Stingray Point Light

37°33′41″N 76°16′12″W / 37.5613°N 76.2700°W / 37.5613; -76.2700TowerConstructed1858Foundationscrew-pileConstructioncast-iron/woodAutomated1965Height34 feet (10 m)Shapehexagonal houseLightFirst lit1858Deactivated1965Lenssixth-order Fresnel lensRange7.0 nautical miles; 13 kilometres (8 mi)CharacteristicFlashing 4 sec

The Stingray Point Light was a lighthouse located at the mouth of the Rappahannock River.

History

Stingray Point took its name from an incident in which John Smith was stung by a stingray while fishing nearby. The light was built in 1858 to mark the entrance to the Deltaville harbor, just west of the point. A report from 1865 indicates repairs done after the light "plundered of all movable articles", but it is not indicated whether this reflects Confederate raids (as affected other lighthouses in the area during the Civil War).

The light remained in service until 1965, when the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the old foundation. It had just recently been automated. This light remains in service. Sections of dismantled house were sold to one Gilbert Purcell, who owned a boatyard and intended to reconstruct the light on his property. His plans were never realized, but the Stingray Point Marina later constructed a full size replica of the light which still stands.

References

• "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
• Stingray Point Light, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
• de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 154.

External links

• Stingray Point Marina website with pictures of the replica