Lighthouse replica is a beacon of rebirth in Maryland

Greg Latshaw - 

In the late 1800s, Baltimore steamboats sailed to this town on the Chesapeake Bay regularly, stopping at the docks for everything from fresh produce and local seafood to passengers eager for a return voyage to the Charm City.

Along the way, the boats passed the Choptank River Lighthouse, a hexagonal-shaped cottage near the mouth of the Tred Avon River.

The screw-pile lighthouse, like many others that once stood in the Chesapeake Bay region, is gone. Now a dedicated group of volunteers wants to build a full-sized replica of the lighthouse, placing it on the Cambridge waterfront.

"It's going to be a sight to be seen," said George Wright, a lifelong Cambridge resident and president of the Choptank River Lighthouse Society, the group leading the effort.

Maryland state Delegates Rudy Cane, Addie Eckardt and Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, have drafted legislation that would help pay for the lighthouse construction. The measure would provide the Lighthouse Society $300,000 in bond money, with the stipulation that the society ante up $148,000 in matching funds.

The bill was pre-filed in advance of the 2011 General Assembly session, which convened Wednesday under the pall of a $1.6 billion budget shortfall.

Read more...

Posted via http://batavia08.posterous.com batavia08's posterous