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A landfill has caused Delaware’s old 1909 Bellevue Range Rear Light to be darkened, most likely forever. The lighthouse is located on the Christiana River at the Delaware River in New Castle County, Delaware.
It seems that the Cherry Island Landfill was making the lighthouse difficult to be seen from the river. The landfill will keep getting higher until it reaches the height allowed by law.
Linda Peirson was the only lighthouse aficionado present as the old lighthouse had an unceremonial end to its usefulness. She accompanied the Coast Guard as they unlocked the door to the tower and climbed the steps to the lantern room. She watched with sadness as the light was turned off and the bulbs and lamp changer were removed. As she left the lantern room she took one last look at the empty green lens resting on the old pedestal. With the lens off and empty there was no heat in the lantern room, which was now dark with an eerie sort of feeling.
At the new modern unromantic tower, Coastguardsman EM3 Diroll put on his safety line and climbed to the top and installed the lamp changer and bulbs from the old tower. Within minutes the new tower was lit.
For nearly 100 years the Bellevue Rear Range Light had lit the way for mariners, but no more and never again. Linda looked at the old light and thought to herself “I can say a friend was with her when she went dark for the last time.”
This story appeared in the April 2001 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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