Lighthouses of the United States: Southeastern Pennsylvania

The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states and a capital district. The northeastern state of Pennsylvania has navigable water at two diagonally opposite corners. At the state's southeastern corner the Delaware River estuary brings ships to the historic port of Philadelphia. There are no longer any traditional lighthouses on Pennsylvania's portion of the Delaware River, but there is a former light station in Chester and an interesting example of a privately-built lighthouse on the Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware. Diagonally across the state in the northwestern corner there are four lighthouses, three active, on the state's Lake Erie shoreline. These lighthouses are described on the Northwestern Pennsylvania page.

Navigational aids in the United States are operated by the U.S. Coast Guard but ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. Delaware River lights are the responsibility of the Coast Guard's Sector Delaware Bay with an Aids to Navigation Team at Philadelphia.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from Volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from Vol. II of the U.S. Coast Guard Light List.

General Sources
Pennsylvania Lighthouses
Historical accounts and excellent photographs from Kraig Anderson at LighthouseFriends.com.
Online List of Lights - New Jersey and Pennsylvania
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Three of the four photos on this page are by Capt. Peter Mosselberger ("Capt. Peter").
Lost Lighthouses of Pennsylvania
An interesting June 2003 Lighthouse Digest article by Bob Trapani.
Lighthouses in Pennsylvania
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses posted by Klaus Huelse.
U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center: Light Lists
The USCG Light List can be downloaded in pdf format.
NOAA Nautical Chart Locator
Nautical charts for the coast can be viewed online.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for the Delaware River.
 


Turtle Rock Light, Philadelphia, May 2006
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Leena Jaffer

Philadelphia City Lighthouses
* Turtle Rock
1887. Generally inactive but a decorative light is displayed on special occasions. Approx. 30 ft (9 m) round cylindrical brick tower with hexagonal lantern and gallery mounted atop a 1-story wing of a 2-story brick clubhouse. The tower is unpainted red brick, lantern and gallery painted white. Anderson has an excellent page with fine photos, Mariena Silvestry Ramos has a 2021 photo, Mark Henninger has a 2022 drone view, Wikimedia has a 1972 photo, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. The lighthouse was originally built by the Fairmount Park Commissioners to guide steamboat traffic. The lighthouse was restored by members of the Sedgeley Club in 1990. Located on the north bank of the river at the upstream end of Boathouse Row (15 Kelly Drive), downstream from the Girard Avenue Bridge (US 30) in Philadelphia. The Schuylkill River Trail bikeway also passes the lighthouse. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: Sedgeley Club. . ARLHS USA-1088.
Schuylkill River Entrance Range Rear (6?)
Date unknown (station established 1875). Active; focal plane 64 ft (19.5 m); green light visible only on the range line, 2 s on, 2 s off. 59 ft (18 m) square cylindrical steel skeletal tower. Trabas has a photo and Google has a satellite view and a distant street view. The front light is on a 33 ft (10 m) skeletal tower. Located on the east side of the Schuylkill about 0.4 mi (600 m) from the mouth, near the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Site status unknown. ARLHS USA-1207; Admiralty J1322.1; USCG 2-3420.
Eagle Point (Horseshoe West Group Lower) Range Rear (2?)
1920 (?) (station established 1881). Active; focal plane 50 ft (15 m); continuous green light. Approx. 40 ft (12 m) square pyramidal skeletal tower painted white and mounted on a square 1-story white concrete equipment shelter. Dan Berger's photo is at right, Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo, and Google has a satellite view. The front light is on a short skeletal tower. The original lighthouse, a tall wood skeletal tower with a 2-story keeper's house, was deactivated in 1920. Located on the west side of the Schuylkill River entrance. Site and tower closed (private property). ARLHS USA-385; Admiralty J1323.1; USCG 2-3500.

Delaware County Lighthouses
Chester (Schooner Ledge) Range Rear (3)
2001 (station established 1880). Active; focal plane 110 ft (33.5 m); continuous green light visible only on the range line. 105 ft (32 m) triangular cylindrical steel skeletal tower. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo, there is a distant street view from PA 291, and Google has a satellite view. The 1880 lighthouse, a pyramidal skeletal cast iron tower, was replaced by an automated skeletal tower in 1918. The 1880 lighthouse was held in storage and then relocated in 1929 to Michigan Island, Northern Wisconsin. The keeper's house survived until it burned in 1947. Located in a heavy industrial area in Eddystone, on the Delaware River just west of downtown Chester. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: U.S. Coast Guard. ARLHS USA-741; Admiralty J1315.1; USCG 2-3235.
Chester (Schooner Ledge) Range Front (4?)
2001 (station established 1880). Active; focal plane 62 ft (19 m); green light visible only on the range line, 1 s on, 1 s off. 59 ft (18 m) square cylindrical steel skeletal tower. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo and Google has a satellite view. The original light was atop a wooden tower. It was replaced (and apparently demolished) in 1909, when a change in the channel required a new light on a different location. Located on the riverfront in a heavy industrial area on the Delaware River just west of downtown Chester. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: U.S. Coast Guard. ARLHS USA-169; Admiralty J1315; USCG 2-3230.

Eagle Point Range Rear Light, Philadelphia, March 2018
photo copyright Dan Berger; used by permission

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: New Jersey | South: Delaware

Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key

Posted December 9, 2001. Checked and revised July 3, 2023. Lighthouses: 5. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.