Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse

Year Built

1886

Cost

$150,000

Type

Square

Height

40 feet

Location

Near Bowers Beach Delaware Bay

Automated Year

1972

First Lit

1888

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel lens

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

hite tower and dwelling on black cylindrical pier

Last Keeper - Date

Milton R. Theis (1969 – at least 1970)

Description

Interior Closed to Public; Maintained by Coast Guard

Brief History

•  From 1876 to 1886 this location was marked by a lightship. Once the lighthouse was completed the ship was relocated to Ram Island Reef in Connecticut.
•  James C. Jones was appointed the first head keeper of the lighthouse and served in this capacity until his passing in 1895.
•  The final Coast Guard crew left Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse in 1973, after which an electric cable stretching to the mainland supplied the power for the automated light.
•  In 2000 the Fresnel lens from the Lighthouse which is on loan from the U.S. Coast Guard was put on display at the Lewes Historical Society’s Cannonball Museum and Marine Museum.
•  In 2005, the lighthouse was excessed by the Coast Guard and offered to qualified government entities or nonprofit organizations under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.