Lightship Overfalls

The United States government began using manned lightships, or floating lighthouses, in 1820 to aid navigation on the nation’s waterways where deep water or shifting shoals made fixed structures impractical or impossible. Their mast beacons and foghorns helped ships pass safely in many weather conditions, and because they could be moved easily, they served changing maritime needs. By the mid-20th century, automated lights and radio signals made lightships obsolete, and the decommissioning of the last vessel in 1985 ended the era. Lightship Overfalls, also known as LV-118 or WAL-539, was built in 1938 at the Rice Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, as one of the last lightships constructed. Its duty stations included Boston Harbor and two locations near Long Island, New York. After retirement from active service, it was given to the Lewes Historical Society in 1973 and renamed for the lightship station on Overfalls Shoals that marked the southern entrance to Delaware Bay. On December 7, 2001, ownership was transferred to the Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation, and the vessel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Lewes, Delaware · United States