CHESAPEAKE (lightship)
About this property
United States lightship Chesapeake is a museum ship owned by the National Park Service and on a 25-year loan to Baltimore City, and is operated by Historic Ships in Baltimore Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of a small number of preserved lightships. Since 1820, several lightships have served at the Chesapeake lightship station and have been called Chesapeake. Lightships were initially lettered in the early 1800s, but then numbered as they were often moved from one light station to another. The name painted on the side of lightships was the short name of the Light Station they were assigned to and was the daytime visual aspect of the many Aids to Navigation on board lightships. The United States Coast Guard assigned new hull numbers to all lightships still in service in late 1940s, but the Coast Guard did not enforce the use of the new hull designation and number, WAL-538, until January 1951. In January 1965 the Coast Guard further modified all lightship hull designations from WAL to WLV, so Chesapeake became WLV-538. Chesapeake had many redundant systems in order to maintain her position through most storms. The 5000-pound (2300 kg) main anchor was backed up by a second 5000-pound anchor attached to the side of the ship. The 30,000 candela main light was also backed up with a secondary lamp and the Radio Locator Beacon also had a backup system. On more than one occasion (in 1933, 1936, and 1962) the main anchor chain snapped during violent storms and the ship had to use her engines to stay in place and drop her second anchor.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was CHESAPEAKE (lightship) listed on the National Register?
CHESAPEAKE (lightship) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 1980.
What type of historic resource is CHESAPEAKE (lightship)?
CHESAPEAKE (lightship) is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is CHESAPEAKE (lightship) a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. CHESAPEAKE (lightship) has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for CHESAPEAKE (lightship)?
The period of significance for CHESAPEAKE (lightship) is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near CHESAPEAKE (lightship)?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near CHESAPEAKE (lightship) will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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