Hooper Island Lighthouse

Year Built

1902

Cost

$60,000

Type

Round "sparkplug" tower

Height

34 feet

Location

4 miles west of Middle Hooper Island in the Chesapeake Bay

Automated Year

1961

First Lit

1902

Lens Type

Fourth-order Fresnel lens (original), solar-powered (current)

Fog Signal

Horn, 1 every 30 seconds Operated continuously from Sept. 15 to June 1

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White on brown base

Last Keeper - Date

Joseph D. Barnett (1941 – at least 1942)

Description

The access to the lighthouse is not open to the public. Rich Cucé of Pennsylvania bought it for $200,000.

Brief History

•  The light was completed, with little in the way of mishaps, and a fourth order Fresnel lens was exhibited, on June 01, 1902.
•  In the late 1930s an air diaphragm foghorn and generator system was installed.
•  Hooper Island Lighthouse was fully automated on November 21, 1961, at which time the light characteristic was changed to a white flash every five seconds.
•  When the Coast Guard called at the lighthouse during a regular visit on September 15, 1976, they discovered that the original fourth-order Fresnel lens had been stolen, necessitating the installation of a new solar-powered beacon.
•  In 2006, the lighthouse, deemed excess by the Coast Guard, was offered at no cost to eligible entities, including federal, state, and local agencies.