National Register of Historic Places

CHESAPEAKE (lightship)

CHESAPEAKE (lightship) is a historic place in Baltimore (Independent City), Baltimore County, Maryland, listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1980, and designated a National Historic Landmark. Its National Register reference number is 80000349.

Baltimore (Independent City), Baltimore County, MarylandListed August 1, 1980NRIS #80000349★ National Historic Landmark
Photograph of CHESAPEAKE (lightship)
Photo: CHESAPEAKE (lightship) via Wikimedia Commons — see the file page for author and license. Image source
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CHESAPEAKE (lightship)

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About this place

What is CHESAPEAKE (lightship)?

United States lightship Chesapeake (LS-116/WAL-538/WLV-538) is a museum ship owned by the National Park Service and on a 25-year loan to Baltimore City, and is operated by Historic Ships in Baltimore Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of a small number of preserved lightships. Since 1820, several lightships have served at the Chesapeake lightship station and have been called Chesapeake. Lightships were initially lettered in the early 1800s, but then numbered as they were often moved from one light station to another. The name painted on the side of lightships was the short name of the Light Station they were assigned to and was the daytime visual aspect of the many Aids to Navigation on board lightships. The United States Coast Guard assigned new hull numbers to all lightships still in service in late 1940s, but the Coast Guard did not enforce the use of the new hull designation and number, WAL-538, until January 1951. In January 1965 the Coast Guard further modified all lightship hull designations from WAL to WLV, so Chesapeake became WLV-538.

Source: Wikipedia, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Listing details

Name
CHESAPEAKE (lightship)
City
Baltimore (Independent City)
County
Baltimore County
Listed on the National Register
August 1, 1980
NRIS reference number
80000349
Resource type
structure
National Historic Landmark
Yes
Coordinates
39.28571, -76.60878
When was CHESAPEAKE (lightship) listed on the National Register?

CHESAPEAKE (lightship) was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1980.

Where is CHESAPEAKE (lightship) located?

CHESAPEAKE (lightship) is located in Baltimore (Independent City), Baltimore County, Maryland at approximately 39.28571, -76.60878. See the map above.

Is CHESAPEAKE (lightship) a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. CHESAPEAKE (lightship) is designated a National Historic Landmark, the highest federal recognition for a historic place.