Thomas Point Lighthouse in need of repairs
Funding needed to save Chesapeake’s historic structure
The nine iron screw pilings that hold the Thomas Point Lighthouse above the waves are as good today as they were 144 years ago, when it took 30 men to twist each beam 12 feet into the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis.
Yet the lighthouse — the last of its kind on the bay and a National Historic Landmark — is in peril.
It’s not the old part of the structure that is being worn away by salt and water — it’s the newer steel substructure, which was replaced in the 1980s, said John Potvin, the lighthouse’s preservation foreman through the U.S. Lighthouse Society.
“The steel has not stood the test of time like the cast iron has,” Potvin said.
The steel supports have dwindled to a third of their original thickness in some spots, with corroded steel peeling off like tree bark.
“The saltwater is the problem. The air is the problem. Everything below the level of water is in fine shape,” Potvin said. “When you get above the water, air gets to it, the saltwater gets to it, storm damage occurs, boat waves go over it and all that stuff contributes towards the deterioration of the steel that’s here.”
The U.S. Lighthouse Society’s Chesapeake chapter wants to make repairs and replace those beams with zinc-coated steel to prevent future corrosion, but Potvin said the group needs to raise another $100,000 for the $300,000 project. Organizers have created a GoFundMe page to raise the money.
“We know it means a lot to a lot of people,” he said. “I would hate to see this thing topple over and fall in the bay because we can’t get this job done.”
They have hired a contractor who will make the repairs on a piecemeal basis, Potvin said — the more they can raise, the more of the project they can complete.
Thomas Point was the last manned lighthouse on the bay until 1986, when it became automated. It’s owned by Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, the Chesapeake chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society and the Annapolis Maritime Museum.
The steel isn’t the only issue. In the house itself, one structural beam is cracked, and the building’s outhouse is strapped down to prevent it from falling into the bay, Potvin said.
Potvin, who can see the lighthouse from his home, said he wants to preserve the structure for his children and grandchildren.
“It’s really a labor of love,” he said.
He was swept up in the energy other volunteers brought to the project, too.
“Everybody loves this lighthouse; it’s a pleasure to be involved in,” he said.
Preserving the Thomas Point Lighthouse is also a personal mission for Howard Lewis and his wife, Catherine Lewis, who use their deadrise boat to ferry people and equipment to and from the lighthouse. They live on the water nearby and will motor out quickly to spruce up the lighthouse when a tour is on the way, Catherine said.
Howard’s grandfather, Charles Hartmann, was an assistant keeper from1898 to 1901. Exhibits set up by volunteers throughout the lighthouse show what life might have been like back then. Keepers shared small mobile libraries between stations for entertainment — filled with tomes like “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “Ivanhoe.”
“It’s jumped a generation or so, but I’m back out here,” Howard said.