Now standing proudly on Navy Point, the Hooper Strait Lighthouse was built in 1879 to light the way for boats navigating the shallow dangerous shoals of Hooper Strait, a thoroughfare for boats bound from the Chesapeake Bay across Tangier Sound to Deal Island of places along the Nanticoke and Wicomico rivers. Step inside to explore how a lighthouse keeper lived and worked in solitary and often dangerous conditions.
Lighthouse keepers had risky jobs with an important responsibility to keep the Chesapeake Bay’s shoals and channels safely marked for shipping. Ascend the steps of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse and travel back in time to learn how 19th century lighthouse keepers tended their station in the middle of the Bay. Through this hands-on exhibit, visitors can climb the sea hatch, tend the huge lens, or stand watch on the lookout for ships or fog, experiencing firsthand the solitary, often heroic lives of Hooper Strait lighthouse keepers.
Learn about the history of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse structure here.
