Cape Charles Lighthouse

Year Built

Original tower - 1828, current tower - 1895

Cost

$150,000

Type

Octagonal pyramidal skeleton

Height

191 feet

Location

Smith Island off Cape Charles at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay

Automated Year

1963

First Lit

1895

Lens Type

First order Fresnel lens (original), Vega VRB-25 solar-powered beacon (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

2019

Color

White with black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Homer T. Austin (1938 – at least 1940)

Description

It is a nature preserve prevents it from being open to the public. No longer maintained by the Coast Guard, the lighthouse is in poor condition.

Brief History

•  Erosion was active in the area and after a storm in 1889 the tower was condemned. A new cast-iron skeleton tower was built and first lit on August 15, 1895.
•  The station’s lens was installed 1895, however, its full-time service was delayed until mid-August so mariners could be properly informed of the station’s new light characteristic.
•  A brush fire on July 13, 2000, has destroyed the 1895 keeper’s quarters at Cape Charles Light on Smith Island, Virginia.
•  In July 2013, a fire broke out on Smith Island and burned down the head keeper’s dwelling, a wood privy, and a storage shed.
•  In 2019, the Coast Guard abandoned the light and it is no longer an active aid to navigation.