Mispillion Lighthouse Fire

Lightning caused heavy damage to the Mispillon Lighthouse a Delaware Bay landmark since 1873 was struck around 9:25 AM on May 2. Much of the historic tower was destroyed. The adjoining two story keepers house was saved but badly damaged. The steel cap which once held the lens and beacon on top of the tower fell to the ground. Lightning from a thunderstorm apparently struck the top of the building and the fire moved down through the walls.
A local preservation group Keepers of the Mispillon Light have been working on a restoration plan to save it. I am not sure of what is going to happen now since the fire. I will post new info when I find something out.
Might check out Delaware State News for pictures. www.newszap.com
Hal

[This message has been edited by Hal Dean (edited 05-03-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Hal Dean (edited 05-03-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Hal Dean (edited 05-03-2002).]

The picture included with the article is just devestating. My heart goes out to the folks who were working to restore the lighthouse.

Although it will now be a much bigger project, let's hope those folks can find a way to bring back the light to its full glory.

What a shame.

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Diane

Here's a link directly to the story:

http://www.newszap.com/display/inn_dover/news831.txt

A real shame.

I was really surprised to hear the news. I hadn't heard anything about it up here. This truly is a shame.


Here is a link of some closer-up photos that I found.
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/photos/mispillionfire.html

It's sad to hear this. Just when things were starting to look up for this unique lighthouse, this had to happen! A sad day for lighthouse enthusiasts.

I am absolutely heart broken. Looking at the pictures that Bryan linked to, it looks like the entire back is burned off. I guess I'll always have my steps inside two weeks ago to remember. I'm currently trying to convince my wife to take a day trip next weekend, for what may be a final visit. It's about a two hour drive from here. We had those same storms come through yesterday morning. They were nasty.

As much as I hate to say it, it may be time to finally put her out of her misery.

Here are some interesting comments made in the past month, right here on the forum, in the Lighthouse Duty section:

John Chidester, 4/22/02:
Having seen this one myself, I think "restoration" really means building a replica in place. Maybe something can be original - like that fireplace.
It looks like if anything is going to happen, John may have foretold it.

But the scariest of all came from Rod Watson, 4/21/02, in the thread about the Reedy Island keeper's house burning down:
It's a shame, I really thought Mispillion would be the first to go, but things are looking up for it for now.
Not the first, but unfortunately, the next.

Maybe all other lighthouses are safe for a while. Bad things are supposed to happen in threes:
Oak Island 2/1/02
Reedy Island 4/6/02
Mispillion 5/2/02

Now more than ever, we need to convince Harbour Lights to make this one soon. Even if only as a tribute.

Betty and I drove up the the Mispillion this afternoon to look at the damage and got some pictures of it. Very sad site. I remember the Mispillion when I was a kid ( a few years ago) as my grandparents had a cottage at Slaughter Beach which was just south of the Mispillion. We used to put our boat in the water there. Does not look good to restore the site as it stands now.
Hal

Hal, the pictures make me emotional. I couldn't imagine visiting in person today. Please post your photos sometime.

Here's the story from another online newspaper: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2002/05/02pmlighthouse.html

Well another way of looking at it is at least it didn't happen after it was reconstructed.Bill O'Brien in Nova Scotia

The fireplace still looks pretty good.

The articles sound like there is quite a lot of local interest in this lighthouse. Perhaps if these folks really want something good to happen here, they will help out. The building/tower really doesn't look like it was all that ornate to begin with. It would probably be less expensive to just replicate it than to try to restore it at this point.

Judging by what I read in the news, it was definitely a lightning strike and not arson. I only saw one picture of the damage, but it didn't look like it could be saved. The Mispillion Restoration Committee may have to tear the remains down and start from scratch. THe question is can they afford it.

Bob

What terrible and sad news! I hope they go ahead with the restoration anyway.

Suzanne

Here's a follow-up story.
http://www.newszap.com/display/inn_milford/news822.txt

Wow. a sad day indeed. This sort of thing is always heart breaking.

Dale

What a shame! John, I'm so glad this was one of the lighthouses on your tour last year and that we were able to see it then.

Rich & Marilyn

This doesn't sound good:
http://www.newszap.com/display/inn_milford/news898.txt

But, I guess it's what we all really expect.

Thanks for the update Larry. We are going to our weekend place in Delaware tomorrow night and I will try to get some more detail on what is going to happen.
Hal

Why can't I get the news story in the above link? I get the heading, the index list on the left side of the page and the ads at the bottom, but the space where the article should be is blank. Any suggestions?

Larry

They probably archived it... so you will need to search for it using keywords...