Date of Service: 1879 – 1900
1831: Born in Maryland
1875: The first Solomons Lump Lighthouse is constructed. It was a square, screwpile on five wrought iron piles. It was painted white with a brown roof and black lantern and exhibited a fixed white light.
1879-1893: Serves as Keeper at Solomons Lump Lighthouse, MD. His salary is $560/year.
1886: On August 31, the Keeper Evans reports feeling two shocks from an earthquake, 15-minutes apart.
1893: In January, the lighthouse is smashed by heavy moving ice floes and is pushed over so part of the structure is underwater. Keeper Dow transfers to Holland Island Bar Lighthouse, MD. until a new lighthouse is constructed.
1893-1895: Serves as First Assistant at Holland Island Bar Lighthouse, MD. His salary is $420/year.
1895: The current caisson style lighthouse at Solomons Lump is completed and equipped with a fifth-order lens.
1895-1900: Serves as Keeper at Solomons Lump Lighthouse, MD. His salary is $560/year.
1899: New model fifth-order lamps are installed at the lighthouse.
1900: Resigns as Keeper at Solomons Lump Lighthouse after serving 21 years in the Lighthouse Service.
1917: L. Dow Evans dies in 1917 at age 86. He is buried @ Riggins Family Cemetery, Crisfield, Maryland.
Sources: Chesapeake Chapter Keeper database; Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board, various years; Lighting the Bay: Tales of Chesapeake Lighthouses, Pat Vojtech, 1996
