Fort Washington Lighthouse

Year Built

1882

Cost

$1600

Type

Pyramid

Height

28 feet

Location

Fort Washington Park, Prince George's County

Automated Year

1954

First Lit

1901

Lens Type

Sixth order Fresnel lens

Fog Signal

1400 Metal Bell with single blow every 15 seconds

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White

Last Keeper - Date

Gary E. Powell (1919 – 1925)

Description

Both Fort Washington and the Light are now part of a National Park.

Brief History

•  Protestations regarding the inadequacy of the light were soon made, and in 1870 corrective action was taken.
•  A thirty-two-foot-tall fog bell tower was added to the station in 1882, and the next year, after over two decades of requests.
•  The fort’s strategic significance had come to an end after the Civil War, and it was abandoned in 1872.
•  The light was electrified on February 1, 1920, and the following year, an electric bell striker was installed in the tower, changing the fog bell’s characteristic to a single blow every fifteen seconds.
•  The tower was turned over to the National Park Service in 2005, and a major restoration of the structure was carried out in 2009 by the service’s Historic Preservation Training Center.