Fort Washington Light

Infobox Lighthouse


caption = Fort Washington Light (USCG photo)
location = Fort Washington Park on the banks of the Potomac River
coordinates = coord|38.712|N|77.037|W|type:landmark
yearbuilt = 1882
yearlit = 1901
automated =
construction = wood frame
shape = pyramidal tower
height = 28 ft
range = 8 mi
characteristic = flashing red

Fort Washington Light is an unusual lighthouse located on the banks of the Potomac River on the grounds of its namesake fort. Although there has been a lighthouse on this location since 1857, the current light was converted from a fog bell tower in 1901.

History

Fort Washington projects into the Potomac River where the river turns north, and in 1856 Jefferson Davis, in his capacity of Secretary of War, authorized the construction of a lighthouse on the fort property, to be maintained by post personnel. Minimal funds were appropriated, and a temporary cast iron tower was constructed the following year. Almost immediately this light was found inadequate, and in 1870 a 16 foot replacement tower was constructed in Baltimore and erected on a site closer to the water. This tower had a sixth-order Fresnel lens.

In 1882 a wooden fog bell tower was erected, and in the following years a keeper's house and various other structures sprung up around the old tower, largely obscuring it. In 1900 a request was made to build a third, taller tower, and as a temporary expedient, a light was added to the fog bell tower, sitting on a platform attached near the top. The replacement light tower was never built, and the converted fog bell tower continues in service. Over the years the 1870 tower, the keepr's house, and the surrounding buildings were all demolished. The tower is readily visible to visitors to the park in which it stands, though it is closed to public access.

References

* [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=438 Fort Washington Lighthouse] - from Lighthousefriends.com
*cite book|title=The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake
last=de Gast|first=Robert
publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press
location=Baltimore
year=1973 pp. 50-53
* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMD.asp Maryland Light Stations] from United States Coast Guard website