After the Lighthouse Board’s string of objections to Senator Dolph’s proposals in 1888, a wharf and lighthouse weren’t built at Tongue Point. 

And yet, while doing research, there was a persistent mention of a “lighthouse” or “light” at Tongue Point. The Ear finally dug up the Tongue Point Channel Range Front Light, a minor aid to navigation, listed on the Lighthouse Research Catalogue. 

Even so, there isn’t much information. The plans for the light, approved on Jan. 5, 1928 and constructed that August, included 40 pilings, 600 cubic yards of rock and 600 linear feet of galvanized steel cable. The cost of materials was $3,927 (about $74,000 today).

Currently there are Tongue Point Channel Lighted Buoys 43, 44, and 47. So what happened to the 1928 buoy? There’s no explanation except two terse words. “Existing: No.” (Photo: Lighthouse Research Catalogue)