Timeline: Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse

(Located north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, offshore from Sandy Point State Park, near Annapolis, MD – Revised – 5/27/2020)

1858: First lighthouse established on land at Sandy Point.

1883: Present three-story, 51-foot tall red brick dwelling with a white roof on brown constructed on a caisson, 1,000 yards from Sandy Point State Park.

1890: Flashing light replaced by fixed light. Repairs made and walls reinforced.

1915: Keeper Edward Jensen is awarded the efficiency silver star.

1918: Keeper Edward Jensen is awarded the inspector’s efficiency star.

1929: Station electrified. Fixed light replaced by flashing light.

1963: Light is automated.

1979: Vandals enter the lighthouse, destroy Fresnel lens with a baseball bat. Repairs and door replaced. A modern acrylic lens installed.

1988-90 Coast Guard does major restoration.

2005 GSA declares lighthouse “excessed property”. Available to qualified groups under National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (NHLPA)

2006 Lighthouse sold at public auction to a private bidder.

2019  The Coast Guard removes the beacon – the light is no longer an active aid to navigation.

Source: Bay Beacons by Linda Turbyville

Updated 10/26/2020

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