Range Lights

One of the more interesting designs of lighthouses and a look at the Craighill Channel Range Lights that guide mariners to the Port of Baltimore from the Chesapeake Bay


        Range lights, known as leading lights outside of the US, isn't a type of lighthouse, but a system of two or more lights used to guide ships through narrow channels with dangerous shoals nearby. The light shorter and closer to the entrance would be called the front light, and the further away and taller beacon is called the rear light. The lights are separated by distance and height, and the object is for the ships captain to steer his ship so that the lights are lined up above one another. Range lights are used instead of regular lighthouses in cases where there is a very narrow channel that has to be approached in a certain way as to not risk the grounding of ships and loss of cargo and lives. During the day, when lights were difficult to see, range lights used visual aids such as very large flags with stripes on them for the mariners to line up to enter the channel. See the bottom of the page for a simple graphic on what a range light would look like from a mariner at sea.



Craighill Channel Range

        The Craighill Channel stretches nearly 5 miles inland from the mouth of the Mogathy River in the upper portion of the Chesapeake. Named after Army Corps of Engineers Major William Price Craighill, who orchestrated it's construction in 1869. It consists of both an upper and a lower range, depending upon wether the ship is entering the river from the north or the south. The Craighill Channel Range Lights guided ships into the very important Baltimore Harbor.


        This particular range is an example in which some of the range lights were built offshore, rather than exclusively onshore. The Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Beacon is a caisson style light was built in 1873. The caisson was chosen over the screwpile design due to it's exposed location and expected encounters with heavy ice. The construction of this lighthouse was considered an important feat, as it was built in much different conditions and in deeper water than the first caisson light built on the Bay.

        The Lower Range Front Beacon is an unique light due to the fact that it has two lights. The range light is just above the gallery deck and the actual light in the lantern is an aid to navigation. The front beacon was also one of the last lights on the Bay to be automated, having keepers up until the 1960's.

        The Craighill Channel Lower Range Rear Beacon consisted of a tower built in 2 feet of water off of Millers Island. Due to it's initial construction out of wood, the light has had constant problems with decay. Over time, much of the wood support was replaced with iron bracing. The rear light was automated in 1923.

        The second set of range lights for Craighill Channel are the Upper Range lights. Although the name implies they are the northern set of lights, they are actually south of the lower range lights.

        The Craighill Channel Upper Front Range Light was built on the foundation of an older lighthouse, the North Point Light. It was a small octagon shaped 2 story brick building with a light inside 15 feet above the water. The name Cut-Off Channel was given due to the route taking several miles off of the route to Baltimore. The original light at this location was a "locomotive headlight" that provided a fixed light visible to mariners. The light can be seen from a path in the Fort Howard Park.

        The Upper Rear Range Light was a 75 foot tall tower with an exoskeleton for support. It is located on the northern side of the mouth of the Patapsco River and is on the property of the Bethlehem Steel Plant. Workers were transported by steamer from Baltimore to work on the construction of the lights and the keepers homes. This light also utilized a "locomotive headlight" positioned 65 feet above the water. Both lights in the Upper Range were lit in 1886, even before the keepers dwellings were finished construction. The keepers house and other outbuildings were torn down in the 1920's.

All of the Craighill Channel lights remain in service as aids to navigation. And a preservation group is working hard to maintain the lights to keep them from falling into disrepair.