Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses

Screwpile lighthouse style private residence in Scotland Neck, Virginia. Pearl Branch (left), owner of the house.

His inspiration led to the development of the ChesLight, a customizable plan for a residential structure with a complex design that suited his integrated building system perfectly. His mind ran to a 40-foot octagonal model of a land-bound screwpile lighthouse, on pilings (although not screwpiles!), with wraparound decks, walls of windows, vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, planked ceilings, walk-in closets, open floor plans, and other currently popular—though classic—design elements, such as shiplapped walls. He could build the home on any number of levels. He envisioned a central spiral staircase leading to the top level and a lookout room with a deck projecting above the main roof. He could add elevators, luxurious baths, and high-end kitchens—all the while maintaining the classic screwpile exterior. In 2008, he built a three bedroom/two-and-a-half-bath home in Mathews, Virginia, which replicated the Thomas Point screwpile lighthouse. He installed large decks, antique wood floors, and huge windows that offer views of the Chesapeake Bay and Horn Harbor from every room—all high and dry on land with a wide waterfront.

A retired Virginia Beach/Richmond, Virginia, developer, Gene Cooke, was interested in the design. He knew Andrews and had bought one of the earlier screwpile-type houses as an investment. Cooke, who grew up in Tappahannock, was familiar with the Thomas Point screwpile lighthouse. In 2006, he bought the Tappahannock Essex Inn, an 1851 manor house turned bed-and-breakfast. He was born in that building in 1937. “He told me he wanted a house where he could sit on the deck and sip martinis,” Andrews said. When Andrews said he could do a new, improved, larger model of the ChesLight, Cooke knew that was the right plan.

Cooke contracted for a 2,500-square-foot, three-bedroom, screwpile-style home built on a galvanized-steel piling foundation near Gloucester Court House.

“The property deserved a house as special as it is—not a standard four rooms up and four rooms down house,” Cooke said.

The house that Andrews built is perfectly suited to the site. Three walls facing the

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