Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse

Coming Soon: A Clean & Dazzling Roof!

One of the features of Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse that make it so recognizable is its red metal roof. It makes a great contrast against the blue-green of the Bay, the sky and against the white wooden siding, serving as a unique daymark for sailors, boaters, and watermen. The roof is going to be getting a “face lift” this spring to make it stand out even more. It was last painted by the Coast Guard in 2000/2001 - much of the coating has faded and we’ve had lots of seagulls give it a “white wash”. Rather than simply paint the roof, after giving it a thorough cleaning, we are going to apply an elastomeric coating (tinted to the roof’s red color) which will give the roof added protection against the elements and will last much longer than conventional paint. We have selected a product called Acrymax (www.preservationproducts.com) which will be applied by Houck Specialty Contractors (www.houcks.com) – they have extensive experience with the product on historic sites. They will also do some restoration work and will apply the coating (with a black tint) to the lantern area. The work will be made financially possible through a generous $25,000 grant from the France-Merrick Foundation (of Baltimore) and a reduction in price by Houck and by the Acrymax manufacturer. The work will begin once the winter thaw occurs and the early spring winds settle down, and it should be completed in time for the start of public tours this year. Our sincere thanks to the France-Merrick Foundation for their generosity, and to Houck Specialty Contractors and to Preservation Products for their donation and interest in the project. Between the new windows and doors, window shutters and the restored roof, the lighthouse will be so clean and bright that you’ll definitely have to wear sunglasses to look at it!

TIMBERLANE Donates Window Shutters

Timberlane Woodcrafters, of Montgomeryville, PA has donated six sets of functioning shutters for use on all of our windows on the 1 st story. The lighthouse had functioning shutters when it was first built, but they were removed at some point during the U.S. Coast Guard era. As part of our interpretation of the 1900-1910 era, we are going back to the use of functioning shutters. We based our design on evidence in the oldest photograph we have of the lighthouse (1885), and on the expert advice of our volunteer architectural historian, Sherri Marsh. Timberlane creates historically authentic and handcrafted wooden shutters (with western red cedar), using traditional mortise and tenon hardwood peg construction. Their products have been used on many other historic landmarks, such as the Woodrow Wilson Home in Washington, D.C., Colonial Williamsburg, and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage in Tennessee, as well as on many historic homes throughout the country. The shutters have been received, are in the process of being painted by Society volunteers (using donated paint from Fine Paints of Europe), and will be installed this winter. Our sincere thanks to our friends at Timberlane for their generous donation of these high-quality products, which will embellish and help protect our Chesapeake Bay icon. Please look them up if you are in the market for the highest quality shutters for your own home!

Calling all Keepers!

Over the last couple of years, the U.S. Lighthouse Society has either been contacted by or has searched and found several descendants of Thomas Point Shoal lighthouse keepers from the U.S. Lighthouse Service (USLHS) era (1875-1939), including Keeper John B. Suit (1904-08), Keeper Oscar P. Olsen (1918), Keeper Henry F.G. Bryant (~1924-1940), Assistant Keeper Earl C. Harris (~1926-~1942), and Assistant Keeper Homer Treadwell Austin (1907) – shown in picture taken after TPSL duty - , as well as several former “keepers” from the U.S. Coast Guard era (1939-1986) who were stationed at the lighthouse, including Seaman Bill Kalb (1960), Danny Mordecai (1969-72), Seaman Martin Frick (1973) – shown in picture sitting in TPSL radio room – and Joe Brosius (1980).

We are in the process of creating a separate web page on this site to stay abreast of our newfound friends, but we are always searching for more! In particular, we would like to locate the following USCG “keepers” (the year they were known to be stationed at Thomas Point is shown in parentheses): Boatswain’s Mate 1 st Class Frank Remaly (1986); Fireman Dennis McIntyre (1986); Petty Officer Ronald Derry – of Parkville, MD - (1983); Seaman Cliff Lathrop (1975); Ernest Taylor – of Johnson City, TN - (1975); Boatswain’s Mate 1 st Class John White – of Johnson City, TN – (1973), EN3 King (1973), and MK3 Willie Whitaker (1980).

If you know how to reach them, if you are a former USCG “keeper” or the descendant of a USLHS keeper please contact us at tpsl@cox.net. We’d love to hear from you and also give you an opportunity to go back to the lighthouse for a special visit. Our lighthouse historian, Sandra Clunies, who is a certified genealogist, does the vast majority of our keeper research and maintains all of our keeper records. Sandy is also starting to plan for an eventual reunion of Thomas Point keepers and descendants! Thanks to all of you that have contacted us and to Sandy for her outstanding efforts to preserve this critically important facet of the history of the lighthouse community!

Maryland Historical Trust Grant

The U.S. Lighthouse Society was awarded a $50,000 capital grant from the Maryland Historical Trust in September. The grant will be used to continue restoring the iron and steel foundation of the lighthouse above the waterline. Contract planning will be done over the winter and work is expected to start by the summer of 2008. Our sincere thanks to the Maryland Historical Trust for their continued support – this is the second $50,000 capital grant we have received for the foundation restoration wosrk. The Trust and the state are fully behind our efforts to preserve Maryland’s best known and most beloved lighthouse and one of its most highly recognized historic structures!

First year of public tours a big success!

