VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — I recently visited the Cape Henry Lighthouse to learn about the history of this iconic landmark.
Built in 1792, the Cape Henry Lighthouse is not the oldest lighthouse in the country, but it is the first.
"I think this one holds up because of its historical significance," says Rachel Balderson, the lighthouse site coordinator. "Being the first lighthouse that was built by the United States Congress, we're coming up on our 231st birthday this year in November."
While the older lighthouses were built by the colonies, the Cape Henry Lighthouse was the first federally funded public works project by the newly formed United States government. Balderson says, "It was commissioned by George Washington. It was overseen by Alexander Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton actually picked out the architect who built the lighthouse, the same architect that built his home. So it definitely has its ties to the founding fathers."
This lighthouse guided ships to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay for almost a century, before being replaced by the new Cape Henry Lighthouse that still shines today.
"This is also one of the only places that you're going to see two lighthouses right next to each other. Most of the time, they tear down the old lighthouse when they build a new one. But since they thought the old lighthouse was going to fall on its own, they didn't tear it down."
The lighthouse was originally built with a wooden staircase at zigzag up. In 1867, they decided a cast iron staircase would be more fire resistant. The extra weight of the cast iron staircase made everything settle and cracks started to form on six of the eight walls of the lighthouse tower.
The Cape Henry Lighthouse is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. General admission is $10, it is $14 to visit and climb the tower (weather permitting).
The Cape Henry Lighthouse is on Fort Story, the general public (without government I.Ds) must ride a shuttle from the base gate to the lighthouse.
