LIGHTHOUSES: Sentries by the sea
LEWES – It is hard to imagine Delmarva Peninsula coastal regions without historic lighthouses — some functional, others ornamental, a few lighted. Some of them are the round, cottage style, while others tower upward to at least 100 feet. Some of the beacons of light for boaters date to the 1700s and are open for tours.
Lighthouses started along the North Atlantic coast, and on the Peninsula, stretch from the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland through coastal Delaware.
Delaware was home to some of the country's first lighthouses and where new technology and techniques were tested.
The Delaware coast also is popular for another curiosity from the region's past: World War II towers, sometimes called ghost towers. During the war, towers served to control gunfire in the event of an enemy attack.
Here are some interesting lighthouses or ghost towers in the region:
Delaware
• The Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse is located in the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, off Cape Henlopen. The current 76-foot tower was completed in 1926, replacing an original one built in 1908 and dismantled in 1925. It has a solar powered flashing white light that reflects every five second and can be seen almost 20 miles. It sits on the Harbor of Refuge Breakwater. The lighthouse is not available for tours in summer 2014, although visitors can view it from passing sunset cruises.
• A popular structure used today as an observation tower is in the Fort Miles Historical Area at Cape Henlopen State Park. The World War II observation tower offers a view of the Delaware River, which provides access to trade centers in economic centers as Wilmington and Philadelphia.
• The Delaware Seashore State Park sits between the Atlantic Ocean and Rehoboth and Indian River bays, and is home to several World War II observation, or ghost towers that stand as tall as 70 feet or more. One is located on Tower Road in Dewey Beach. The Lewes Historical Society is among groups that hosts talks on the towers.
• The Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse has a 49-foot tower and a focal plane of 61 feet. The tower was built in 1885 of cast iron. There is no sound signal building, but has a keepers quarters. The facility has opened to the public for accompanied tours, although the Delaware River & Bay Lighthouse Foundation announced the cancellation of 2014 lighthouse tours due to a lack of transportation funds.
• The Fenwick Island Lighthouse on Fenwick Island near Ocean City is an 87-foot tall brick structure built in 1858. It was decommissioned in 1978 and rededicated in 1998 after restoration. It houses a museum and gift shop at the base, although the structure is not open for climbing. The lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Maryland
• The Hooper Strait Light stands on Navy Point and is an exhibit of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael's. Built in the late 1800s, it once was a guiding light for boats navigating the dangerous waters of Hooper Strait between the Chesapeake Bay across Tangier Sound to points as Deal Island and Nanticoke. The museum's Lighthouse Overnight Program is an opportunity to explore Maryland's Lower Shore and spend a night in an authentic 19th century lighthouse.
• Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse off the southern end of Kent Island of the Chesapeake Bay is active, yet is an iron shell with steel ladder for access to the lantern. It stands 54 feet above mean high water with a flashing white light and two red sectors. It also has a foghorn and a bell.
Virginia
• A recently restored Assateague Lighthouse in service since the 1860s welcomes visitors. The iconic red-and-white structure is 142 feet tall, and serves mariners from a location a mile inland and five miles north of the Chincoteague Inlet. It is situated near the coastal town of Chincoteague and nearby the Assateague Island national park. Its first light was a candle.