Fenwick Island Light

Fenwick Island, Delaware

Fenwick Island Light was completed in 1859, to protect shipping from the treacherous Fenwick shoals that extend several miles out from the Delaware coast. The light has an unusual design in that the outer brick tower is conical, while a second inner brick tower is an 8 foot diameter cylinder.

The site of the lighthouse is also unusual. It sits exactly on the eastern origin of the Mason-Dixon Line--the border between Delaware and Maryland that was surveyed in 1751 by the two English engineers with those names. A stone marker indicates the site, with one side of the marker bearing the coat of arms of William Penn and the other that of Lord Delaware.