Craighill Channel Upper Front Lighthouse Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

Despite being designated the ‘upper range’ lights, the rear range light of the upper set is actually located farther south than the rear light of the lower range. The naming convention, however, was undoubtedly used because ships enter Craighill Channel from the south, using the lights of the lower range to direct them, and the upper range lights are not utilized until ships approach the Patapsco River. Notably, these lights are significantly smaller than the previously constructed set and possess little of the other’s glamour.

Unlike the earlier range light construction, the erection of the lights for the cut-off channel was relatively problem-free and did not require any additional funding over the original $25,000 appropriation. The front range light consists of a two-story octagonal brick featuring arched windows and door that is built on the 30-foot square, stone foundation pier of the former rear light of the Old North Point Range, originally constructed in 1822. While some thought was actually given to refurbishing the abandoned structure at that location, the Lighthouse Board reported that “careful examination showed it to be entirely unsuitable for the purpose,” and it was deemed more practical to tear it down and build a more secure structure. The front light is located approximately fifteen feet above the surface of the channel and roughly 1.3 miles southeast of the rear light, near the mouth of the Patapsco River.

As described by the Lighthouse Board, “The rear beacon consists of an inner wooden shaft, covered with corrugated iron and supported by an iron skeleton frame, forming a frustum of a square pyramid, resting on stone and brick foundation piers.” The central shaft encloses a stairway that facilitated access to a gallery and the light at the top of the tower. The rear light is positioned sixty-four feet above the water and thirty-nine feet above the front range light.

Craighill Channel Upper Rear Lighthouse in 1946 Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

Construction of the range lights and associated keepers dwellings was carried out in parallel, allowing the work to be completed and in operation in under a year. Work began in late summer of 1885, and on January 15, 1886, the lights could be shown for the first time, though some work was still needed on the keeper’s dwellings. The following spring, the land around the dwellings was drained, graded, and fenced in, and work on the range lights was complete. The keeper’s dwelling for the rear light was located near the rear tower, while the dwelling for the front light was located near the end of the pier that connected the front light to the shore.

In its annual report of 1888, the Lighthouse Board noted that the gates to the property at the rear light had to be relocated as the owner of the adjoining property had “declined to allow the keeper to pass over his property any longer.” Access to the rear tower is even more complicated today as it is located within the grounds of the Sparrows Point Bethlehem Steel Plant.

In 1890, extensive work was done on the dwelling for the front light. The interior was painted, roof repairs were made, and a new picket fence and brick walkways were added, and seventeen window screens and two screen doors were hung. Unfortunately, just three years later, the wooden bridge that connected the mainland to the front light was destroyed in a storm. Rather than rebuild the bridge, the locomotive headlight was mounted outside the tower rather than inside, and the small structure was remodeled to serve as quarters for a keeper. The front light does somewhat resemble a guard shack, and the twelve-foot square tower with truncated corners, now had a resident guardian. A boat landing and davits for storing the keeper’s boat were added to the front light at this time.

Locomotive head-lights were originally used in the range to produce a pair of white lights. These beacons were replaced in 1929, and the signature was changed to fixed red. In that same year, both range lights became fully automated. No longer needed, the keeper’s dwellings were demolished.

The Cut-off Channel Range Lights are a prime example of governmental efforts to produce more efficient aids to navigation. The front range light, with its striking red and white bands and molded brick arches is quite pleasing architecturally. Although the rear range light has lost its gallery that encircled the tower atop the four iron supports and its windows have been boarded up, the tower is a one-of-a-kind.

References

1. Bay Beacons, Linda Turbyville, 1995.
2. “Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light Station’s National Register of Historic Places Nomination,” 2002.
3. “Craighill Channel Upper Range Front Light Station’s National Register of Historic Places Nomination,” 2002.

We visited the lighthouse with Down Time Sportfishing Charters.