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Managing Organization:
Chincoteague Natural History Association
Website: http://www.assateague.org/plover/
Email:
Contact Address Information:
P.O. Box 917
Chincoteague
Virginia, 23336, United States
Notes:
This lighthouse was semi-automated in 1933 and the keepers were removed. The keeper from Killock Shoals Lighthouse visited twice a week to charge the batteries until 1939, when that light was discontinued. Norman Jones then did the job of checking on the light until it was electrified. In June 2004, the property was transferred to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The Chincoteague Natural History Association helps maintain the lighthouse and provides tours.
Tower Height: 145
Height of Focal Plane: 154
Characteristic and Range: Two white flashes every 5 seconds.
Description of Tower: Conical brick tower with red and white stripes.
This light is operational
Other Buildings?
1910 two-story concrete keeper's dwelling, 1891 oil house.
Date Established: 1833
Date Present Tower Built: 1867
Date Automated: 1965
Optics: 1867: First order Fresnel lens, now DCB 236 (lighted 2/1/1961).
Current Use: Active aid to navigation.
Open To Public? Yes.
Museum?
The Assateague Ligthouse is open every Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Easter weekend through Thanksgiving weekend. The first-order Fresnel lens from Assateague Lighthouse is on display at the Oyster and Maritime Museum in Chincoteague. The museum is open June through August, daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., spring and fall weekends 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call (757) 336-6117.
Directions:
Just north of Oak Hall take VA Route 175 east across the causeway and drawbridge to Chincoteague. Turn left on Main Street and then right at Maddox Boulevard. Continue straight ahead through a traffic rotary. Continue on the main road around a toll booth until you reach a parking area with a lighthouse sign. There is a 0.25-mile path up a knoll and through the woods to the lighthouse. Use insect repellent! Ava Boczko-Pan writes in October 2002: "A fee was charged to enter the park but it is good for an entire week - so return trips are not only possible but recommended."
Keepers: David Watson, Tom Moore, Frank Jones, Samuel Quillen, Edgar Hopkins, John Anderton, Walter Wescott, William Collins.
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Keepers Picks
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