Category: Assateague Island

Keeper Bio: Parker, William Major

Date of Service: 1876-1912 1855: Born in in April, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 1870s: Marries his wife, Venus. 1876-1886: Served as Second Assistant at Assateague Lighthouse, VA. His beginning salary was $390/year and his ending salary was $400/year. 1886-1912: Served as Principal Keeper at Killock Shoal Lighthouse, VA. His beginning salary was $500/year …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://cheslights.org/keeper-bio-william-major-parker/

Keeper Bio: Carter, Peter Jacob

Date of Service: 1871, 1879-1880 1845:  Peter J. Carter is born a slave in Northampton County, VA., to parents Jacob and Peggie 1860: Calvin H. Read (owner of Peter, his two younger siblings, and his mother) deeds Peter and his family to his wife as repayment for a $1,000 debt. The Carters are listed in …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://cheslights.org/keeper-bio-peter-j-carter/

Keeper Bio: Smith, Mary Caulk

Date of Service: 1868 – 1872 1841: Born on August 10th in Delaware. 1868-1872: Mary C. Smith is appointed the First Assistant at Assateague Lighthouse, VA. Her annual salary is $400/year. (Her husband Charles Smith serves as Principal Keeper) 1908: Mary Caulk Smith dies on March 7, 1894. She is buried at Wilmington Delaware and …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://cheslights.org/keeper-bio-mary-caulk-smith/

Keeper Bio: Smith, Charles Harwin

Keepers

Date of Service: 1867-1872, 1874-1881, 1895-1908 1840: Born on September 24th in Delaware County, PA. 1860-1865: Serves as First Mate on the U.S. Transport Steamer, Diamond State. 1865: Moves to Chincoteague, VA., where he serves as the Captain of a small cutter. 1867-1872:  Appointed Principal Keeper for the newly constructed Assateague Lighthouse, VA., in 1867. …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://cheslights.org/keeper-bio-charles-harwin-smith/

Timeline: Assateague Island Lighthouse

(Located within Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Chincoteague, VA) 1833 First brick tower, 45 foot tall, built. 1860 Construction of second and present tower begun. Work suspended during the Civil war. 1866-1867 Construction of 142 foot brick tower resumed and completed. Fitted with first-order Fresnel lens. Large keepers’ dwelling constructed. 1874 Life-saving station established three miles …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://cheslights.org/timeline-assateague-island-lighthouse/

Assateague Island Lighthouse

In 1833, the original Assateague Lighthouse was established on Assateague Island at a cost of $55,000. In 1867, a new lighthouse was built on a land bluff that was thirty-one feet above mean low water and positioned on the southerly part of Assateague Island. The lighthouse replaced the original lighthouse whose tower’s height proved not …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://cheslights.org/assateague-island-lighthouse/