Wolf Trap Light

There are a couple of lighthouses in and around Mathews County, and one is known as Wolf Trap Light.

Depending on the amount of haze, fog or cloud cover on a given day, Wolf Trap is visible just off shore from our county beaches, where the Chesapeake Bay Family went treasure hunting the other day. If you click on the photo above to enlarge it, the light is barely visible in the lower right part of the horizon. Or that may just be a speck on my computer screen so never mind. But the point is, it's visible on a clear day.

The name Wolf Trap is an unusual one, to say the least. To the best of my knowledge, we don't have any wolves, and even if we do, we sure as heck don't have any frolicking offshore in the bay that would need to be trapped. If there are, remind me never, ever to go swimming in the bay again.

Anyway...

The original structure went up in 1821 or thereabouts. Completely surrounded by water, it's accessible only by boat, unless you're a bird or some wolf frolicking around in the bay needing to be trapped. I thought I read somewhere that it's about 3.5 miles from shore, in about 16 feet of water.

(Please, don't ever quote me on details, facts or figures. Just know that I'm usually half right, half wrong, but I never know which half is right and which is wrong. Welcome to the inner workings of Chesapeake Bay Woman's ADD sieve-like mind, and the very reason she could never be an accountant.)

During a particularly bad winter in 1893, ice cut the lighthouse loose from its foundation and sent it on a little trip about 20 miles south. A temporary light was erected until the new one was turned on in 1894. This time they painted it red to protect it from the elements--salt water as well as ice. Who knew this about red paint? This is the first I've heard about it having such qualities.

Although Chesapeake Bay Father frequently dragged took us fishing with him, I don't remember any close encounters with this lighthouse, mainly because I was in the cabin turning green from seasickness we'd have been departing north of where this stands.

Update! We interrupt this mostly incorrect blog post to provide some additional details.

According to my only favorite source of quick information, Wikipedia, the light was named from "the 1691 grounding of the HMS Wolfe, a British naval vessel engaged in enforcing the Navigation Act and in combating piracy. In 1821 a lightship was stationed at this spot, and after refurbishment in 1854, the original ship was destroyed by confederate raiders in 1861 during the Civil War. Two years later, a replacement ship was put on station."

We now return to CBW's hot air, already in progress.

Wolf Trap is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and was offered up for sale to non-profit organizations a couple of years ago. When nobody took the bait, the lighthouse was sold to an individual who wanted to turn it into a bed and breakfast. That lighthouse would not have been the most ideal of overnight destinations, especially if one of the guests had claustrophobia and wanted to go for a stroll outside to catch some fresh air, but certainly it would have been one unique B&B. Unfortunately, the man never received the financial backing and it was again put up for sale. I have no idea who owns it now.

Attention all two of you Blog Fest attendees: While Wolf Trap Light would certainly make for one memorable overnight experience, I cannot endorse it, what with all those wild wolves swimming around it and everything. We can, however, see it on our Tour de Mathews assuming the horseflies don't eat us alive since July is high season for those beastly insects.