Chimney of the Lightkeeper's House at Dutch Gap - Chester, VA - Lonely Chimneys on Waymarking.com

It's not often one finds a historical marker associated with a lonely chimney, but that's the case at Dutch Gap. This chimney is located behind the fort at the Citie of Henricus. No fee is required to view the chimney and the markers nearby. The text of the marker describing the lightkeeper's house is included below.

This chimney is also a benchmark. The PID is GV5456. See the logs at geocaching.com (visit link)

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The Lightkeeper's House - The Lights of Dutch Gap

The foundation is all that remains of the lightkeeper's house. The lightkeeper had to live on site to maintain the gas-powered lights which were once located on the bluff. Lights were constructed after the first Dutch Gap channel was completed in 1872 because of the narrow, winding river channel which was treacherous for navigation especially at night and in foul weather.

Today ocean-going ships serving the Port of Richmond carry over 500,000 ton of cargo yearly to northern Europe, the Caribbean, and Canada. In addition, ships and barges transport oil, sand, gravel, and construction materials from private wharves on the James.

This high level of commerce on the James and the fact that large vessels can completely fill the channel necessitates recreational vessels to be conscious of safety and take precautions to stay safe distances from large ships.

Is your description history or fantasy: History Website for this waymark: [Web Link] Public or Private Propery: Public Rate this waymark: Not listed Additional waypoints to this waymark: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
A photo of the chimney is required to post your visit. Any information that you may have as to the history of the location would be appreciated. You may also add your best guess as to the building that it was attached to or any other information about the location that you may have.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/12/2010 kristianmatthews visited it