Sharps Island Lighthouse

This light is offshore of Tilghman Island in the Cheapeake Bay. In the 1970's the sand upon which the light was built gave way and the light took on... more

by Skip Willits

Title

Sharps Island Lighthouse

Artist

Skip Willits

Medium

Photograph - Epson Lustre Paper

Description

This light is offshore of Tilghman Island in the Cheapeake Bay. In the 1970's the sand upon which the light was built gave way and the light took on a list which lasts to this day. There is no question about where you are when you come upon this lighthouse...it is unique. In 1675 Sharps Island was over 700 acres. By 1838, when the first lighthouse was built there...the island was down to 480 acres. Erosion took its toll, and in 1996 there is no island at all. The current lighthouse still stands to mark the location of the shoals surrounding the former island. The effects of the ice flows of the Chesapeake can be vividly seen in the tilt of this beacon.

The lighthouse immediately prior to the current light was a screwpile, but like the rest of this type light the weather was the source of its destruction. Located in only seven feet of water, the house was lifted from its foundations in 1881 and floated down the bay with her keepers still aboard. After 16 hours of cruising the bay, the lighthouse finally grounded and the keepers escaped. The current light is the replacement for that itinerant voyager.

The current 54-foot iron tower placed upon a caisson is listing badly, pushed 20 degrees out of plum by the ice of the winter of 1976-77. Unfortunately the light has become the object of graffiti artists. In addition to the historic significance of this location, this tilted light is a unique visual day marker in the bay.

Uploaded

January 17th, 2012