Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light

Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light
	Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light
Location	East side of Sparrows Point on the north shore of the Patapsco River
Coordinates	39°12′58.32″N 76°27′45.72″W / 39.2162000°N 76.4627000°W
Tower
Foundation	stone
Construction	iron skeleton tower
Automated	1929
Height	64 feet (20 m)
Shape	pyramidal with square central shaft
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1886
Focal height	22.5 m (74 ft)
Characteristic	Fixed red (originally white)
	Cut-off Channel Range Rear Light Station
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Edgemore, Maryland
Area	less than one acre
Built	1886
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.	02001423
Added to NRHP	December 02, 2002

The Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Light is one of a pair of range lights that marks the second section of the shipping channel into Baltimore harbor.

History

This light was constructed in 1885 as part of a range light pair to mark the then newly excavated Craighill Cutoff Channel. A modest iron skeleton tower was erected, pyramidal in form with a wooden, corrugated iron-sheathed square shaft at its center to house the lamp and the access stairway. Its only architectural ornaments were a few windows to light the stairwell and a gallery to allow the outside of the light's window to be cleaned. A keeper's house was built nearby, connected to the light by a brick walk. The original light was a locomotive headlight displaying a fixed white light; this has since been replaced with a more conventional fixture displaying a red light.^[2]

The grounds were (and are) surrounded by private property, and in 1888 there was a dispute over access to the light. Other than that the light has passed a quiet life, punctuated only by automation in 1929 and the demolition of the keeper's house. It is still an active aid to navigation.