Bellevue Range Rear Light, lighthouse in Delaware, United States
The Bellevue Range Rear Light is a tall steel skeletal tower built in 1909 on the Christina River near Wilmington, Delaware. The structure stands on concrete pilings and measures about 104 feet (32 m) high with a round lantern room at its top that housed a fourth-order Fresnel lens and served as the rear light in a two-light navigation system.
The Bellevue Range Lights were built in 1909 to replace the older Christiana Lighthouse and improve navigation into Wilmington's port. The rear light remained operational until 2001, when it was decommissioned because an expanding landfill blocked its sightline, and it has since become a historic landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.
The name refers to the Bellevue Range, a navigation system using two aligned lights that sailors kept in line. The tower became a recognizable landmark for seafarers traveling upriver to Wilmington and shaped the character of the riverbank for more than a century.
The lighthouse is located on private property within a landfill and is not directly accessible to the public. Visitors can view the structure from outside at a distance from the riverbank or nearby roads and bridges, but entering the site requires special permission that is rarely granted.
William H. Johnson, a longtime keeper of the lighthouse, was known for never taking a single day off during his many years tending the station and maintaining it in flawless condition. His remarkable dedication earned him an efficiency award, and during his entire service he witnessed only one ship wreck, underscoring how well the Bellevue Range navigation system worked.
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