Assateague Light

Assateague Light, a 142-foot lighthouse on the southern end of Assateague Island off Virginia’s Eastern Shore, has guided mariners along this coast since the nineteenth century. Congress funded a lighthouse near Chincoteague Island in 1830, the site was chosen on Assateague in 1831, and a 45-foot tower built in 1833 was replaced by the present lighthouse in 1867. Still an active aid to navigation, it is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. Its red-and-white banded tower remains a regional landmark despite major shifts in the barrier island landscape and was extensively restored in 2013.

Virginia · United States