Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses

Image by Sheally

improvement of the James and Appomattox Rivers, below the cities of Richmond and Petersburg. Of that money designated for dredging as well as lighthouses and buoys, the lighthouse portion totaled $21,000. Hudson River Compared to James River Many Virginians felt that the “general government” had concentrated too much of its efforts on improving navigation in Northern states. An article published September 17, 1853, states, “How it (James River) should have remained so long neglected…is indeed an evidence of partiality that is surprising and outrageously unjust.” 8 The article recognized the recent appropriations but went on to compare the navigational aids and other work on the James and Hudson Rivers as of 1853. The Hudson had three lighthouses in place from the mouth of the river to Albany. The James had none. A considerable amount of dredging had been done on the Hudson. No work to date had been accomplished on the James. Acquiring the Land In order to place lighthouses on the James River, the Commonwealth of Virginia had to cede land to the federal government. That requirement had been in place since the original law addressing lighthouses passed on August 7, 1789. 9 That same law also established federal funding and oversight for all lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and public piers at the entrance of, or within, any bay, inlet, harbor, or port of the United States. On February 17, 1853, the Virginia Legislature passed a bill authorizing the governor of Virginia to cede land, no more than three acres each, on a point opposite Lyons Creek Shoals, Point of Shoals, and White Shoal to the United States. Owners of the land at Jordan Point, Mr. and Mrs. Bland, ceded the property directly to the United States. In all cases, the deed transfer was recorded in each county: Warwick County for White Shoal, Isle of Wight for Day’s Point and Point of Shoals, Surry County for Deep Water Shoals, and Prince George County for Jordan Point. 10 It’s important to note that a provision in the law required that the lighthouse construction be completed within seven years or the land would revert to the Commonwealth. It also required that the land revert to the Commonwealth if the lighthouses fell into decay or were no longer in use. This clause was used in the 1930s and 1940s when lighthouses were abandoned, left to decay, or were dismantled. All the ceded land reverted to the Commonwealth.

Contemporary metal- shielded screwpile

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