The Turkey Point Light is a historic

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 ...

at the head of 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 ...

. Although only a tower, the height of the bluffs on which it stands makes it the third highest light off the water in the bay. It is also known for the large number of women who served as

lightkeeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

History

Congress appropriated $5,000 for this light in early 1833, which was built by John Donahoo and completed in July 1833. He followed essentially the same plan as he had used for

Concord Point Light Concord Point Light is a lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Maryland. It overlooks the point where Susquehanna River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, an area of increasing navigational traffic when it was constructed in 1827. It is the northernmost lig ...

. Acquisition of the land was delayed somewhat by a controversy over valuation. The light originally used eleven wicks and reflectors, but in 1855 a fourth order Fresnel lens with a single lamp was substituted, with the lantern upgraded in 1867 to fit the new lens better. The lighting arrangements were upgraded several times over the years, with electrification coming in 1942. Its automation in 1947 brought about the retirement of

Fannie Salter Fannie May Hudgins Salter (May 20, 1882 – March 11, 1966) was an American lighthouse keeper and the last lighthouse keeper at Turkey Point Light in Maryland. She served from 1925 until she retired in 1947, at which point the station became f ...

, the last woman lighthouse keeper in the United States. Along with the tower, Donahoo built a keeper's house. Originally a single story, it was raised to two stories in 1889. The site also housed an unusual fog bell enclosure, built in 1888. Due to the height of the bluff, it was decided to put the bell as low to the ground as possible. To accommodate the weights for the ringing mechanism, a thirty-foot well was dug and the enclosure placed over them. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

a watchtower was placed atop the bell enclosure. After automation, the tower's remote site made it a target for vandalism. An incident in which the tower was broken into and the lens stolen brought about the removal of a large section of the wooden spiral staircase and the sealing of the entry with a steel door. The keeper's house decayed and was torn down in 1972. The structure was added to 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 ...

on December 2, 2002 as Turkey Point Light Station. In 2000 the light was decommissioned and leased to Turkey Point Light Station (TPLS) Inc., a non-profit organization which has taken over maintenance of the structure; the group reactivated the light as a private aid to navigation in 2002. The group additionally replaced the steel ladder in the lighthouse with a new wooden spiral staircase. On weekends volunteers give tours of the lighthouse including a walk to the top.Elk Neck State Park staff In 2006, the Coast Guard transferred ownership to the state of Maryland, which then renewed the lease to TPLS. The land around the station is today part of

Elk Neck State Park Elk Neck State Park is a public recreation area located between Chesapeake Bay and the Elk River near the southern tip of the Elk Neck Peninsula in Cecil County, Maryland. The state park is home to the historic Turkey Point Light and offers l ...

References

External links

Turkey Point Lighthouse
- from Lighthousefriends.com * *

from TPLS website
Turkey Point Light Station
- Friends group

*, including photo from 1999, at Maryland Historical Trust {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1833 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Transportation buildings and structures in Cecil County, Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Cecil County, Maryland