Thimble Shoal Light Station
About this property
Thimble Shoal Light is a sparkplug lighthouse in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay, north of the Hampton Roads channel. The third light at this location, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The first light at this location was a hexagonal screw-pile lighthouse erected in 1872, replacing the last lightship stationed within the bay. It was destroyed by fire in 1880 and replaced in the same year with a new house on the same foundation. This was facilitated by the availability of a newly constructed house originally intended for the Bells Rock Light, so that the light was out of service for only fifty-five days. The second light was plagued by collisions with passing ships: it was struck by a steamer in 1891, by a coal barge in 1898, and finally by the schooner Malcolm Baxter, Jr., which struck the lighthouse on December 27, 1909 while under tow. This last collision damaged the foundation and overturned the stove in the house, which was destroyed by fire. A caisson light was placed next to the old site in 1914; in the meantime, a temporary light perched on the remains of the old screw-pile foundation. This light has several unusual features for such lights in the bay area, most notably the diamond-shaped panes in the lantern and the round porthole windows. Unlike its predecessors, it passed time relatively uneventfully, with automation coming in 1964. The broken, skeletal remains of the old foundation remained next to the light until their removal in the 2000s. As with most lights the original Fresnel lens has been removed, replaced by more modern beacons; in this case the lens is displayed at the Coast Guard Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia. Though worn from years of vacancy, it retains most of the canopy over the lower level gallery. In 2005 it was sold at auction to a private interest, but remains an active aid to navigation. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Thimble Shoal Light Station's National Register of Historic Places Nomination Thimble Shoal Lighthouse, Virginia from LighthouseFriends.com NOAA Navigational Chart 12254: Chesapeake Bay Cape Henry to Thimble Shoal Light Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 30–33. Media related to Thimble Shoals lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project - Thimble Shoal Light
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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 Thimble Shoal Light Station listed on the National Register?
Thimble Shoal Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 2002.
What type of historic resource is Thimble Shoal Light Station?
Thimble Shoal Light Station is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Thimble Shoal Light Station?
The period of significance for Thimble Shoal Light Station is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Thimble Shoal Light Station?
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 Thimble Shoal Light Station will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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