Wolf Trap Lighthouse

Year Built

1870

Cost

$70,000

Type

Square tower on octagonal building

Height

38 feet

Location

Off the west shore of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, northwest of the mouth of the York River

Automated Year

1971

First Lit

1894

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel lens (original), VRB-25 (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

Red brick on red-brown cylinder, black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Elmer M. Goodwin (1941 – 1943)

Description

The lighthouse is not open to the public.

Brief History

•  On January 22, 1893, heavy ice floes severed the lighthouse from its foundation. A few days later, the lighthouse was found afloat several miles to the south near Thimble Shoals, with only its roof and lantern still peeking out above the water.
•  Congress appropriated $70,000 on March 3, 1893 for the new lighthouse that would consist of a brick keeper’s dwelling resting on a pier whose shell was composed of 210 cast-iron plates bolted together.
•  In 1919, Keeper James B. Hurst and his assistant, Virgil J. Montague, were commended for their roles in a daring sea rescue.
•  In the late 1920s, the redbrick dwelling was given a red coat of paint to protect the bricks from the corrosive saltwater spray.
•  In March 2023, Richard Cucé, who had acquired Hooper Island Lighthouse in 2022, purchased Wolf Trap Lighthouse for $125,000 and announced plans to restore the tower.