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History of The Choptank River Lighthouse

The Choptank River Lighthouse once stood between Castle Haven and Benoni Points on the Choptank River, near the mouth of the Tred Avon River. The lighthouse station was established in 1871 by the U.S. Lighthouse Service, a government agency that later became today's U.S. Coast Guard, the service which still manages America's navigational aids.
The lighthouse was the only manned lighthouse inside the Choptank River to guide ships to Cambridge, and further up-river to Secretary and Denton. In the late 1880's until WWI, steamboats passed the lighthouse weekly, sailing from Baltimore and stopping at Long Wharf for produce, seafood and passengers. Many older residents of Cambridge remember the pleasant overnight trips to and from Baltimore past the Choptank River lighthouse.

The original lighthouse at the Choptank River Station was built in 1871 at Baltimore's Lazaretto Lighthouse Depot, moved on a barge to the site and loaded onto the iron skeleton legs which were screwed into the substrate of the Choptank River. An ice flow in 1917 demolished this first structure. Instead of building a new structure, the Lighthouse Service elected to move the spare Cherrystone lighthouse then in storage at Cape Charles, Virginia to the Choptank River Station. The Cherrystone lighthouse was put in place in 1920 at the Choptank River site. The structure stood at the station until 1964 when the house was removed under the Coast Guard's modernization program. The screwpile legs and rubble still remain at the site supporting a small flashing light. The new Choptank River lighthouse in the Cambridge marina will be an exact replica of this last lighthouse, utilizing existing plans available from the National Archives. The hexagonal cottage style house will stand on pilings similar to the original screwpile skeletal network an be placed on a platform at the end of a primary dock to be built at the new Cambridge City marina. The footprint of the structure is 42' from one hex point to the other, and will sit on a 60' by 60' platform with an overall height approximately 40'. The lighthouse will be visible by water, greeting boating visitors to the marina, as well as being easily seen from the Choptank River bridge and the nearby city. Dramatic lighting in the evening will highlight its value as a gateway to the city.
Upon completion, the Choptank River Lighthouse Committee will turn the lighthouse over to the City of Cambridge to be used primarily as a new dockmaster's office. A mini-museum may also be formed on the first floor. The museum will help educate local children and visitors to the area's rich history, and dispense literature on nearby attractions.