![]() |
Hooper Strait Light St. Michaels, Maryland Located in the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, this lighthouse is the definitive Chesapeake light, signified by its screw-pile construction. This beacon once guarded the entrance to the lower Chesapeake bay near the treacherous Hooper Strait. It was moved to the museum and restored in 1966. Constructed in 1879, this light is open to the public and serves as an excellent museum piece (see photos below). I also highly recommend this museum if you are interested in the history of commercial fishing on the Bay and the watercraft used over the years. There is a small entrance fee. |
| The Fresnel Lens Shown below is an example of the Fresnel (pronounced "fruh-NEL") lens still used to focus the beacons of many lighthouses even today. Designed by a Frenchman and manufactured in Paris, these lenses revolutionized lighthouse technology beginning around 1841. Their size is designated by "orders", ranging from sixth-order (smallest) to first-order (largest). |
Lighthouse Keeper's Kitchen This photo illustrates the small quarters in the Hooper Strait lighthouse. The stove pipe in the upper left corner originated from a cast iron cookstove in the kitchen. A small food pantry is to the left of the dining table. |
![]() |
![]() |
| Fog Bell Pulley Mechanism This apparatus is part of a system of cables, pulleys, and weights that were used to operate the fog bell in the Hooper Strait Light. During foggy weather, the keeper had to operate the fog bell by "rewinding" it every two hours. It worked much like that of a grandfather clock, utilizing a large weight and gravity to sound the bell. |
|
![]() |