipped to Seven Foot Knoll by boat where they were assembled atop of the

screw piles Screw piles, sometimes referred to as screw-piles, screw piers, screw anchors, screw foundations, ground screws, helical piles, helical piers, or helical anchors are a steel screw-in piling and ground anchoring system used for building deep fou ...

. Ice, the perennial threat to screw-pile structures, caused damage in 1884 and 1894, leading to the piling of of

riprap Riprap (in North American English), also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour (in British English) or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. ...

around the piles. The light was automated in 1949, and fell into disrepair, eventually being supplanted by a skeleton tower. In 1988, the lighthouse was removed from Seven Foot Knoll, carried by a 1000 Ton Capacity Shearleg derrick, and placed ashore in

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The ...

where it was donated to the city. On August 22, 1989 the lighthouse was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Aided by the Lady Maryland Foundation (now the Living Classrooms Foundation), many members of the Steinhice family descendants worked to restore the structure prior to its re-opening. The lighthouse is a contributing element in the

Baltimore National Heritage Area Baltimore National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area encompassing portions of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The designated area includes the central portion of the city, waterfront, inner neighborhoods and portions of the ...

and part of the

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

Rescues

Thomas Jefferson Steinhise (Keeper 1930–1941) assisted in the rescue of a

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

crew in 1933. The tugboat ''Point Breeze'' was then owned by the Curtis Towing Company of Baltimore. She was towing a barge of dredge spoils from Baltimore to Gibson Island on August 20, 1933. The winds and ) seas had overcome the tug and the crew abandoned ship. Steinhice took the lighthouse's small motorboat and made his way out in the direction of the tug's distress whistle where he pulled six crew members from the water. Five crew members survived but the engineer perished. Steinhise was awarded the Silver

Lifesaving Medal The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are U.S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were established by Act of Congress, 20 June 1874; later authorized by . These decorations are two of the oldest med ...

for his actions in saving the lives of the stranded crew. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery,

Glen Burnie Glen Burnie is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population of Glen Burnie was 67,639 at ...

, MD. and his memorial includes a U.S. Lighthouse Service grave-marker.

List of keepers

A list of Head civilian keepers.

References

External links

Official webpage at Baltimore Maritime Museum
*

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 ...

Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse
at lighthousefriends.com *

* ttp://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=8f4dfcedfc7f201461c5e34004215d71 Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse 3D Model* *, including photo dated 1993, at Maryland Historical Trust {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1855 Inner Harbor, Baltimore Landmarks in Baltimore Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore Lighthouses in Baltimore Baltimore National Heritage Area Historic American Engineering Record in Maryland