Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses

Today, however, thanks to the efforts of Stingray Point Marina owners Brent Halsey and Jimmy Rogers, an authentic replica of the original lighthouse stands on land about one and a half miles west of the original lighthouse site. The diligently researched replica opened in March 2003. Randall Kipp, an Irvington, Virginia, architect, worked with documents from the National Archives, The Mariners’ Museum, and other sources to create plans that were accurate to the original lighthouse. The original lighthouse’s first floor included a living room, a bedroom, and a kitchen, as well as a large coal bin. The replica, designed for modern use, has an office and an open living room/kitchen on the first floor. The second-level watch room and the third-level lantern room are consistent with the original.

The owners collected late nineteenth-century furnishings and equipment (none original to Stingray Point Lighthouse) to outfit the replica authentically. The replica boasts a drum-type fifth-order Fresnel lens that can be powered by a kerosene lamp (or, more routinely, by a fluorescent bulb), a 1942 Coast Guard bronze fog bell, and a circa-1880 bell-striking machine. A wooden spiral staircase hugs a stout pine pole that reaches from the main floor to the base of the lantern room. A steel ladder leads into the cottage via a trapdoor to the foot of the spiral staircase. Another trapdoor leads from the watch room to the lantern room and the widow’s walk. The circular lantern room encloses the beacon in an aluminum frame with 12 trapezoidal glass thermo-panes topped by a copper roof and ventilator. In addition to the wood-burning, pot-bellied stove in the living room, the replica lighthouse is fully heated and air-conditioned. The Influence of Screwpiles Once you are aware of the story of the screwpiles lighthouses, their continuing appeal is all the more evident in corporate logos, yard art, and even in private homes. Beyond charm, the versatility and durability of their design has also inspired numerous adaptations—vacation homes, full-time residences, and commercial buildings. One of the most exciting influences screwpiles can claim is in the work of Rick Andrews and Bayside Joinery in Mathews, Virginia. Andrews, a custom homebuilder, drew on his background of woodworking, timber framing, and boat building, as well as architectural design and structural engineering, to develop an innovative, integrated frame-and-panel system to build custom homes. After moving from Henrico County to Mathews, Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay, Andrews found himself intrigued by screwpile lighthouses. Standing on the light tower of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse in St. Michaels, he said, he felt the breeze, saw the sailboats in the harbor, and realized that the screwpile design was perfect for coastal homes. The hexagonal and octagonal shapes of the screwpiles served to make them more storm and wind resistant, and the views were outstanding.

“This is the way to live on the water,” Andrews decided.

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