Qualla: Cape Henry Lighthouses

Cape Henry Lighthouses: Introduction

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit PumpkinSky, CC BY-SA 3.0. Before there was a White House, before there was a Capitol Building, before the new United States government built anything at all, it built a lighthouse. The octagonal sandstone tower that rose at Cape Henry in 1792 was the first construction project authorized under the Constitution, and the stone came from the same Aquia Creek quarry that would later supply the President's house. Two centuries on, the old tower still stands at the southern entrance to Chesapeake Bay, just 350 feet from the cast-iron replacement that was built when cracks started spreading across its weathered faces. Together, the pair form one of the most compact and complete stories in American lighthouse history.

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Image: PumpkinSky | CC BY-SA 3.0

Cape Henry Lighthouses: The Republic's First Stone

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit PumpkinSky, CC BY-SA 3.0. Congress authorized the Cape Henry lighthouse in 1790, making it the very first act of federal construction. The contract went to John McComb Jr. for $15,200, though an additional $2,500 was needed to finish the job. McComb, who would go on to co-design New York City Hall, built ...

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Image: PumpkinSky | CC BY-SA 3.0

Cape Henry Lighthouses: Dark Years and Cracked Faces

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit United States Navy, Photographer's Mate 1st Class Ken Riley, Public domain. The lighthouse went dark twice during the Civil War. Confederate forces extinguished the light and removed the lens, understanding that the beacon served Union navigation to Fort Monroe, a critical federal stronghold that never fell to the Confederacy. Union troops recovered the ...

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Image: United States Navy, Photographer's Mate 1st Class Ken Riley | Public domain

Cape Henry Lighthouses: Iron and Glass

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dlleigh, CC0. Construction on the new Cape Henry lighthouse began in 1879 and finished in 1881. The replacement tower, built of cast iron and wrought iron, stood taller and carried a first-order Fresnel lens far more powerful than anything the old tower had ever held. That lens remains in plac...

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Image: Dlleigh | CC0

Cape Henry Lighthouses: Preserved in the Same Stone

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit U.S. Navy, Photographer's Mate 1st Class Eric Clement, Public domain. Preservation Virginia acquired the old lighthouse in 1930, adding a brick lining and iron stairway to make the interior safe for visitors. The National Historic Landmark designation came in 1964, and in 2002 the American Society of Civil Engineers recognized it as a National Hist...

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Image: U.S. Navy, Photographer's Mate 1st Class Eric Clement | Public domain