Marcus Hook Range Rear Light#Front Light
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox lighthouse
| image_name = Marcus Range Rear Range Light (42683102761).jpg
| caption = Lightouse viewed from shore.
| location = Just South of Bellefonte, Delaware
| coordinates = {{coord|39|45|44.2|N|75|30|11.3|W}}
| yearlit = 1920
| automated = 1950s
| foundation = Concrete
| construction = Reinforced concrete
| shape = Square
| height = {{convert|105|ft|m}}
| focalheight = {{convert|278|ft|m}}
| lens = Fourth order Fresnel lens (original), RL-24 (current)
| characteristic = Fixed red (initially fixed white)
| module = {{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = Marcus Hook Range Rear Light
| nrhp_type =
| image =
| caption =
| architect =
| architecture = Colonial Revival
| added = March 27, 1989
| area =
| mpsub =
| refnum = 89000287{{NRISref|version=2010a}}{{NRHP url|id=89000287|title=NRHP Registration form}}
}}
}}
Marcus Hook Range Rear Light is a lighthouse near Bellefonte, Delaware marking a range on the Delaware River.{{Cite rowlett|de}} It is the highest light on the Atlantic coast of the United States."The rear range light of Marcus Hook on the Delaware River, 278 feet above the level of the sea, is the highest light on the Atlantic Coast of the continental United States." {{cite book|title= Delaware Lights: A History of Lighthouses in the First State|last= Trapani|first= Bob|authorlink= Bob Trapani|year= 2007|publisher= The History Press|isbn= 978-1-59629-021-1|page= 138|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=O7IEzRFKyKMC&q=%22Marcus+Hook+Range+Front+Light%22&pg=PA138}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The lighthouse is visible on the horizon from the windows of high-rise buildings in downtown Wilmington, Delaware.{{cite web|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marcus_Hook_Range_Rear_Lighthouse.jpg|title=Photo of the Marcus Hook Range Rear Light from Wilmington, DE|date=4 March 2020 }}
History
The permanent structure was preceded by a temporary light on a post, erected in 1915. The present tower was built in 1918 and was composed of nine sections of reinforced concrete; there is also an oil house and a keeper's dwelling on the site. The original beacon displayed a fixed white light using a Fourth order Fresnel lens; this was removed in the early 1980s and replaced with a RL-24 beacon, displaying a fixed red indication. The light was automated in the 1950s, but the keeper's house was occupied by Coast Guard personnel until 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=468|title=Marcus Hook Rear Range, DE|publisher=Lighthouse Friends}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_2IBZC4LMAC&q=marcus+hook+range+light&pg=PA154|title=Lighthouses of the Mid-Atlantic Coast: Your Guide to the Lighthouses of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia|first=Elinor|last=DeWire|publisher=Voyageur Press|year=2011|pages=154|location=Minneapolis|isbn=9780760339510|accessdate=2012-10-05}}
In March 2005 the lighthouse became available for transfer under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, but in 2010 a private owner bought the lighthouse and the accompanying home on the property. The tower is an active aid to navigation and not open to the public.
Front Light
The Marcus Hook Range Front Light stood about {{convert|100|yd}} offshore, {{convert|1.6|mi}} to the northeast of Marcus Hook Range Rear Light. Its tower was erected in 1925 and was preceded by a temporary light tower erected in 1915. It has always been automated.{{cite web | url=https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=468 | title=Marcus Hook Range Lighthouse }}
Replacement range
In June 2019, a new rear range light was erected approximately where the front range light was, and a new front range light was erected upstream. The (old) rear range light was turned off.{{cite web | url=https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=468 | title=Marcus Hook Range Lighthouse }}
References
{{reflist}}
{{commons category|Marcus Hook Range Rear Lighthouse}}
{{Lighthouses of Delaware}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Delaware}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Lighthouses completed in 1918
Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware
Category:Lighthouses in New Castle County, Delaware
Category:National Register of Historic Places in New Castle County, Delaware