Lighthouse Lore - America's First Lighthouse

Sheffield Island Lighthouse off the coast of Norwalk, Connecticut shares a proud history with lighthouses around the world. Although, not an active lighthouse, it is on the National Register of Historic Places and is still a beacon for boaters and visitors who cruise with us every summer to tour it and enjoy our private island. In our continuing winter series of Lighthouse Lore, we are featuring America's first lighthouse. 

Today, active lighthouses are overseen by the United States Coast Guard, which is responsible for the upkeep, and maintenance of all lighthouses and light vessels in the United States. It wasn't always that way, and the evolution of the control of lighthouses and the story of America's first publically funded lighthouse is interesting.

Two Historic Lighthouses at Chesapeake Bay

The story begins in New York City's Federal Hall in 1789  during the first session of the First United States Congress. During this historic session, the U.S. Treasury was founded, George Washington was inaugurated as the nation's first President, and the United States Lighthouse Establishment was created. It was also at this session that Jacob Wray asked Alexander Hamilton, the newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury to build a lighthouse on the shoreline of Cape Henry, which had already claimed 57 maritime vessels. There was a great deal of public pressure for safe waterways and navigation, so Hamilton contracted designer John McComb Jr., the designer of the planned residence of the President to construct a lighthouse and light up the shoreline of Chesapeake Bay.

Cape Henry Lighthouse - America's First

At this juncture, all U.S. lighthouse ownership was transferred to the Federal Government and the newly formed General Lighthouse Authority. In 1792, the first federally funded public works construction project authorized by George Washington and overseen by Alexander Hamilton began with the construction of the Cape Henry Lighthouse at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. This location was considered strategic because of the large volume of shipping traffic that was headed into the bay. The vital ports of Norfolk, Newport News, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. are all accessed through Chesapeake Bay. 

The Octagonal Structure of Cape Henry Lighthouse, a classic!

The lighthouse is an octagonal structure that is 26 feet wide and rises 90 feet to the tower with three windows in the east and four in the west. Like much of Washington D.C. at that time, the  Cape Henry Lighthouse was built of Aquia and Rappahannock sandstone. It was completed in October of 1792 for $17,700.  After its completion, George Washington himself asked for applications for the lighthouse keeper who was selected by him. The first keeper, Laban Goffigan, of Norfolk, Virginia was hired in late October 1792. The lighthouse lit the bay with lamps that burned fish oil. The Cresset was one of the earliest types of lamps used in a lighthouse that burned fish oil. It consisted of a bowl hollowed out of stone which was filled with fish oil with one or more small rope wicks.  

Cape Henrys Lighthouses are located near where English settlers first arrived 

Adding to its storied past, during the American Civil War, the Cape Henry Lighthouse was damaged by Confederate forces, but repaired in 1863 by Union forces. They depended on its light for navigation and merchant ships depended on it to deliver their supplies. Unfortunately, in the 1870s a lightning strike caused large cracks in the Cape Henry Lighthouse and its stability came into question.  Congress was made aware of this and decided to build a second lighthouse here because of its strategic location. The second lighthouse, which is much taller and made of metal plates with a distinctive black and white stripe was constructed in 1881. It was built a mere 350 feet away from the original lighthouse and remains in use today. The original Cape Henry Lighthouse remains standing acting as a daylight marker for triangulation. 

In 1930, the lighthouse was acquired by Preservation Virginia. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970 and as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2002, today it welcomes visitors to tour this historic edifice that played a role in guiding ships to their destination safely for well over 100 years.

Did You Know...

The Cape Henry Lighthouse is the fourth lighthouse built in the United States and the first publically funded lighthouse that was built by the government.

The Cape Henry Lighthouse is located near the spot where English settlers first landed and made their way to settle in Jamestown. 

The second lighthouse at Cape Henry was built for $75,000 in 1881 and made of cast-iron plates bolted together making it the tallest cast-iron fully enclosed lighthouse in the United States.