Sandy Point Shoal Light Station

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

Sandy Point Shoal Light Station is a lighthouse near Skidmore in Anne Arundel County, about a half mile off Sandy Point, listed in the National Register in 2002. It was built in 1883 as an octagonal brick caisson lighthouse in the Second Empire style, designed and built by W. J. Humes, replacing an earlier onshore lighthouse used from 1858 to 1883.

Why it's listed

Listed under criteria A and C with local significance in maritime history, social history and architecture, its period of significance runs from 1883, when the fourth-order light went into service, to 1952.

Physical character

The two-and-a-half-story brick tower stands on a caisson foundation, with brick walls, cast-iron detailing, a metal-and-slate mansard roof, and a gallery deck. Victorian sawn work and gable ends decorate the exterior, with a brick cistern; brick was painted in 1890 to prevent corrosion, and in 1902 the McClenahan Granite Company laid riprap around the foundation.

Historical context

Congress appropriated $8,000 in 1854 for a lighthouse at Sandy Point and authorized $25,000 in 1882 for a caisson lighthouse; the submarine land was conveyed by the Governor of Maryland in 1883. By 1890 the light had changed from flashing to fixed and gained a red sector.