The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states and a capital district. The central east coast state of Virginia includes the southern half of the Chesapeake Bay and the wide estuaries of the Rappahannock, York and James Rivers that empty into the bay. Hampton Roads, at the mouth of the James, is one the largest U.S. harbors and the home port of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet. East of the Chesapeake, Virginia also includes the southernmost portion of the Delmarva Peninsula, known to Virginians as the Eastern Shore. The nation's second-tallest lighthouse is in Virginia and there are three towers surviving from the early Federal period. Unfortunately, Virginia has lost all of the cottage screwpile lighthouses that formerly guided mariners on the Chesapeake Bay and the three major estuaries. Two replicas have been built to remind us of these lights. 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. Virginia lights are the responsibility of the Coast Guard's Sector Virginia based in Portsmouth. Also the home of the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area command, Portsmouth calls itself the Coast Guard City. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals, and USCG numbers are from Vol. II of the U.S. Coast Guard Light List.
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Eastern Shore Lighthouses
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Northern Virginia Lighthouse
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Northern Neck Lighthouses
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Middle Peninsula Lighthouses
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![]() New Point Comfort Light, Bavon, June 2018 ex-Google Maps photo by Jason P |
Hampton Roads Area Northside Lighthouses
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James River Southside Lighthouses
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![]() Jordan Point Light, Hopewell, May 2018 Google Maps street view |
Hampton Roads Area Southside Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
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Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Maryland Western Shore | Northeast: Maryland Eastern Shore | South: North Carolina
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Posted 2000. Checked and revised August 15, 2024. Lighthouses: 36. Lightships: 1. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.