A bank of treacherous shoals extends out into the Chesapeake Bay from Thomas Point, a few miles south of Annapolis. Two earlier lights were constructed on shore in 1825 and 1838, but both featured inadequate strength beacons and were of less than substantial construction. In 1875, A new lighthouse was constructed out on top of the shoals themselves.
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The new light was a small hexagon structure perched on a screwpile frame, a style common to the bay at the time. The lighthouse has stood for over a century of fierce storms and ice flows, and is now the last of the screwpile lights to remain active in the bay. Three other screwpile lights still exist, but have all been moved to shore to serve as museums.
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