| MATHEWS
COUNTY HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
|
Search the
Collections P. O. Box 855 Mathews, Virginia 23109-0855 |
| Connecting
People to the Past |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Projects New Point Comfort Lighthouse For 200 years the New Point Comfort Lighthouse in Mathews County, Virginia has been the symbol of safety and home for watermen and mariners on the Chesapeake Bay. During the early years of our country’s history, shipping on the Bay was a critical component for economic development and stability. With Thomas Jefferson in the White House, the second Congress authorized construction of the lighthouse on an island between the Chesapeake and Mobjack Bays. The lighthouse was built by Elzy Burroughs of sandstone from the Aquia quarry—the same material used in construction of the White House, the Capitol, and other government buildings in Washington, D.C. President Thomas Jefferson appointed Elzy Burroughs as the first Keeper and New Point Comfort Lighthouse was first lit on January 17, 1805. Since then its history has reflected that of the United States. The British Navy occupied it for several weeks during the War of 1812 before leaving it in shambles and burning the keeper’s house. The house was rebuilt and the lighthouse repaired and then refitted with a Fresnel lens in 1855. In 1861, the Confederates extinguished the light as the Civil War raged up and down the Chesapeake Bay and across Virginia. One of the few known officially appointed African-American keepers was a preacher, J. McHenry Farley, who served from 1871–1873. In 1919 New Point light was automated and began using acetylene gas, which did not require a full-time keeper. It was first powered by electricity in 1960 and continued to shine across the waters of the Chesapeake and Mobjack until 1963 when it was decommissioned by the Coast Guard and became a day marker. The property was acquired by Mathews County in 1975 and local volunteers raised funds for critical repairs and restoration. The County provided more maintenance in 1988 with funding from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. It is the tenth oldest American lighthouse still standing in the country and the third oldest on the Chesapeake Bay. It is listed on both the Virginia and National Registers of Historic Places. Throughout its distinguished history, New Point Comfort Lighthouse has been a sentinel representing America’s proud tradition of navigation, commerce, craftsmanship, and perseverance through peace and war. Originally built on a 200+ acre island, Nature has slowly but surely taken its toll. Coastal erosion has reduced the island to less than 1/4 of an acre. The future of this historic structure is in doubt. The New Point Comfort Lighthouse Preservation Task Force is working with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Mathews County, and others to determine the best way to preserve and protect the lighthouse and the island that surrounds it for future generations. In order to insure its long term survival, the Preservation Task Force is asking for donations to help pay for coastal erosion studies, security and public access plans, and to work on preserving the lighthouse itself. Please send your donation to: New Point Comfort
Lighthouse Fund
County of Mathews P.O. Box 839
Mathews, Virginia
23109
For more information, contact Mathews County Visitor & Information Center New Point Lighthouse Facts
New
Point Comfort
Lighthouse Keepers
James
B. H.
Johnson –
May
1, 1871
William Johnson – February 24, 1819 William R. Brownley – October 11, 1830 Isaac Foster – November 5, 1846 James B. White (revoked) – October 6, 1854 Edward S. White – November 1, 1854 Joseph S. Allen – September 4, 1865 Sylvester H. Wolhiser – July 9, 1869 J. McHenry Farley – May 1, 1871 John D. Hudgins – June 27, 1873 Leonard Smithers (acting) – October 7, 1876 Leonard Smithers – March 26, 1877 A. F. Hudgins – November 21, 1879 William G. Ripley (acting) – December 30, 1881 C. W. Forest (acting) – January 8, 1883 Oliver R. Hudgins – November 15, 1888 James B. Hurst – April 1, 1899 Richard Wiscom Marchant – October 1, 1901 Wesley F. Ripley – September 1, 1906 Edward A. Sibley – 1917-1919 Henry L. Dow – October 1, 1919 United States Coast Guard – 1954-1963 County of Mathews – 1975-present Gary & Steve Brownley (Honorary) – 1999 Preservation Task
Force
P.O. Box 839 Mathews, Virginia 23109
Fort
NonsenseThe Society is committed to restoring and preserving this historic Civil War-era fortification as an educational attraction for residents and visitors. During the War Between the States, a number of small forts were built at strategic crossroads in
A MCHS committee, known as the “Fort Nonsense Irregulars” is working with VDOT and the County to make this dream a reality. Anyone interested in “enlisting” in the Irregulars may call 804-725-2135 for more information.
Historic
Buildings and Sites During the 1990s, the committee worked cooperatively with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and surveyed several of the older properties. In the following years, members worked to collect information on other sites and structures, sending out survey forms, interviewing county residents, and participating with exhibits at Mathews Market Days. As of 2005, there are over 250 of these properties in our database broken into three categories – 1650 to 1800, 1800 to 1900, and several with unknown dates. We are currently working to publish a book on the first group of properties titled Regals & Relics, Sites and Structures in Mathews County with Historical & Genealogical Significance, 1650 – 1800. Publication is planned for Market Days of 2006 and over 40 old homes will be featured. Current images by photographer Bruce Nelson will be accompanied by older images collected from the archives of the historical society and others donated in part by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The book is being published by The Donning Company with sponsorship by Chesapeake Bank. In order to include as much early information as possible, dwellings dating after 1800 but retaining portions of an earlier building are included. We have also included properties thought to have been built before 1800, but found during research to be of later construction. The few in this latter group were added based solely on their genealogical significance. In order to establish the construction dates, we consulted county and state land and tax records, records of the Virginia Department of Historical Resources, pre-published material, and hard evidence presented in private documents. In addition to these properties, a section called “Disappearing Footprints” was included to address structures built before 1900 that are either in ruins or no longer standing. THE PROPERTIES – 1650 TO 1800:
As of August of 2005, title searches are being done, text is being proofed and rewrites are underway in order to deliver the manuscript to the publisher by the end of the year. Volunteers are still needed to send out mailings and have photographs copied and interested persons are urged to contact the committee chair. By email use tcp21590@yahoo.com or our mailing address. Top of Page © 2005
MATHEWS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
 |