Marcus Hook Range Rear Light, near Bellefonte, Delaware
Established 1918.
MARCUS HOOK REAR RANGE LIGHT
Location: Delaware River Channel near Bellefonte, Delaware
Station Established: 1915
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1920
Operational: Yes
Automated:
Deactivated: N/A
Foundation Materials: Concrete
Construction Materials: Reinforced concrete
Tower Shape: Square
Markings/Pattern: Natural
Characteristic: Flashing white (till replaced by fixed red DCB-24 lens sometime in the early 1980s)
Relationship to Other Structure: Separate
Original Lens: Fourth Order Fresnel
Historical Information:
- The Marcus Hook Channel was widened and deepened in 1910.
- In 1918 a lighthouse was built with light facing north.
- The lighthouse is composed of nine sections of reinforced concrete.
- In 1925 the front range light was built. It sits on a concrete pier in the Delaware River. Both lights shine red.
- The original keeper’s quarters are now a private residence. The light tower is an active aid to navigation and not open to the public.
Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a member of the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society.