Bells Rock Light

37°29′02″N 76°44′59″W / 37.4839°N 76.7498°W / 37.4839; -76.7498TowerConstructed1881 Foundationscrew-pileConstructioncast-iron/woodAutomated1928Height40 feet (12 m)Shapehexagonal houseLightFirst lit1881Deactivated1928 Focal height12 m (39 ft) Lensfourth-order Fresnel lensRange4.3 nautical miles; 8.0 kilometres (5 mi)CharacteristicFlashing 4 sec

The Bells Rock Light was a lighthouse located in the York River in Virginia.

History

In the nineteenth century, West Point, Virginia was the head of navigation on the York River, and this light was requested in order to facilitate navigation there. A house was built for it at Lazaretto Point in 1880, but this was diverted to Thimble Shoal Light when the latter burned down. A second house was constructed and installed on this spot in 1881. Three years later it was struck by a schooner, breaking three of the support columns; these were repaired expeditiously, however, and the light passed the rest of its days uneventfully.

The diminishing of commercial traffic on the river made the light less important, and in 1928 the house was removed and a skeleton tower erected on the iron foundation. This arrangement continues to the present.

References

• "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
• Bells Rock Light, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
• de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780801815485.