The Harbor of Refuge Light (originally Harbor of Refuge West End Light, though its east end counterpart has been long since discontinued) is 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 m ...

built on the ocean end of the outer Delaware Breakwater at the mouth of the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inland ...

, just off Cape Henlopen. It was built to function with the

Delaware Breakwater East End Light The Delaware Breakwater East End Light is a lighthouse located on the inner Delaware Breakwater in the Delaware Bay, just off the coast of Cape Henlopen and the town of Lewes, Delaware. Construction and early use In 1884 a light was commissione ...

in order to mark the National Harbor of Refuge.

History

Establishment of Delaware breakwater

In 1825, an

act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...

authorized the initial construction of a

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * Br ...

off of Cape Henlopen in order to create a harbor for ships in stormy weather. This breakwater was not completed until 1869. As shipbuilding advanced into the second half of the 19th century, this harbor was no longer sufficiently deep for the newer and larger ships of the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Thus an outer breakwater was constructed to solve this problem in 1892. The new breakwater was built about north of the original breakwater. Work on this breakwater was finally completed in 1901. The new safe harbor was called the National Harbor of Refuge.

Temporary beacon and first tower

The breakwater was first illuminated by a pair of temporary beacons placed at either end. The south end, where the current lighthouse stands, featured a white frame tower of with a “five-day” lens lantern exhibiting a red light. The tower, completed on January 1, 1902, also had a fog horn. Both beacons were destroyed in a storm the following year and were subsequently replaced. In 1906 construction began on a permanent structure for the southern end of the outer breakwater. The brown, cylindrical, iron foundation was completed in 1907. The frame tower was white and hexagonal in shape, had three stories and lead colored trim topped with a black lantern. This structure was finally completed on November 20, 1908. The original plan had called for a brick structure, though this was changed to wood during the final planning. This initial lighthouse was fitted with a

fourth 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 flashed with white every 10 seconds. In addition a first-class fog siren operated by compressed air was installed. This station quickly proved to be ill-suited to the conditions, however. Storms threw waves completely over the top of the tower. The lighthouse was moved two inches off its foundation in a 1918 storm, and by another two inches in 1920. As a result, it was rendered uninhabitable and it was then dismantled by

United States Lighthouse Service The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of t ...

in 1925.

The current tower

On November 15, 1926, the new Harbor of Refuge light was established. This new

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 ...

structure was designed to endure the most intense of

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

storms. The current structure of is a white, conical tower with a black lantern. The house itself lies on a cast-iron caisson which is built into the breakwater. The pier of the tower is lined inside with reinforced concrete, while the interior of the tower in lined with brick. All of this rest on a block of concrete within the breakwater. Originally the tower was equipped with a four-panel

that flashed every 10 seconds at a focal point. The lens revolved on ball bearings and was driven by a clockwork mechanism driven by weights within a hollow central iron column. This construction was severely tested on several occasions. A 1929 storm hit the lighthouse with 78 mph winds. In 1960,

Hurricane Donna Hurricane Donna, known in Puerto Rico as Hurricane San Lorenzo, was the strongest hurricane of the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season, and caused severe damage to the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and the East Coast of the United States, e ...

broke a window on the main deck. The

Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

then hit Delaware Bay, partially flooding the lighthouse when a wave broke a second story window. Intense winds shook the tower, and the high seas completely submerged the breakwater. The caisson was also even struck by a ship in 1986. After the Fresnel lens became outdated, the house was fitted with a DCB-36 Aerobeacon operated by commercial power. This was used from about 1945 until 1997, when it too became outdated. Today the tower operates with a Vega VRB-25 operated by

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...

and displaying a flashing white light every 10 seconds and is visible up to away. It also has two red sectors which can be seen for and warn of nearby

shoals 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 ...

. As a backup, there is a 250-mm lantern operated by solar power, though its visibility is only . Lastly, the

fog signal A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. Wh ...

is an FA/232 and also operated by solar power, emitting 2 blasts every 30 seconds. The lighthouse was automated in 1973 and is still an active aid to navigation.

History

The exterior of the tower was restored by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

in 1999. Also in 1999, the Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation began working for its restoration. In 2001 the Coast Guard repaired the docking platform and ladders to improve safety of access to the building. In April 2002, the Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation, a non-profit, volunteer organization, signed a lease to manage the structure. The station's dock landing was restored in March 2003 and the first tour was held in June. Except for a brief hiatus in 2005 because of an inability to get insurance for the lighthouse, the Foundation has continued a regular schedule of tours each summer since then. The organization was granted ownership by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2004 under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The first step was to restore the windows, which had been removed and boarded up by the Coast Guard. Damage by

Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Isabel was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Mitch, and the deadliest, costliest, and most intense hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Isabel was also the strongest hurricane in the open waters of the Atlan ...

in September was quickly repaired, but there is concern that the lighthouse is endangered by the poor condition of the Harbor of Refuge Breakwater on which it is built and which is still owned by the Federal Government and is the maintenance responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With the blessing of the Corps of Engineers, the Delaware River & Bay Lighthouse Foundation began seeking Federal appropriations to fund repairs to the breakwater. An appropriation of just under $350,000 was finally made with the Federal budget for 2008 and the Corps began survey and planning work in preparation for repairs. The Corps and the Foundation estimate that at least $2.7 million is needed to stabilize the 100-year-old structure. Meanwhile, the Foundation continues to preserve the lighthouse itself and, in 2008 procured a new stainless steel door system for the main entryway.

External links

Facts from Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbor Of Refuge Light Lighthouses completed in 1908 Lighthouses completed in 1926 Lighthouses in Sussex County, Delaware 1908 establishments in Delaware