Point of Shoals Light

Oct. 1, 2019

Point of Shoals Light, James River, Virginia

Screwpile style lighthouse built in 1835.

POINT OF SHOALS LIGHT

Location: Burwell Bay in the James River, Virginia
Station Established: 1855
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1871
Operational: No
Automated: 1932
Deactivated: 1933
Foundation Materials:
Construction Materials:
Tower Shape: Hexagonal Screw-pile
Relationship to Other Structure: Integral
Original Lens: 6th order
Characteristic: Fixed White

Historical Information:

  • The first lighthouse at this sight was built in 1855.
  • It was a hexagonal screw-pile with a pressed glass masthead lens.
  • Confederates raided the lighthouse during the Civil War.
  • In 1871 the lighthouse had to be rebuilt due to severe damage caused by ice flows.
  • It was automated in 1932 and deactivated in 1933.
  • It was torn down in the 1960s.

Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society volunteer.