Mid-Atlantic Series Will Include City of Annapolis’ Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse
Annapolis, MD – On Saturday, August 7, 2021 at 2 p.m., the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Lighthouse Society (Chesapeake Chapter) and the City of Annapolis will host a dedication ceremony at City Dock to celebrate the inclusion of the City of Annapolis’ Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse in a new issue of five “forever” stamps honoring Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses.
The ceremony will include remarks by Acting Mayor Sheila Finlayson, County Executive Steuart Pittman, State Sen. Sarah Elfreth, USPS Maryland District Manager Le Gretta Goodwin, U.S. Lighthouse Society Vice President Henry Gonzalez, former Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer and David Gendel, author of “The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse.”
The public is invited to attend the event. The U.S. Post Office will set up a temporary kiosk to sell stamps. The U.S. Lighthouse Society will offer postcards of the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse and the USPS kiosk will have a commemorative cancellation/postmark on-site.
“I want to thank our postal district manager, Le Gretta Goodwin, for including the City in the ceremony and in the dedication of these ‘forever’ stamps,” said Acting Mayor Sheila Finlayson. “We are honored to share our lighthouse with the world as the Thomas Point Shoal is included in commemorative lighthouse stamps. We hope stamp collectors from around the region will join with us on Saturday as we celebrate this very special recognition.”
History of Thomas Point Shoal
The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse is the only screw-pile lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay that remains in its original location. In the mid- to late-19th Century, a total of 42 such lighthouses were built on the Bay. By the 1960s, most were out of commission.
A 1975 public campaign to get the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places helped protect the lighthouse and keeper’s cottage from a proposed plan to automate the lighthouse and dismantle the cottage. In 1986, the Thomas Point Shoal lighthouse was the last in the Bay to go fully automated.
In 1999, Thomas Point Shoal was designated a National Historic Landmark - the highest designation an historic structure can receive. In 2004, the U.S. Department of the Interior transferred the property to the City of Annapolis during the tenure of then-Mayor Ellen Moyer. Since then, a number of volunteers with the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society have worked to shore up the structure and restore the cottage.
The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse continues on her mission to warn ships of shallow waters and foggy conditions. The City of Annapolis owns the property. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains the functioning of the automated light and fog horn. The U.S. Lighthouse Society (Chesapeake Chapter) maintains the cottage and conducts public tours by boat that departs from Annapolis.
