Wolf Trap Light is a caisson lighthouse in the Virginia portion of 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 / ...

, about seven and a half miles northeast of New Point Comfort Light. It is 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 ...

History

Wolf Trap Shoal juts into the bay from Winter Harbor, a point a few miles north of Mobjack Bay and the York River. It got its name from the 1691 grounding of HMS ''Wolf'', a British naval vessel engaged in enforcing the Navigation Act and in combating piracy. In 1821 a lightship was stationed at this spot, and after refurbishment in 1854, the original ship was destroyed by Confederate raiders in 1861 during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Two years later a replacement ship was put on station. First Wolf Trap Lighthouse

In 1870 a

screwpile 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. Constructio ...

was constructed on a hexagonal foundation, the house being prefabricated at the station at Lazzaretto Point 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 ...

. This light survived until 22 January 1893, when ice tore the house from its foundation. The keeper was able to escape, but the house was found floating far to the south at Thimble Shoals, where the lantern and lens were recovered. A

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthou ...

was put on station to serve as a temporary lightship and a request was put to Congress to appropriate funds for a new lighthouse. ''LV-46'', assigned to tend the station, suffered a boiler casualty August 28, 1893, killing two of the crew, and was replaced by ''LV-97'' until March 16, 1894, when ''LV-46'' could return to the station. On 3 March 1893 Congress approved $70,000 for the construction of the new light. The screw-pile design was abandoned because of its demonstrated weakness in the face of ice. The new design called for the lighthouse to sit on a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

pier. The pier was a cylindrical shell that flared out at the top. The shell was in diameter at its base and tall. It was built of 210 cast-iron plates which were 1", 1 1/4", and 1 1/2" thick. They were bolted together on site with 1 1/4" bolts. The bottom of the shell was filled with concrete. The remainder of the shell became the cellar for the house. It contained water tanks, and separate rooms for the storage of coal, oil, and provisions. The house was built on top of the shell. It was made of brick, painted red in the late 1920s, standing two stories with the lantern on its roof. Unlike the Maryland examples, the roof is flat. Quantities of

rip-rap 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. ...

were dumped around the base of the light to resist pressure from the ice. The Engineer of the 5th Lighthouse District, Captain Eric Bergland, was responsible for the construction of the new light. While contractors and temporary laborers did much of the work, he and his staff were on site and used 5th District ships to support the construction. USLHT ''Jessamine'' hauled materials to the site, did test boring, and drove mooring piles. The metalwork for the pier cost $6,950. This material was delivered to the Lazaretto Depot of the Lighthouse Board in November 1893. The cost of erecting the pier was $31,150. The pier was completed in April 1894. ''Jessamine'' began loading material for the superstructure of the light on 26 June 1894. The Lighthouse Board published a Notice to Mariners announcing that the new light would be lit on or about 30 September 1894. Complaints about the visibility of the original fixed light led to a change to a flashing characteristic in 1895. Automation came in 1971. A 300mm acrylic lens was installed in 1984, to be replaced with the current VRB-25 in 1996. A set of black plywood blinds is installed in the lantern to block stray reflections from the panes. Wolf Trap Light was offered to non-profit and historical organizations in 2004 under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. As no applications were received, it was put up for auction in 2005. Nick Korstad, of Seattle, Washington, purchased the station, and was unable to obtain financing for his plan to convert the light into a

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

, and after an unsuccessful attempt to auction the light on

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, it was sold privately again. The light was bought by Dr. James Southard, Jr. for $119,000, and was again up for sale in 2012, including a nearby waterfront lot, for $288,000. In March 2023, the lighthouse was purchased by Richard Cucé of Quakertown, Pennsylvania for $125,000. Mr Cucé also owns Hooper Island Lighthouse near Dorchester County, Maryland.

References

External links

Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project - Wolf Trap LightWe paid $200,000 for an abandoned lighthouse! Our first time inside Wolf Trap Lighthouse!
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1870 Lighthouses completed in 1894 Houses completed in 1894 Buildings and structures in Mathews County, Virginia Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Mathews County, Virginia