Sharps Island - Coastal Lighthouses on Waymarking.com

This structure was constructed in 1881-2 and first lit on February 1, 1882. Sharps Island, now completely cover by water, had been an island in the Chesapeake Bay that consisted of about 900 acres of land. The Island was named after Peter Sharp, a Quaker doctor who was one of the island’s owners. Eventually, however, the island became the victim of erosion and advancing waters of the bay such that during the 1800s the land was receding at a rate of about 100 feet per year. This is the third light at this site. The first was a simple wooden house with a lantern room on top that held the lamp and reflectors. This house was set up to be movable so that it could be pulled back from the receding shore line. The house was sited on five acres of land on the 900 acre island. By 1865 the water had reached a corner of the building and the five acres were gone and the entire size of the island was down to 450 acres. It was decided to build a screw pile lighthouse and to place it at the tip of the shoals that extended from the tip of the island. This structure was completed late in 1865. This light lasted until February 10, 1881 when during a winter thaw of the bay, the wind driven ice over ran and swept the building from the screw piles and carried it five miles down the bay with the keepers still inside. The house finally ran aground and the keepers were able to escape. Congress approved $35,000 for the new current caisson light in 1881 and it was erected during that summer and fall. The tilt of this light is unique although not unexpected considering it's exposed location. During the winter of 1976-7 large ice flows, some piling up on the flats to heights of 40 feet, pushed against the tower and tipped it to the south at about a 15 degree angle. There are questions as to what will happen if we get ice flows on the bay like this again. Will we lose this light? As a result of the tilt, the Fresnel lens was removed and a 250 mm plastic lens was installed. The light was angled so as to be vertical. D R I V I N G D I R E C T I O N S On the Eastern shore of Maryland at the intersection of the Easton, MD bypass, State Route 322, and State Route 33, go west toward Saint Micheals for 25 miles to the end of the road. The lighthouse is located SSW, 3.83 miles from this point.
Sources: United States Lighthouse Society Rick's Lighthouses

Coastal Lighthouse: Lighthouse Range Lights: Not listed LIGHTHOUSE CHALLENGE VISIT: Not listed

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