Concord Point Light facts for kids

{{Infobox lighthouse | location = Concord and Lafayette Streets, Havre de Grace, Maryland, U.S. | yeardeactivated = 1975-1983

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} The Concord Point Light is a historic lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Maryland. It stands 36-foot (11 m) tall. This lighthouse watches over the spot where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay. When it was built in 1827, this area was getting very busy with boats. It is the lighthouse farthest north on the bay and the second-oldest tower lighthouse still standing there.

Today, the Concord Point Light helps guide boats as a private aid to navigation.

About the Lighthouse

The Concord Point Light is one of many lighthouses in Maryland built by John Donahoo. He also built the house for the lighthouse keeper, which is across the street. The tower is made from strong Port Deposit granite. The walls are very thick at the bottom, about 31 inches (790 mm), and get a bit thinner at the top, about 18 inches (460 mm).

When the lighthouse first opened, its light came from nine whale oil lamps. These lamps had shiny 16-inch (410 mm) tin reflectors to make the light brighter. Later, in 1854, a special lens called a sixth-order Fresnel lens was put in. This type of lens makes the light much stronger and easier to see from far away. Even later, it was updated to an even better fifth-order Fresnel lens.

The lighthouse became automated in 1920. This meant that a machine took over the job of lighting and maintaining the lamp, so a keeper no longer had to live there all the time.

Lighthouse History

Many people worked as lighthouse keepers at Concord Point Light. From 1827 to the mid-1900s, several members of the O'Neill family were keepers. The very first O'Neill to work there was John O'Neill. He was a local hero who defended Havre de Grace during the War of 1812. He bravely operated a cannon battery right on Concord Point.

Over time, the area around the lighthouse became less cared for. By 1924, local records described it as needing a lot of attention.

The United States Coast Guard stopped using the lighthouse in 1975. After that, the special lens was unfortunately stolen. In 1976, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This helped protect it. A lot of work began in 1979 to fix up and restore the lighthouse. The keeper's house has also been restored and is now a museum that people can visit.

In 1983, a new fifth-order Fresnel lens was borrowed from the Coast Guard and placed back in the lighthouse lantern room.

See Also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Harford County, Maryland
• Lighthouses in Maryland
• Lighthouses in the United States