The Cove Point Light is a lighthouse located on the west side of Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County , Maryland .
7-526: This light was built in 1828 by John Donahoo , who erected a brick conical tower along the plan he had used at several other sites in the Bay. In 1825 Congress had allocated funds to build a light at Cedar Point, four miles south at the mouth of the Patuxent River , but further consideration led to a decision to mark Cove Point and the shoal which jutted into the bay. A new appropriation in 1828 allowed construction of
14-407: A separate brick building, but the fog bell remains on the shed. Erosion was a significant problem, but was eventually brought under control through a seawall initially constructed in 1892 and upgraded in 1913 and 1993. The keeper's house was enlarged in 1881 when it was converted to a duplex with housing for two keepers and their families. and again in 1925 when inside kitchens were installed. In 1950
21-473: A separate small house was built as home to a third keeper and his family. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as Cove Point Lighthouse . The keepers remained until 1986 when the light was finally automated. The light was in good condition, with much equipment remaining from prior years, when it was turned over to Calvert County in 2000. Since then it has been administered by
28-610: The Calvert Marine Museum , which allows access to the light and grounds in the summer months. Cove Point remains an active aid to navigation and is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay. [REDACTED] Media related to Cove Point Light at Wikimedia Commons John Donahoo John Donahoo (sometimes spelled Donahoe ) (c. 1786–1858) was a lighthouse builder active in Maryland for much of
35-615: The United States Treasury and overseer of lighthouse construction for the government; Donahoo's prices were low and the quality of his work was good. Consequently, he was awarded the contracts for a dozen lighthouses in Maryland and Virginia . Seven of these still stand: He also constructed the following lighthouses: Donahoo died in 1858, and was buried in Havre de Grace's Angel Hill Cemetery . This lighthouse -related article
42-471: The first half of the nineteenth century. Little is known of Donahoo's life, but he appears to have been an active citizen in Havre de Grace, Maryland , for much of his career; he was an election judge and town commissioner, and served on the school board. He was also an active businessman, with concerns in fishing and real estate. As a builder, Donahoo attracted the attention of Stephen Pleasonton , Fifth Auditor of
49-406: The light and keeper's house in the same year. The original Argand lamps were replaced in 1855 with a fifth-order Fresnel lens ; this in turn was upgraded to a fourth-order lens in 1857. A fog bell added in 1837 was moved several times and was mounted on both wood and iron towers before ending up on the roof of a wooden shed built in 1902 to house a foghorn. The foghorn equipment was moved in 1950 to
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