Turkey Point Light Station, North East Maryland
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- Lighthouse
The Turkey Point Lighthouse is one of the earliest extant lighthouses in the state of Maryland. The lighthouse embodies a distinctive design and method of construction that typified lighthouse construction on the upper Chesapeake Bay during the first half of the nineteenth century. Excluding Cape Henry (164 feet) and Cape Charles (191 feet), Turkey Point Lighthouse, sitting on a 100-foot bluff, has the highest focal plane of any lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay at 129 feet above the water.
The 100-foot-high, buff-colored bluffs at Turkey Point, visible for several miles down the Chesapeake Bay, have served as a landmark and aid to navigation since colonial times. With the opening of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in October 1829, the Lighthouse Board requested a lighthouse for Turkey Point to mark the change in course from the Chesapeake Bay to the Elk River, which leads to the canal. Congress first authorized funding of $5,000 for a lighthouse on Turkey Point on March 3rd, 1831. A four-acre tract owned by John B. and Juliana Paca was sold for $564 on December 26th, 1832, including access to the property from the water.
John Donahoo built the tower and keeper's quarters in 1833 for $4,355. James Geddes supplied the eleven lamps, each with a 15-inch reflector, for $419. When the Fishing Battery Lighthouse was built in 1852 it worked in combination with the Point Concord Lighthouse, Pooles Island Lighthouse, and Turkey Point Lighthouse to guide vessels in the upper Chesapeake Bay. In 1855, a Fresnel lens was installed. The Lighthouse Board requested funding in 1864 to replace "lanterns of an old and exceedingly defective character" for six lighthouses including Turkey Point. Congress authorized the funding of $6,000 on April 7th, 1866, and the work was completed in 1867. In the following year, the "constant level or fountain lamp heretofore in use" was replaced with a "Franklin lamp." In 1869, the station was reported as "in good condition." In 1880, the keeper's quarters were "painted inside and out," and otherwise thoroughly repaired. The Lighthouse Board Annual Report for 1885 states, "The stable was rebuilt, and a new platform and windlass were made for the well (presumed to be the water well)."
A "fog bell room" (tower) was prefabricated at the Lazaretto Lighthouse Depot, Baltimore Harbor, and erected at Turkey Point in April 1888. Because of the height of the bluff and the desire to position the bell as low as possible, the fog signal tower was built over a dry well so that the weights of the mechanical bell striking mechanism could be suspended within the well and not from a high tower. The keeper had to hand wind the weights back up periodically during use in foggy weather. The bell weighed 1,200 pounds and was struck with a 50-pound clapper. The station fencing was "thoroughly repainted and about 180 linear feet of plank walk was added in the same year."
In 1889, extensive improvements were made to the keeper's quarters including raising the roof one story providing an additional "four habitable rooms," and adding a new front porch. In 1895, wire rope was renewed for the fog bell striking machinery; the stable, wood shed, and smokehouse were rebuilt; and 900 feet of fencing was renewed. In 1897, the "back building used as a kitchen" was torn down, and a new one with a porch and pantry built. Two old brick pavements were re-laid and a new one was added. A 3-inch-plank walk 240 feet long was also built. In 1899, a "new model fourth-order lamp" was installed, the fog bell hammer adjusted, and a new spring for the striking mechanism was installed. Unspecified repairs were made at Turkey Point Lighthouse in 1929 due to hurricane damage.
The property was described in 1930 as consisting of a lighthouse tower valued at $3,000, a fog signal valued at $225, oil house at $500, a storehouse at $230, keeper's quarters at $4,400, and the four acres of property valued at $1,000. The oil lamp in the lens was upgraded to an Aladdin incandescent oil vapor lamp in 1933. In 1938 the red sector of the lantern was described as consisting of two pieces of glass, one 17 1/4-inches wide and one 15 5/8-inches wide, both 1/8-inch-thick and 35 1/4-inches long. The boat landing had been discontinued by this time. The station had a radio telephone installed and was electrified in 1942. The station was automated in 1948, shortly after Fannie Salter, the last keeper, retired in 1947. When the lighthouse was automated it was changed from a non-flashing white light to a flashing light.
The keeper's quarters and outbuildings, as well as the tower's wooden spiral staircase were demolished around 1971. In 1993, the Coast Guard received a letter from Dean Rice who was interested in rebuilding the keeper's quarters. He was directed to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which now owns the property where the dwelling stood.
In 1990, trees and brush had grown around the lighthouse partially blocking the visibility of the red sector. Coast Guard and Maryland Department of Natural Resources personnel used a bulldozer, chain saws, chippers, and clippers to clear an eight acre area around the lighthouse.