The first year of public tours came to an end on September 30 th with another “full house”! Tours were conducted on 13 days between July and September, taking over 600 visitors for a one hour tour of the lighthouse. The Annapolis Maritime Museum managed the tours and transportation was provided by Captain Mike Richards of Chesapeake Lights aboard the R/V Sharps Island (shown in picture). The tours were conducted by volunteer docents from the Museum and from the U.S. Lighthouse Society and ably coordinated by volunteer Tom Stalder. We were sold out almost every tour date, so stay tuned for our 2008 dates and make your reservations early! You can also buy a gift certificate for a 2008 tour, which would make a very nice Christmas gift. Take a look soon at our Tours page where we will place more information about 2008. Thanks to all of our first-year visitors, to our volunteer docents, and to tour manager Tom Stalder. We are very glad you were able to see our “preservation in action”!

Bill Younger Celebration

Bill Younger, the founder of Harbour Lights, was given a very special treat on September 14 th, when he toured the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse for the very first time. Bill’s interest in lighthouses stems back to the times when as a youngster he would go fishing with his uncle off the lighthouse. Over the past year, Harbour Lights collectors raised over $5,000 in Bill’s name for the preservation of the lighthouse. To celebrate Bill (now that he is in semi-retirement!) and all that he and his family have done for lighthouses and lighthouse groups throughout the country, he was presented with a “Screwpile Founder” plaque during his special visit, which is our highest award. One of the lighthouse’s seven foundation screwpiles was “named” after Bill in appreciation. We are very grateful to the Harbour Lights collectors that cosntributed to this special fundraiser and to John Chidester for organizing it. Learn more about Harbour Lights at www.harbourlights.com. The pictures show Bill in front of the lighthouse holding a Harbour Lights Thomas Point replica, and receiving the award from Joyce Holland (left) - USLHS Chesapeake Chapter Vice President for Programs, and from Sandy Clunies, USLHS Chesapeake Chapter and TPSL Historian.

JELD-WEN Windows & Doors Installed

Our new doors and windows, donated by JELD-WEN (see news item below for details), were installed on May 15 th and 17 th… and they look GREAT! Two senior members of the JELD-WEN product installation staff led a team of two professional volunteers and four of our very own Chesapeake Chapter volunteers during two intense days, installing the two new exterior doors and the three new double-hung sash windows on the 1 st story, and one of the windows on the 2 nd story. Their work was cut short by bad weather on May 16 th, so our Chesapeake Chapter volunteers will continue installing the remaining 2 nd story windows in the weeks ahead. The volunteers are also in the process of painting the factory-primed doors and windows, and fabricating, installing and painting new wood trim. The custom-made doors and windows have a high degree of historical accuracy – seeing the doors for the first time transports one to the late 19 th century. Two of the new windows were installed in the “equipment room” – the window sashes had been removed by the Coast Guard and boarded up years ago – and our volunteers are now almost blinded by the amount of light in that room and don’t have to reach for their flashlights anymore! Plus, the ability to open up all of those windows creates great air circulation and keeps everybody nice and comfortable. Our very special thanks to all of our friends at JELD-WEN for the most generous donation of their wonderful products, to JELD-WEN’s Mike Westfall and Mike Stout for leading the installation team, and to our volunteer installers - Harry Fahl, Ron Short, Al Pearson, Al Smith, Hobie Statzer and Ray LeSage. Take a peek next time you cruise by the lighthouse and look up our friends at www.jeld-wen.com ! (Photos by Harry Fahl.)

Fine Paints of Europe becomes TPSL Paint Provider

Fine Paints of Europe (FPE) has agreed to donate their high quality paints to meet all of our near-term preservation needs! The company is based in Woodstock, Vermont, and their products are imported from Holland. According to their web site, “real Dutch paints are the best because they are formulated with expensive resins which are carefully combined with high concentrations of finely ground pigments.” Our initial focus will be painting the newly installed JELD-WEN windows and doors, and the wood trim which our volunteers are fabricating and installing. That will be followed by painting two of the 1 st story interior rooms to match historic paint analysis, once we have finished removing the layers of lead paint in those rooms. Lighthouse Manager Henry Gonzalez took FPE representative John F. Lahey to the lighthouse on April 26 th, and within a week we had received our first samples of paint. Here’s a picture of Henry using the FPE oil-based primer on the new windows. Because of their long-lived performance, the Fine Paints of Europe products are perfectly suited for the harsh and demanding environment of Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse. Our special thanks to our friends and partners at Fine Paints of Europe for this most generous offer and donation. Although their products are not currently available in the Annapolis area, they can be procured from paint dealers in Baltimore, Timonium, and Easton, and they hope to establish a relationship with a local Annapolis dealer in the near future. Look at their great products and give them a try at www.finepaintsofeurope.com!

“Legacy of the Light” DVD Documentary

Be among the first to own a 12-minute documentary about the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse! Learn about the history of the lighthouse, its style of construction, its keepers, and its preservation, and hear the words of some of the keepers come to life! Please click here for more information on how to purchase the DVD!

Lighthouse Keeper Bryant

This is a photograph of lighthouse keeper Henry F.G. Bryant, and his wife. Keeper Bryant was the Principal Keeper at Thomas Point Shoal along with his son-in-law, Assistant Keeper Earl C. Harris, when responsibility for lighthouses transitioned from the U.S. Lighthouse Service to the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. This is the only photograph we have of a Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Keeper in uniform. It was taken in 1938 (right before the transition) to celebrate the couples’ 50 th wedding anniversary. Our thanks to Robert Bryant, grandson of the keeper, for sharing this photograph and other information with us.