Lighthouses in Virginia

location of active lighthouses in Virginia (2025)
Source: Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal

Ever since Spanish colonists arrived at Ajacan in 1570 and English colonists arrived at Jamestown in 1607, the Virginia economy has relied upon international trade. Almost all ships bringing new immigrants, supplies, and trade goods to Virginia have entered the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and then sailed up Tidewater rivers as far as the Fall Line.

Ship captains need to know the location of the channel to avoid being wrecked on shoals or shorelines. Identifying the channel was done initially by sight and by dropping a leaded weight to the sediments on the bottom of the bay or river. Today boat captains use computerized equipment and charts to determine their location in relation to the channel. Sight is still important. Lighthouses mark entrances to river mouths and dangerous shoals, while buoys mark the edges of shipping channels.

In 1720, Governor Spotswood proposed building a lighthouse at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to improve safety. The General Assembly supported that proposal then, and again in 1727 and 1756, but required the colony of Maryland to share in the cost. Maryland finally agreed and construction started on a lighthouse at Cape Henry in 1774. That project was nterrupted by the American Revolution. The new Federal government created by the US Constitution included the right to regulate commerce, and it comnpleted the first Federal public works project in 1792 with construction of the Cape Henry Lighthouse.¹

the Federal investment in lighthouses facilitated economic development on the shorelines of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, and inland where transportation infrastructure supported cargo shipments to the coast
Source: Library of Congress, A chart exhibiting the light houses and light vessels on the coast of the United States of America: from Maine to Virginia inclusive (1848)

Nansemond River Light Station
Source: National Archives, Nansemond River Light Station, Virginia (1933 or earlier)

Hog Island
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Hog Island (1933 or earlier)

inside the Fresnel lens at Cape Henry lighthouse
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Cape Henry (1933 or earlier)

Cape Charles
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Cape Charles (1933 or earlier)

Wolf Trap
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Wolf Trap (1933 or earlier)

Windmill Point
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Windmill Point (1933 or earlier)

Thimble Shoal
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Thimble Shoal (1933 or earlier)

Stingray Point
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Stingray Point (1933 or earlier)

Purtan Bay
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Purtan Bay (1933 or earlier)

Naval Hospital
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Naval Hospital (1933 or earlier)

Newport News
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Newport News (1933 or earlier)

Matomkin Point
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Matomkin Point (1933 or earlier)

Sandy Shoal
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Sandy Shoal (1933 or earlier)

Lambert Point
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Lambert Point (1933 or earlier)

Jordan Point
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Jordan Point (1933 or earlier)

New Point Comfort
Source: National Archives, Virginia - New Point Comfort (1933 or earlier)

Old Point Comfort
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Old Point Comfort (1933 or earlier)

References

1. "Cape Henry Lighthouse," Preservation Virginia, https://preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/cape-henry-lighthouse/; "The Old Cape Henry Light: A Survey Report," National Park Service, February 1962, pp.2-14, https://npshistory.com/publications/colo/old-cape-henry-light.pdf (last checked July 26, 2025)

southern tip of Watts Island with lighthouse in 1866, before last lighthouse collapsed in 1944
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Historical Map and Chart Collection, Chesapeake Bay, Potomac Entrance Tangier And Pocomoke Sounds. Sheet No. 3 (1866)

lighthouses are painted in distinctive styles so mariners can recognize where they are
Source: Library of Congress, Lighthouse on Assateague Island, Virginia

From Feet to Space: Transportation in Virginia
Virginia Places

Lighthouses in Virginia

Barrier Islands

Cape Henry Lighthouse

Hampton Roads Shipping Channels and Port Competition

Marking and Dredging Navigation Channels in Virginia

Ports in Virginia

Shipping in Virginia

Links

References