In 1993, the North East Lion's Club and the Coast Guard painted the Turkey Point Lighthouse tower. The tower was repainted in 1999.
Turkey Point Lighthouse was decommissioned in April 2000, and in 2001, the lighthouse was leased to the non-profit Turkey Point Light Station Inc. The non-profit organization is seeking to install a new optic and have it certified by the U.S. Coast Guard as a private aid to navigation.
Keepers at Turkey Point Lighthouse
The first keeper at Turkey Point was Robert C. Lusby who served from August 10th, 1833, to August 18th, 1841, when John C. Waters took over for just under two years until Robert returned on June 3rd, 1843. The first of many women keepers was Elizabeth Lusby, Robert's wife who replaced him upon his death and served from May 8th, 1844, to at least 1861. Edward Cloman took over on March 13th, 1862 until December 30th, 1865 when John Crouch was appointed keeper. Mr. Crouch died on July 3rd, 1873, and his wife Rebecca L. Crouch assumed his duties on October 2nd, 1873, until she died on July 11th, 1895. Their daughter, Georgiana S. Brumfield, who lived at the station since the age of 16, served as keeper from July 26th, 1895 until 1919, retiring at age 70 after living 54 years at Turkey Point. She died in June 1934. Caleb Stowe from North Carolina served from 1919 to 1922. C. W. "Harry" Salter served from 1922 until he died in 1925.
In 1921, Caleb Stowe noticed a disabled powerboat with seven men onboard and towed it with the station's boat to Town Point Wharf. In May 1923, C. W. Salter noticed that a motorboat towing a "Floating Department Store Loaded with Bankrupt Merchandise" valued at $25,000 had become disabled, and the barge was about to be caught in a strong northeast wind. He took the station's boat and towed the barge to safety under the point out of the wind.
Salter's wife, Fannie May Salter, took over her husband's duties in 1925 thanks to the personally granted authorization of then President Calvin Coolidge. Because of her age, the Civil Service had told Fannie that she could not succeed her husband. However, she appealed to her senator who took it to the White House, which then overruled the Civil Service. She served until August 1947 when she retired at age 65, with 22 years of service as a lighthouse keeper, and another 23 years previously assisting her late husband who was keeper at several stations. She stated, "Oh, it was an easy-like chore, but my feet got tired, and climbing the tower has given me fallen arches."
Before the station was electrified, Fannie would fill and light one of the two lamps at dusk, climb the tower and place the lamp within the lens, then recheck it about one hour later, and again at 10 pm before going to bed. From her bedroom in the keeper's quarters she could see if the light was functioning properly and would immediately awake if the light ever went out. With electricity installed in 1943, she only had to turn on a switch, which lit a 100 watt bulb, which in combination with the lens produced 680 candlepower of light. Once she had to manually strike the fog bell when it suddenly failed as a steamer was heading for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in a fog. She rang the bell four times a minute for 55 minutes until the steamer had safely passed. In so doing, she was away from the phone when her son-in-law tried to call and tell her that her daughter had given birth to her granddaughter. The Lighthouse Board in 1928 authorized $25 per month for a laborer to wind the fog bell striking mechanism for Mrs. Salter during months of the year when fog was prevalent. This fee was reduced to $15 per month in 1932. Upon retirement, she moved to another house six miles away, but she was still within sight of the light. She died at age 83 in 1966. Turkey Point Lighthouse had more women lighthouse keepers than any other lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay.
It was 14 miles over poor roads to the nearest store; the station families typically raised fruits, vegetables, chickens, turkeys, sheep, and pigs. During World War II, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal became an important inland shipping corridor due to the threat of submarine warfare off the Atlantic. Because of this increased shipping, the Turkey Point Lighthouse became an especially important aid to navigation, and a detachment of Coast Guard personnel was assigned to the station as a precaution against saboteurs.
Site Description
The Turkey Point Light Station consists of an 1833 tapering, conical, stucco-covered, brick tower and a 1913 cement oil house. Other station structures including a keeper's quarters, fog bell tower, boat landing, stable, woodshed, and smokehouse have been destroyed. The station is located on a 100-foot high bluff at the tip of Turkey Point, Elk Neck State Park, confluence of Elk River and Northeast River, near the head of the Chesapeake Bay, near North East, Cecil County, Maryland. Located on a 100-foot high bluff, Turkey Point Lighthouse is one of the highest on Chesapeake Bay and is visible for 13 miles. Access to the property is through Elk Neck State Park.
The brick tower is 31 1/2 feet from its base to the parapet, 16 feet in diameter at the base, and 9 feet, 8 inches at the top. The walls are 2 1/2 feet thick at the base, and 14 inches at the top. The foundation is made of timber and stone crib. The lantern is made of cast iron and the roof of sheet iron.
