Mispillion Light

Mispillion Light

Mispillion Light
Delaware
Location	Mispillion River, Delaware
Coordinates	38°56′51.0″N 75°18′54.5″W / 38.947500°N 75.315139°W / 38.947500; -75.315139
Year first constructed	1831
Year first lit	1873
Automated	1926
Deactivated	1929
Foundation	Natural
Construction	Wood Frame
Tower shape	Square
Height	65 feet (20 m)
Original lens	Sixth order Fresnel lens
Current lens	Removed
Characteristic	Flashing white every 3 seconds, flash duration 0.3 seconds, with a red sector from 301° to 308°
Mispillion Lighthouse and Beacon Tower
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Milford, Delaware
Area	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built	1873 (1873)
Architectural style	Gothic Revival, Carpenter Gothic
NRHP Reference #	86002919[1]
Added to NRHP	February 18, 1987

Mispillion Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Delaware, United States, on the Mispillion River near Delaware Bay.

History

The original Mispillion Lighthouse was built in 1831. The second Mispillion Lighthouse was a 65-foot (20 m) square cylindrical wood tower rising from one corner of a two-story Gothic style wood keeper's house and was built in 1873. It served until 1929, when it was deactivated and replaced by a steel skeleton tower that had originally served at Cape Henlopen. Over many years of private ownership and neglect, the lighthouse had fallen into an extreme state of disrepair, and was considered by Lighthouse Digest magazine to be "America's Most Endangered Lighthouse". After a fire started by lightning destroyed most of the tower portion of the lighthouse, the remains of the lighthouse were sold in 2002. A replica of the lighthouse was rebuilt at Shipcarpenter Square in Lewes, Delaware, in 2004 using what was left of the structure of the old lighthouse, and based on the original plans. The new owners also made a substantial addition during reconstruction, used as their living quarters. The steel skeletal tower remains at the original location but is not active or open to the public.^[2][3]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.^[1]

References

External links

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. DE-23, "Mispillion Lighthouse, South bank of Mispillion River at its confluence with Delaware River at northeast end of County Road 203, 7 miles east of Milford, Milford vicinity, Sussex County, DE"
• HAER No. DE-23-A, "Mispillion Lighthouse, Beacon Tower"

Lighthouses of Delaware
Baker Shoal Range Front Light Baker Shoal Range Rear Light Bellevue Range Rear Light Cape Henlopen Beacon Cape Henlopen Light Cherry Island Range Rear Light Christiana Light Christiana North Jetty Light Delaware Breakwater East End Light Delaware Breakwater Range Front Light Delaware Breakwater Range Rear Light Fenwick Island Light Fourteen Foot Bank Light Harbor of Refuge Light Liston Range Front Light Liston Range Rear Light Mahon River Light Marcus Hook Range Front Light Marcus Hook Range Rear Light Mispillion Light New Castle Range Front Light New Castle Range Rear Light Reedy Island Range Rear Light

U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Delaware
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Kent New Castle (Northern) New Castle (Southern) Sussex
Lists by city	Wilmington (New Castle County)
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Delaware Portal:National Register of Historic Places