New Point Comfort Lighthouse

New Point Comfort Lighthouse is a Virginia historical marker in Mathews County, dedicated 1996.

Mathews County · dedicated 1996 · Rte. 600, just east of intersection of Rte. 14

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Standing at the end of what was once the southernmost peninsula in Mathews County, now surrounded by water, the lighthouse marks the entrance to Mobjack Bay. Authorized by Congress in 1801, this 55-foot-high sandstone tower with its spiraling stone steps to the lighthouse cage, was built in 1805 by Elzy Burroughs, the first keeper. Except for a brief time during the Civil War, the light operated from 1806 until 1963. It is the third-oldest lighthouse still standing on Chesapeake Bay. A keeper's dwelling once stood next to the lighthouse on a five-acre tract.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

The Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania stands under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

New Point Comfort Lighthouse

More markers nearby