Legacy of Light: Last-of-a-kind lighthouse shines over Chesapeake Bay

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Thomas Point Shoal Light is the last screw-pile lighthouse on its original foundation in the United States and the last lighthouse that Coast Guardsmen served in on the Chesapeake Bay

Until 1986, U.S. Coast Guardsmen served on the offshore light that is located south of Annapolis, Maryland’s state capital.

The unique hexagonal screw-pile lighthouse was constructed in 1875 and fixed to the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay using a technique developed by Alexander Mitchell, an Irish lighthouse designer. The world’s first screw-pile lighthouse was lit in England in 1840.

Today, the U.S. Coast Guard still maintains the Thomas Point Light but the lighthouse structure was transferred to the City of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, the Annapolis Maritime Museum and the U.S. Lighthouse Society in 2004. Named a National Historical Landmark in 1999, the Thomas Point Lighthouse is one of only 12 lighthouses in the U.S. to earn this high honor.

“The lighthouse marks the shoals at the entrance to Annapolis,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer John Kopp, the officer-in-charge of Aids to Navigation Team Baltimore, the team that maintains the light.

Kopp said the other Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses have been destroyed or moved to shore-side museums. A native of Philadelphia, Kopp leads the 20-person ATON team that maintains 508 primary Aids to Navigation, including six major lights and 42 range lights.

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