Chesapeake Bay entrance
Old Cape Henry Light
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Its light, as history tells it
No light since 1881 — America's first federal lighthouse
This one stands dark now, but its story keeps blinking.
- Built
- 1792
- First lit
- 1792
- Height
- 90 ft
- Status
- Light discontinued 1881
- Visited
- Add your year
The first lighthouse ever built by the United States government — approved by George Washington, completed in 1792, its sandstone blocks quarried on the spot. When the taller cast-iron tower went up beside it in 1881, the old octagon went dark for good. It still stands, 90 feet of hammer-dressed stone, the place where every American lighthouse got its start.