Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 09/09/1969
NRHP Listing Date 10/15/1966
NHL Listing Date 01/29/1964
NRHP Reference Number 66000910
This landmark commanding the entrance to Hampton Roads was the first lighthouse authorized, fully completed, and lighted by the newly organized federal government. The bid for its construction was approved by President George Washington. Put into operation in October 1792, the tapered octagonal structure faced with hammer-dressed sandstone ashlar was the first of three lighthouses designed and built by John McComb, Jr. of New York. McComb’s original drawings for the structure are in the New-York Historical Society. The lighthouse function was taken over by a new tower erected nearby in 1881. The old lighthouse was deeded to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) in 1930 and is now maintained as a museum. It stands near the spot where English colonists first set foot on Virginia soil in 1607.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: April 1, 2019
