Concord Point Light
{{Short description|Lighthouse in Maryland, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox lighthouse
| location = Concord and Lafayette Streets, Havre de Grace, Maryland, U.S.
| yeardeactivated = 1975-1983
|module = {{Infobox NRHP
| name = Havre de Grace Lighthouse
| embed = yes
| architect = John Donohoo
| added = April 2, 1976
| area = {{convert|0.1|acre}}
| refnum = 76000999{{NRISref|2009a}}
}}
}}
Concord Point Light is a {{convert|36|ft|adj=on}} lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Maryland. It overlooks the point where Susquehanna River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, an area of increasing navigational traffic when it was constructed in 1827.{{cite uscghist|MD}}{{cite rowlett|md}} It is the northernmost lighthouse and the second-oldest tower lighthouse still standing on the bay.
Concord Point Light is currently listed as a private aid to navigation.{{cite web|title=Concord Point Lighthouse|url=http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=411|work=Lighthouse Friends|accessdate=September 19, 2017}}
Description
Concord Point Light is among the many Maryland lighthouses built by John Donahoo, who also built its keeper's house across the street.{{cite web|last=Simms|first=William Q.|date=April 2001|title=Two Lights on the Hill|url=http://www.lhdigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=1004|publisher=Lighthouse Digest|accessdate=2006-12-28}}{{cite web|author=W. M. Whittington|date=November 1975|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Havre de Grace Lighthouse|url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-363.pdf|publisher=Maryland Historical Trust|accessdate=2016-01-01}} The tower is constructed of Port Deposit granite. The walls are {{convert|31|in}} thick at the base and narrow to {{convert|18|in}} at the parapet.
The lantern was originally lit with nine whale oil lamps with {{convert|16|in|adj=on}} tin reflectors. In 1854, a sixth-order Fresnel lens was installed. This was later upgraded to a fifth-order Fresnel lens.
The lighthouse was automated in 1920.
History
Among the lighthouse's keepers from 1827 to the mid-1900s were several members of the O'Neill family. The first O'Neill, John O'Neill had defended the town of Havre de Grace by manning a cannon battery on Concord Point during the War of 1812.
By 1924, local documents describe the lighthouse area as being "seriously blighted"; it apparently remained that way for many years.
The lighthouse was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1975; soon after that, the lens was stolen. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Extensive restoration work began in 1979. The keeper's house has since been restored and is open to the public as a museum.
In 1983, a fifth-order Fresnel lens borrowed from the Coast Guard was installed in the lantern room.
See also
{{stack|{{Portal||National Register of Historic Places|Engineering}}}}
References
{{reflist|22em}}
External links
{{stack|{{commons category|Concord Point Light}}}}
- [http://www.concordpointlighthouse.org/ Concord Point Lighthouse] - official site
- [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=411 Lighthouse Friends: Concord Point Light] - photos and description
- [http://www.cheslights.org/heritage/concord.htm Chesapeake Chapter U.S. Lighthouse Society - description and driving directions]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704052208/http://perlman.net/lighthouse_trips/Concordpoint.htm Trip report to Concord Point Light]
- [http://cblights.com/lights/concordpoint.html Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project - Concord Point Light]
- {{MHT url|id=365|title=Havre de Grace Lighthouse, Harford County}}, including photo dated 1990, at Maryland Historical Trust
{{Lighthouses of Maryland}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Maryland}}
{{NRHP}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Lighthouses completed in 1827
Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland
Category:Museums in Harford County, Maryland
Category:Lighthouse museums in Maryland
Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Harford County, Maryland
Category:Buildings and structures in Havre de Grace, Maryland
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Harford County, Maryland