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Turkey Point is located where the Susquehanna, Northeast,
and Elk Rivers meet the Chesapeake Bay. In 1833,
a lighthouse was built to aid vessels navigating
the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The lighthouse was built
by John Donahoo, using the plans for the light at
Concord Point.
A 35-foot tower was built on a 100-foot bluff,
making it one of the highest on the Chesapeake.
The first Fresnel lens was installed in 1856.
A fog signal tower was constructed in 1888.
To keep the bell as close the bay as possible,
a short tower was constructed. The striking mechanism
for the fog signal was run by winding a weight every
two hours and 45 minutes. Since there had to be enough
space below the top of the short tower for the weight
to unwind, a well was built below the tower to
accommodate the weight. A keeper's residence was built nearby.
Turkey Point was home to several women lightkeepers.
Elizabeth Lusby served from 1844-1861.
Rebecca Crouch succeeded her deceased husband and served
from 1873-1895. Crouch was succeeded by her daughter
Georgianna Couch Brumfield, who tended the light from
1895-1919.
The most famous woman keeper was Fanny Salter,
who tended Turkey Point from 1925-1947,
when the light was automated. Fanny Salter arrived at
Turkey Point in 1922 with her husband Clarence,
who had been appointed keeper of the light.
When Clarence died in 1925 after an appendectomy,
Fanny Salter asked to be appointed keeper. At the time,
Civil Service rules forbade the appointment of any
new women keepers, over concerns that the machinery
was becoming larger and more difficult to work with.
During a visit to the doctor, Salter's daughter Olga
told the doctor of the family's impending move out of
the lighthouse. The doctor, a former state senator,
brought Salter's plight to the attention of US Senator
O. E. Weller. Weller, in turn, met with President
Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge gave his personal permission
for Salter to be named the next keeper.
Fanny Salter served the light faithfully for the next 22 years.
One two occasions, she was forced to manually ring the fog bell
- an exhausting task - when the cable driving the striking
mechanism broke. When her daughter Olga married James Crouch
- whose family had served at Turkey Point - the couple stayed
at the light until Fanny's son Bradley was old enough to
assist his mother at the station. During World War Two,
Salter, now in her sixties, operated the short-wave radio
installed at the station. When she retired in 1947,
she was the last female lighthouse keeper in the US.
Upon retirement, she moved six miles away to live
next door to her daughter Olga. She died on March 11, 1966
at age 83.
After automation, vandalism took its toll on the lighthouse.
The Fresnel lens was stolen in 1977 (it was later recovered),
and an acrylic light installed. The acrylic light was shot out
in 1979. To minimize further damage and liability,
the Coast Guard tore down the decaying keeper's house,
removed the staircase to the top of the tower,
and replaced the wooden door to the tower with a steel door.
Today, the lighthouse is on the grounds of Elk Neck State Park.
The light is still operational. The tower has been repainted,
and there is talk of rebuilding the keeper's residence.
The light is currently maintained by Turkey Point Light Station, Inc.
Bay Beacons, Turbyville pp. 10-13
The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake, de Gast p. 119
Lighting the Bay: Tales of Chesapeake Lighthouses, Vojtech pp. 125-130, 164
Women Who Kept the Lights, Clifford pp. 143-149
Lighthouse Digest Jan-Feb 2006
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