New Point Comfort Lighthouse

Year Built

1804

Cost

$8,500

Type

Octagonal tower

Height

58 feet

Location

New Point Comfort at the entrance to MobJack Bay in the Chesapeake Bay

Automated Year

1930

First Lit

1806

Lens Type

Fourth-order Fresnel lens (original), 9.8 inches (250 mm) API (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1963-1999

Color

White w/black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Edward A. Sibley (1916 – 1919)

Description

The lighthouse is not officially open to the public.

Brief History

•  The Confederates put the lighthouse out of commission during the Civil War to disrupt Union shipping on the Chesapeake Bay.
•  In 1919 the lighthouse lamps were replaced with an automated acetylene gas fixture.
•  In 1950 the light was electrified and the characteristic was changed to a four second flash.
•  The lighthouse was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
•  In 2001 a task force was formed by Mathews County in an effort to preserve the lighthouse.