Museum Store on Site Note to Our Visitors: The Cape Henry Lighthouse is located within Fort Story military base. To visit the lighthouse, you must pass through the security gates of Fort Story. Please have identification including a picture with you for all visitors aged 16 years or older. This ID should be a student or state or Federal issued ID card. The security personnel have the right to examine your car before issuing a pass to enter the military base and visit the lighthouse. While we apologize for the inconvenience, we respect the military's interest in force protection. The security guards are courteous and efficient, but please allow a few extra minutes for entry into the site. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. For your safety and comfort, please observe the following rules for climbing the Cape Henry Lighthouse: You must be at least 42" tall to climb the lighthouse. Children may not be carried up the steps. Backpacks and frontpacks are not allowed on the staircase. Buy Cape Henry Prints and Reproductions Online

During Colonial times, the capes of Virginia challenged many sea captains. Fog often shrouded the entrance to the Bay. Choppy waters and mobile shoals underlying the entrance made navigation treacherous. As the volume of shipping increased, the need for a lighthouse grew. However, the expense of the construction proved too much for the colonial government of Virginia.

The stairway to Old Cape Henry Lighthouse

In 1772-1773 the governments of Virginia and Maryland agreed to allocate funds for the building of a lighthouse. Work began at the site on the bay with the delivery of four thousand tons of Aquia sandstone from Brooks Quarry on the Rappahannock River. Immediately problems arose in laying the foundation in the soft sand, As expenses escalated, the Revolutionary War became the focus of colonial funds and the colonies abandoned the lighthouse project. The Aquia stone remained to be buried by the sand.

In 1789, the first session of the first Congress of the newly formed nation convened. A plea from Jacob Wray, collector of Customs at Hampton awaited the new government. He reported to the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, that the absence of a light on the shores of Cape Henry had claimed 57 vessels because of problems navigating the treacherous waters.

By August, the House and the Senate sent a bill to President George Washington. The Act for the Establishment and Support of Lighthouses, Beacons, Buoys, and Public Piers called the government to take over operations of state facilities and specifically for the building of a lighthouse on the southern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. To aid in the funding of these projects, the Congress passed an act regulating the collection of duties on ships and vessels as well as on the imported goods they carried.

In 1789, the newly formed government met to define and enact legislation that would benefit the nation. These leaders felt an urgent need to respond to the public demand for safe and navigable waterways. The construction of the Cape Henry Lighthouse involved many of these leaders.