Cherrystone Bar Light, lighthouse in Virginia, United States
Cherrystone Bar Light is a lighthouse at the entrance to Cherrystone Harbor in Virginia, built on a sandbar using a screw-pile foundation. The hexagonal structure used a fourth-order Fresnel lens to guide ships safely through shallow waters during day and night and in poor weather.
The lighthouse was built in 1853 and lit in 1859 to guide ships through dangerous waters around Cherrystone Harbor. During the Civil War it was extinguished by Confederate forces, but Union troops restored it in 1862 and it continued serving for decades.
The lighthouse served as a vital navigation marker for sailors and captains navigating the shallow waters of Chesapeake Bay. Its simple design and reliable function made it a recognizable feature for all those who traveled this route.
The lighthouse is located southwest of Cape Charles on the Virginia coast and is easy to find on maps. The site is surrounded by water, so visitors can best view and explore it from a boat or nearby shore points.
The original building was removed in 1919 and loaded onto a barge for replacement, but it was preserved well enough to be transported elsewhere. The structure was relocated to the Choptank River in Maryland in 1921, where it continued guiding ships, making it the only case where a lighthouse was moved to a different location to continue serving.
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