Chesapeake Chapter USLHS Fundraiser:
Donate to the fundraiser to help preserve the lighthouse. Click the button below to make your donation via PayPal. You do not need to have a PayPal account to donate; you can also use a credit card. Thank you for your support!
Ice at the Lighthouse!:
We took our first trip of the year out to the lighthouse on February 20th to see how she was faring with this harsh and snowy winter. We were delighted to find a little bit of ice and snow remaining on the rip-rap boulders...
White House Designates U.S. Lighthouse Society a “Preserve America Steward”:
On January 12, 2009, First Lady Laura Bush, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Chairman John L Nau, III announced that the United States Lighthouse Society was...
Wedding Bells At Lighthouse:
On July 4 th, Sally Ward and Phillip Walker, both of Annapolis, exchanged their wedding vows at the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse...
Amazing Lighthouse Replica:
Gary Gillette, a model-making hobbyist who specializes in replicas of historic buildings, spent over 300 hours making an amazingly authentic 1/48 th scale model of Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse...
GRANTS WILL SUPPORT RESTORATION OF THOMAS POINT SHOAL LIGHTHOUSE
Three major grants were awarded to the USLHS for Thomas Point Shoal
Lighthouse preservation. The Getty Foundation, a program of the J. Paul
Getty Trust in Los Angeles, has awarded a $60,000 grant to conserve
the lighthouse’s screwpile foundation; the National Park Service
(NPS) has awarded a $72,385 Chesapeake Bay Gateways matching grant to
help enhance public access to the lighthouse; and the Maryland Historical
Trust has awarded a $50,000 capital matching grant for various preservation
activities. The $182,385 will go a long way towards addressing the most
challenging and the costliest projects in our preservation plan.
The screwpile foundation conservation funded by the Getty
grant follows the recommendations of a structural assessment that was
done for the U.S. Coast Guard in 2001, and an additional assessment and
analysis that was just completed for the USLHS by the architectural firm
of Kann & Associates and their engineering partners at Robert Silman
Associates.
All of the iron and steel structural members above the waterline
will be thoroughly cleaned and the rust that has accumulated since this
type of conservation work was last done 15 years ago will be removed.
In some cases, structural members will be replaced altogether because
the corrosion is too severe to allow the member to be preserved and maintain
their structural integrity. The final step will be to give all of the
iron and steel members a coating to protect it from further corrosion.
The work will be done by a qualified and professional engineering and
construction firm that will be selected through competitive bidding and
has experience working in an offshore environment and abiding by the Secretary
of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
The overall effort would take approximately five to six months, starting
in the spring of 2006 and completing in the fall.
The work to be funded by the NPS Chesapeake Bay Gateways
program will enhance safe public access to the site by constructing a
new, expanded docking facility. In addition, the grant supports efforts
to give visitors a more engaging and historically accurate experience
through restoring a modern kitchen and other interior space to historic
conditions and preserving historic windows. Finally, the grant will support
the fabrication and installation of enclosures to protect and display
operational aid-to-navigation equipment. TPSL, through its partnership
with the Annapolis Maritime Museum, is one of over 140 trails, parks,
maritime museums, refuges and historic sites in the Chesapeake Bay Gateways
Network. “Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse is a tremendous asset of
this region, and it will be a wonderful place through which to connect
with a piece of the Chesapeake story. This grant helps prepare the lighthouse
for visitors. ” said Gateways Network Director Jonathan Doherty.
The Maryland Historical Trust capital grant application
was written to parallel and supplement/match several of the activities
that are also covered under the Getty and Gateways grants, including stabilization
and preservation of exposed historic fabric, including original tongue-and-groove
paneling and flooring; implementation of engineering modifications or
additions to remedy structural weaknesses and to enhance safety for public
access; construction of enclosures for operational equipment; and removal
of a modern bathroom and restoration of the area to the 1875 design.
The USLHS and the TPSL partnership greatly appreciates the
enthusiastic and early support of the Getty Foundation, the NPS Chesapeake
Bay Gateways Network, and the Maryland Historical Trust to help us conserve
this National Historic Landmark and Chesapeake Bay icon. All three of
these grants require at least a corresponding match to be provided by
the USLHS and its partners. Each of you can help meet this match by personally
becoming a Plank Owner or by joining the ranks of our corporate sponsors
Please visit our Donors page for more information.
The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international
cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that
includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty
Conservation Institute, and the Getty Foundation. The Getty Trust and
the Getty programs are located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Additional
information is available
on the Getty Web site.
The Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network (CBGN)
connects visitors with the Chesapeake and its rivers through more than
140 parks, wildlife refuges, museums, sailing ships, historic communities,
trails and more. These Gateways are the special places where people can
experience the authentic Chesapeake – its spectacular natural areas,
its unique contributions to America’s history, its maritime heritage.
Authorized by the United States Congress in 1998 and created in 2000,
the Network is coordinated by the National Park Service to inspire public
appreciation of the Chesapeake as a national treasure and to support its
conservation. To
learn more about CBGN visit their website.
The Maryland Historical Trust was formed
in 1961 to assist the people of Maryland in identifying, studying, evaluating,
preserving, protecting, and interpreting the state's significant prehistoric
and historic districts, sites, structures, cultural landscapes, heritage
areas, cultural objects, and artifacts, as well as less tangible human
and community traditions. The Trust is the principal operating unit within
the Division of Historical and Cultural Programs, which is an agency of
the Maryland Department of Planning. Please
visit the MHT.