The following statement made in 1890 to describe stone masonry towers of New England, built prior to 1840, is appropriate for the Turkey Point Lighthouse tower as well:
Reference in several reports and articles state that the central stairs were made of brick or cast iron. This is incorrect as evidenced by visual inspection of the tower interior, an undated but probable 1930s photograph which clearly shows a wooden set of stairs, and a 1938 description of the Turkey Point Light Station. Furthermore, a set of plans of the Turkey Point Lighthouse tower, dated November 1905, clearly indicate "31 steps. Wood." At some point these wooden steps were removed by the Coast Guard to prevent vandalism and finally the present metal ladders and landings were added by the Coast Guard to gain access to the lantern. The tower floor is poured concrete, which covers the original brick floor.
The lantern is a 9-sided cast-iron lantern surrounded by a gallery and three rows of railings supported by cast-iron balusters. The lantern was apparently painted red but changed to its present black color in the late 1800s. A fourth-order Fresnel lens was replaced with a solar-powered 250mm acrylic lens during automation. The light was originally a fixed white and changed to flashing white in 1947 when the station was automated. The Fresnel lens was stolen after automation.
When Turkey Point Light was decommissioned in April 2000, the solar powered 250mm acrylic lens was removed from the lantern.
The 9- by 7-foot concrete oil house was built in 1913. A 275-gallon metal fuel tank was located adjacent to the oil house on the west side; today only a foundation remains.
A 2 1/2-story structure, originally built in 1833 as a 1-story dwelling, was constructed of bond brick. The dwelling measured 34 by 20 feet with attached kitchen. The second-story addition was built of whitewashed board and batten with some gingerbread on the eaves, and a red painted roof of standing seam sheet metal, was added in 1889. A plan of this rebuild, dated March 1889, shows that the house had a central hall plan with a parlor on one side and living room with fireplace on the other. The kitchen consisted of an addition located off the living room to the back. In 1897, this kitchen addition was rebuilt into the dining room and a kitchen with pantry and porch addition added to it. The second story had four bedrooms though one was very small and better served as a storeroom. The keeper's house, located just to the northeast of the lighthouse tower, was demolished circa 1971 by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
A one-story, 8-feet, 6-inch, square wooden structure was built in 1888 between the water and the light tower near the bluff edge. It was built over a 30-foot-deep dry well with a wood shingle hip roof. It was sided with horizontal clapboards with at least one window with six-over-six double-hung sash. On the waterside, the fog bell was mounted outside from wooden brackets supported by square wooden posts attached to the outside of the tower. The mechanical striking mechanism was housed inside the tower, and its cable and weights were dropped down a dry well.
In 1938, the fog signal was described as consisting of a 1000-pound bell which was struck one stroke every 15 seconds with a Gamewell striker. The frame structure was 9 by 9 feet and 10 feet high with a hip roof. During World War II, the tower was either modified or rebuilt into a two-story watch tower with the fog bell mechanism located on the lower level. A narrow wooden gallery surrounded the upper watch room level with the railing accessed by an outside set of stairs. The fog signal building, located about 125 feet south of the lighthouse tower toward the water, was demolished circa 1971 by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. A depression over the dry well is visible today as are the two westernmost foundation piers.
A stable, wood shed, and smokehouse, located behind the keeper's quarters and to the north, were rebuilt in 1895. The stable was later converted to a garage; at one point the garage was attached to a shed at a right angle. A wagon shed was also built sometime before 1887. A white wooden fence with horizontal rails surrounded the station until at least 1925. A reinforced concrete post and wire fence replaced this fence by at least 1928. Most of these fence posts are still extant. Southwest of the tower is a cut off pipe set in a cement foundation, believed to be the flag pole. Scrawled in script into the cement of the flag pole foundation before it hardened is the name "Fannie Salter August 1940" on the west side and "... Salter" on the other.
In 1938, a garage, chicken house, sheep house, and water closet were indicated as being present, all painted white except the sheep house, which was painted gray. A concrete water cistern was located in the basement of the dwelling. A well was present, but the quality of the water was bad. A 2-foot-wide wooden walk connected the fog signal building to the light tower and the dwelling. This was later replaced by cement walks. A set of 137 wooden steps afforded access down the bluff to the water just below the fog signal building. On the west side of the stairs was a wooden incline or chute outfitted with a windlass on top of the bluff and used to haul supplies up and down as needed. At the base of the steps was a seasonal (taken down in winter) walkway of two parallel boards, which extended out into the river 80 feet so the Lighthouse Service tender could offload supplies.
Tower and Oil House (1994)
Tower and Oil house (1994)
Light Station (Date Unknown before 1971)
