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Deepwater Shoals Light

Coordinates: 37°8′11.46″N 76°38′12.48″W / 37.1365167°N 76.6368000°W / 37.1365167; -76.6368000
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Deepwater Shoals Light
Undated photograph of Deepwater Shoals Light (USCG)
Map
LocationOff Fort Eustis in the James River, northwest of Newport News, Virginia
Coordinates37°8′11.46″N 76°38′12.48″W / 37.1365167°N 76.6368000°W / 37.1365167; -76.6368000
Tower
Constructed1855 Edit this on Wikidata
Foundationwood-pile
Constructioncast-iron/wood
Height27 feet (8.2 m)
Shapehexagonal house
Light
First lit1855
Deactivated1936
Lenssixth-order Fresnel lens
Characteristicfixed white

The Deepwater Shoals Light was a lighthouse located in the James River upstream from Newport News, Virginia.

History

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This light was erected in 1855 to mark the western edge of the channel. Ice damaged the light in the following year, and again in 1867; in the latter case the light had to be rebuilt completely, at which time the light was upgraded to a sixth-order Fresnel from the previous masthead light. During the Civil War the light was extinguished by confederate forces; relit in 1862, the Lighthouse Board reconsidered and removed the lighting apparatus to Fort Monroe for safekeeping.

Decommissioning came in 1936, and the house was torn down in 1966. A steel tower light has been erected on the old iron foundation.

Notes

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References

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  • "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
  • Deepwater Shoals Light, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
  • de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 150. ISBN 9780801815485.