The lighthouse’s name is apropos since the nearby point according to legends has been the scene of a number of violent events throughout history. In the early days of the nation, a group of Indians was reportedly enticed to the area by English colonists, who then butchered the trusting natives. It is also rumored that a villainous French pirate was hung at Bloody Point. Though the authenticity of these tragic events may be questionable, the charred and hollow shell of iron that is the Bloody Point Lighthouse provides tangible evidence of a tragic fire that very nearly killed two crewmen.

Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse in 1885 Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

The Lighthouse Board first included a proposal for the Bloody Point Lighthouse in their annual report to Congress of 1868, but it would be thirteen years later, in 1881, that $25,000 was finally earmarked for the project. The Board called for “an iron caisson 30 feet in diameter and 30 feet high, surmounted by an iron tower 37 feet high”- specifications very similar to the structure then being built at Sharp’s Island. The contract for the lighthouse was granted to Thomas Evans, and the ironworks were awarded to the same foundry used for Sharp’s Island.

Construction began in earnest on June 5, 1882, and by the end of that month a large wooden platform had been erected at the site. Upon the platform were a derrick mast, concrete mixer, and an engine, and soon twenty-two piles had been driven into the seabed. A floor of 6- by 12-inch timbers was set upon the piles to provide a strong foundation for the caisson. The first tier of plates composing the cylinder were then bolted together, attached to the flooring, and lowered into position atop the piles. When the final levels of plates had been attached, the cylinder was filled with over 700 cubic yards of concrete.

By the end of August, a 37-foot-tall cast iron tower was erected on the caisson and lined with brick. On the tower’s lower levels, various windows and the entry door were set in pedimented cast iron openings, while the watchroom level was adorned with circular, porthole type window openings. The lighthouse interior originally consisted of five rooms, one of which was located below the water’s surface. This basement room was accessed by a steep ladder and housed twin 250-gallon water tanks that collected rainwater. The first level contained an all-purpose room that served as a kitchen, parlor, radio room, and dining room. A spiral staircase led up to the second level and watch level with their Spartan sleeping rooms, and then to the lantern room. The lantern is a ten-sided, cast iron creation and originally contained a fourth-order Fresnel lens with a range of thirteen miles. J. Regester & Sons of Baltimore cast the fog bell for the station in 1882.

All the construction work was finished rather promptly, for the light was first exhibited on October 1, 1882. The Board was pleased that the new Bloody Point Lighthouse was also “useful (as a) Chesapeake Bay light, as a straight run can be made from it to Sandy Point buoy, or the reverse, thus avoiding Thomas’s Point Shoal, should that light be destroyed by the ice.”

The Board definitely favored caissons at this time, having learned that screwpile lighthouses could sometimes become dislodged from their foundations and float away with sheets of heavy ice. The caisson at Bloody Point was not invulnerable to environmental damage, however. Severe storms during the winter of 1883 “scoured the sand from under the northwest side of the light-house and caused a settling of the structure toward that direction.” Bloody Point was found to be leaning six degrees off center, and riprap stone was hastily put down around the affected northwest corner. This solution was inadequate, though, as that stone was either carried away by storms or so heavy that it sank into the soft mud of the Chesapeake. In 1884 the Board tried a more drastic means of eliminating the lighthouse’s tilt. Sand was dredged out from beneath the side opposite the list, successfully reducing the inclination to two degrees. The excavation was filled in, and heavy, 30-foot brush mattresses were placed all around the lighthouse and weighted down with small stones. In the spring of 1885, the structure was further secured by 760 tons of larger stones, which were used to form a ‘scour apron.’ This technique has kept the lighthouse aligned within two degrees of vertical to this day, and the scour apron is visible at low tide.

Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

Bloody Point Lighthouse received a number of maintenance upgrades in 1899. Specifically, the station’s copper smoke pipe was refurbished, the pipes for the water tanks were repaired, the machinery for the fog bell was replaced, and various doors and windows also received care. The station’s overall appearance, however, remained much the same until 1960, when am electrical short caused a fire to erupt in the lighthouse. Two young coastguardsmen, aged 19 and 20, attempted to quell the flames as they spread outwards from the equipment room. “We would use the extinguishers until the smoke got us, then run outside for air,” said the station’s engineman. “We did this maybe three or four times until the fire spread into the kitchen and living room.” At this point it was evident that the flames would reach a storage room containing a 500-gallon fuel tank, so the two decided to abandon the station. They lowered the escape boat by using a 20-foot oar to operate the manual clutch on the boat hoist. The boat descended through flames until it just touched the water, but could not float free of the davits. “Neither of us had a knife to cut the block and tackle. We were stuck there, an inch from escape,” recounted the engineman. Right before the terrible explosion a large wave lifted the boat and freed it, allowing the two coastguardsmen to escape with their lives.

The blaze was fought by a Coast Guard cutter and two other boats for more than six hours, but the wooden interior of the structure was a total loss. The lens fell victim to the blaze as well, so a temporary buoy was used until the station was automated with an acrylic lens in 1961. At this time, the interior was gutted and external features such as the lower gallery roof, stovepipe, and davits were eliminated. Only a single steel ladder and the exposed cast iron plates remain.

The heat stress from the fire and subsequent corrosion has caused widespread cracking of the plates. In addition, water has seeped between the steel cylinder and its concrete filling. Freezing of this seepage during the winter has caused some damage to the caisson. Only the cantilevered lantern deck, composed of cast iron triangle plates, remains in relatively good condition. Solar panels power the modern lens, which is still an active aid to navigation.

On December 7th of 2006, Bloody Point Lighthouse was purchased at auction by a Nevada-based lawyer named Michael Gabriel. The online auction, conducted by the General Services Administration, opened at $5,000 on September 22. As the tentative closing date approached, the bidding heated up. After several extensions to the auction, Gabriel finally won the 124-year-old lighthouse with a bid of $100,000.

Fortunately, Mr. Gabriel is committed to restoring the light, and he initially plans to add a dock. Later, he would like to contract out the work of restoring the kitchen and living areas. He sees the dilapidated condition of the lighthouse as a positive factor in its eventual restoration: “This way,” he said, “it’s all ready to go.” He admitted that he may “have a bit of an eccentric bent,” but he is quite serious about spending upwards of $200,000 on restoration. He is considering donating the structure to a non-profit following his work; a nearby Baptist church has already expressed interest in maintaining it.

In August of 2009, Gabriel announced that he would be dedicating a room in each of his five offshore lighthouses to a brewery. “I’m starting this process with Bloody Point and Fourteen Foot before moving on to Borden Flats,” Gabriel explained. “We’re not talking about a huge amount of beer here, something like 20 to 40 barrels a week that we will look to sell to local restaurants and breweries. My hope is to have the breweries pay for the lighthouse’s ongoing maintenance. We will already be using the desalination process in here to create water, but the device I am purchasing creates so much more water than we will need, and this seemed like a great use for it. We want to create a unique beer here, and it will be unique — the only one made from seawater.”

As the desalination systems costs around $100,000 and renovating the lighthouse will be more than that, having a money generating operation isn't a bad idea. Though an official name hasn't been selected for the beer, Sea Ale and Lighthouse Brew have been considered.

References

1. Bay Beacons, Turbyville, 1995.
2. “Bloddy Point Bar Light Station’s National Register of Historic Places Nomination,” 1998, USCG Historian’s Office.
3. “Restoring Lighthouse: Priceless,” Brittney Pescatore, The Washington Times, December 22, 2006.
4. “Something is brewing at Borden Flats Lighthouse,” Jay Pateakos, Herald News, August 25, 2009.