New Cape Henry Lighthouse: Tallest United States Cast Iron Lighthouse

Summary: The New Cape Henry Lighthouse, first lit in 1881, stands out with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern from its overlook on Chesapeake Bay.

view of New Cape Henry Lighthouse from top of Old Cape Henry Lighthouse: Captain Albert E. Theberge/NOAA Corps (ret.), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Sited on the southern boundary of the entrance to Maryland and Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay, the new Cape Henry Lighthouse welcomes and lights the way for heavy maritime traffic heading to and from the Atlantic Ocean.

Cape Henry forms the strategic Virginia Capes with Cape Charles, which marks the northern side of the Bay’s entrance.

The original, octagonal Cape Henry Lighthouse, first lit in 1792 as the first public works project of the new American nation, suffered large cracks in six of its eight faces by 1872.

Appropriations totaling $150,000 ($2,800,000-plus in 2015) for a new lighthouse covered the cost of construction, which began in 1879.

On Dec. 15, 1881, lighting responsibilities were passed to the New Cape Henry Lighthouse.

Unlike its predecessor’s sandstone construction, the New Cape Henry Lighthouse is constructed of cast iron, the favored tower building material from 1844 to the 1900s. Lighter than brick or stone, cast iron combines relative inexpensiveness with strength and water-tightness.

A massive foundation of cut granite, coarse sand and gravel, and imperial German Portland cement comprises the sturdy base for the octagonal tower of bolted cast iron plates, lined with inner sheet-iron walls.

Soaring to a height of 163 feet (49.68 meters), the New Cape Henry Lighthouse stands as the tallest cast iron plate tower in the United States.

The new lighthouse houses a first-order Fresnel lens, characterized by a focal length of 36 inches (920 millimeters). The lens installed in the original lighthouse in 1857 was a second-order Fresnel lens, with a focal length of 29.52 inches (750 millimeters).

Ships distinguish lighthouses via day marks of color scheme and night signatures of light pattern.

New Cape Henry Lighthouse’s day mark presents a dramatic, black-and-white checkerboard patterned tower. The black lantern surmounting the tower is constructed of cast and wrought iron and features bronze sashes and a copper roof.

The U.S. Coast Guard operates and maintains the New Cape Henry Lighthouse, which has been automated since 1984. As a lighthouse in active service, the New Cape Henry Lighthouse is not open to the public.

The older lighthouse, serving as a day mark since retirement from active status in 1881 until congressional deeding in 1930 to Preservation Virginia, is open to the public.

On Dec. 2, 2002, the New Cape Henry Lighthouse joined the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, listed since Oct. 15, 1966, on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Lovers of history, lighthouses and maritime environments may enjoy especially close, magnificent exterior views of the New Cape Henry Lighthouse from its nearby predecessor, which stands at a short distance of 350 feet (106.68 meters) to the southeast.

As both lighthouses are located on the grounds of the Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, tour access of Old Cape Henry Lighthouse is through JEB’s security gates.

A visit to the Cape Henry lighthouses rewards with spectacular views, superb architecture, and an appreciation of history.

For up-close views of New Cape Henry Lighthouse from Old Cape Henry Lighthouse
Visitor information: Hours
January 3 to March 15: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.;
March 17 to October 31: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.;
November 1 to December 30: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Closed: Virginia Beach’s Shamrock Marathon (St. Patrick Day weekend), Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year’s Eve and Day, January 2.
Temperature/weather closures: when tower’s inside temperature registers 105° F. (40.55° C.) or during inclement weather, including lightning and thunderstorms.

Contact details:
website: http://preservationvirginia.org/visit/historic-properties/cape-henry-lighthouse
address: 583 Atlantic Ave, Fort Story, Virginia 23459
phone: (757) 422-9421

view of two Cape Henry lighthouses, old (left), new (right): Kelly Verdek (wanderland.xyz), CC BY ND 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

view of New Cape Henry Lighthouse from top of Old Cape Henry Lighthouse: Captain Albert E. Theberge/NOAA Corps (ret.), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Line1016_-_Flickr_-_NOAA_Photo_Library.jpg

view of two Cape Henry lighthouses, old (left), new (right): Kelly Verdek (wanderland.xyz), CC BY ND 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/rain0975/7126453857/

For further information:

Eshelman, Raleph E. “Cape Henry (Second Tower) Light Station’s National Register of Historic Places Nomination.” United States Coast Guard > Historian’s Office. Edited and revised August 2002 by Jennifer Perunko.
Available @ http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/Cape_Henry_NRHP.asp

Jones, Ray. The Lighthouse Encyclopedia: The Definitive Reference. Guilford CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2013.

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cape Henry Lighthouse: Lit 1792 on Chesapeake Bay as First US Lighthouse." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 31, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/08/cape-henry-lighthouse-lit-1792-on.html

National Park Service. “History of the Lighthouse Service and Lighthouse Construction Types.” Historic Lighthouse Preservation Handbook. Part II. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/historiclighthou00light
Available via NPS @ http://www.nps.gov/maritime/nhlpa/handbook/HistoricLighthousePreservationHandbook_04_Part2.pdf