The Buoy & Coal Sheds

The Buoy and Coal Sheds. . , Located near the midpoint of the Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout was an ideal location for coal storage and buoy repair. Coal was used to heat lighthouses and keeper residences in the middle bay, and to fuel steam-powered service ships known as "tenders." Tenders traveled the bay, bringing supplies to remote lighthouses and tending its many buoys., Coal was stored in the shed on the right. The left was used for repairing buoys. Originally built in 1883-1884, the buildings were partially repurposed as Coast Guard housing during World War II. They are believed to be the only surviving examples of their kind., The Big Green Buoy , This 1962 model 6x20LR (lighted, radar-reflector equipped) decommissioned buoy illustrates the scale of a middle-sized buoy found on major U.S. waterways today. Measuring 20 feet tall, six feet in diameter and weighing 6,500 pounds, this buoy type is found along deep channels up to 150 feet deep. When deployed, nearly half the buoy is submerged., [Captions:] , Salary increase request, 1883 , When buoy repair was added to his responsibilities, Keeper William Yeatman successfully petitioned for a raise, from $520 to 800 a year., View from the wharf where tenders once docked, 1885 , The coal and buoy sheds are in the distance, and a steel can buoy sits in the foreground.