Jordan Point Light

Jordan Point Light
The second Jordan Point Light in 1885
Map
LocationJordan Point on the south bank of the James River
Coordinates37°18′47″N 77°13′24″W / 37.31304°N 77.22344°W / 37.31304; -77.22344
(approx.)
Tower
Constructed1855
Constructionwood
Height18 m (59 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
ShapeFreestanding tower
Fog signalBell

[1]

[2]
Light
First lit1856/1875(1870?)
Deactivated1927
Focal height35 feet (11 m)
Lenssixth-order Fresnel lens
CharacteristicFixed white

The Jordan Point Light was a lighthouse located on Jordan Point on the James River in Prince George County, Virginia, near the south end of the present Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge.

History

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The history of this station is unclear, but some sources indicate that a light station was first established on Jordan Point in 1855. This consisted of a keeper's house with a masthead light on the roof. This arrangement was replaced circa 1875 (possibly as early as 1870) by a separate 35-foot (11 m) pyramidal wooden tower that housed a sixth order Fresnel lens and a fog bell. A new keeper's house was constructed in 1888.[1]

In 1927 the station was deactivated and the wooden tower was later demolished. In 1941 a new steel skeleton tower was erected on the site of the old tower; this skeleton tower is still in service as the rear light of the Jordan Point Range, Light List #2-12420.[2] Although the wooden tower is long gone the keeper's house built in 1888 still stands. It was extensively renovated in 2009 and is a private residence.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
  2. ^ a b Light List, Volume II, Atlantic Coast, Shrewsbury River, New Jersey to Little River, South Carolina (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2010. p. 114.

References

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Media related to Jordan Point Light at Wikimedia Commons