Fourteen Foot Bank Light
Fourteen Foot Bank Light is a lighthouse in the Delaware Bay near Bowers Beach, Delaware. Built in 1885–1886 at the south end of Joe Flogger Shoal, it was the first lighthouse to be built using a pneumatic caisson. The wooden caisson structure was excavated to a depth of 23 feet (7.0 m) below the seabed, then filled with 2,000 cubic yards (1,500 m3) of concrete. A cast-iron base was meanwhile erected on the caisson as it sank. A house-like structure was built on top of the base, designed by H.A. Ramsay and Son of Baltimore. Engineers for the structure were Anderson and Barr, and the contractor was D.P. Heap.[3]
Location | near Bowers Beach Delaware Bay, Delaware |
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Coordinates | 39.0482°N 75.1836°W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1886 |
Foundation | Cast Iron and Concrete Caisson |
Construction | Cast Iron |
Automated | 1972 |
Height | 40 feet (12 m) |
Shape | Square |
Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
Light | |
First lit | 1888 |
Focal height | 59 feet (18 m) |
Lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
Range | 13 nmi (24 km; 15 mi) (white), 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) (red) |
Characteristic | white flash every 9 s, red sector covers nearby shoal |
Fourteen Foot Bank Light | |
NRHP reference No. | 89000286[1][2] |
Added to NRHP | March 27, 1989 |
The light is 11 miles (18 km) offshore, and therefore not visible from land. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.[2]
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- NRHP Registration form
- Maynard, W. Barksdale (2008). "Kent County". Buildings of Delaware. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-8139-2702-2.