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Leading Point Light

Coordinates: 39°12′49″N 76°33′06″W / 39.2137°N 76.5518°W / 39.2137; -76.5518
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Leading Point Light
Map
LocationLeading Point west of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on the south bank of the Patapsco River
Coordinates39°12′49″N 76°33′06″W / 39.2137°N 76.5518°W / 39.2137; -76.5518
Tower
Constructed1868 Edit this on Wikidata
ConstructionBrick
Height34 ft
ShapeHouse with lantern/daymark on roof
Light
First lit1868
Deactivated1924
Focal height21 m (69 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
CharacteristicF G Edit this on Wikidata

The Leading Point Light was an unusual lighthouse which displayed the rear light to the Brewerton Channel Range. It was eventually superseded by an iron tower on the same foundation.

History

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This light was built in 1868, along with the Hawkins Point Light, to provide range lights marking the Brewerton Channel, excavated in the 1850s to provide a fixed deepwater channel into Baltimore Harbor. In form, it was like no other lighthouse in the area, a brick house with a short tower holding the lantern surmounted with a tall pole supporting a large ball, to be used as a daymark.

In 1924 both lights in this range were torn down and replaced with skeleton towers, which remain in use.

References

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  • "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maryland" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
  • Brewerton Range Front Light, from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
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