Pooles Island Light, Lighthouse in Harford County, Maryland, US
Pooles Island Light is a granite lighthouse tower in the Chesapeake Bay, Harford County, Maryland, rising about 38 feet (11.5 m) tall. It stands on a small, isolated island and is fitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens, making it visible from the water even though the island itself is closed to the public.
The lighthouse was completed in 1825 after Congress approved its construction the previous year, and it ranks among the earliest built on the Chesapeake Bay. After decades out of service, it was eventually reactivated and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The tower is one of the oldest surviving lighthouses on the Chesapeake Bay and is recognized as a landmark by boaters passing through the area. Its name comes from Pooles Island, the small landmass on which it stands, named after an early colonial settler.
The island is closed to visitors because of unexploded ordnance left from its past use as a military training ground, so the lighthouse can only be seen from the water. A boat tour of the Chesapeake Bay offers a good vantage point for viewing the tower from a safe distance.
After sitting dark for nearly 72 years, the tower was briefly relit as part of a military anniversary celebration, making it one of the rare lighthouses to be temporarily reactivated for a ceremonial reason. The event drew attention to the structure at a time when most people had long forgotten it was still standing.
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