View source for Jones Point Light

{{short description|Lighthouse in Virginia, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox lighthouse
| image           = Jones Point Light.jpg
| caption         = Jones Point Light in 2022
| location        = [[Alexandria, Virginia]]
| coordinates     = {{coord|38|47|25.4|N|77|2|26.3|W|display=inline,title}}
| yearlit         = 1856
| automated       = 1919
| yeardeactivated = 1926-1995
| foundation      = Natural / Emplaced
| construction    = Wood
| shape           = Conical lantern on square house
| height          = 
| lens            = Fifth order [[Fresnel lens]]
| range           = 
| characteristic  = 
| module          = {{Infobox NRHP
| embed                          = yes
| name                           = Jones Point Lighthouse and District of Columbia South Cornerstone
| nrhp_type                      =
| designated_other1              = Virginia Landmarks Register
| designated_other1_date         = March 18, 1980<ref name="VLR list">{{cite web|title=Virginia Landmarks Register|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources|url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/register_counties_cities.htm|accessdate=2013-05-12}}</ref>
| designated_other1_number       = 100-0116
| designated_other1_num_position = bottom
| image                          =
| caption                        =
| location                       = Jones Point Park, [[Alexandria, Virginia]]
| built                          = {{Start date|1791}}
| architect OR builder           =
| architecture                   = Greek Revival
| added                          = May 19, 1980
| area                           = {{convert|1|acre}}
| refnum                         = 80000352<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}} 
}}
The '''Jones Point Light''' is a small river [[lighthouse]] located on the [[Potomac River]] in [[Alexandria, Virginia]].  It was built in 1855.

==Lighthouse==
It is a small, one-story house with a lantern on top and served primarily as a warning light for naval ships approaching the [[Washington Navy Yard]].  The lighthouse was discontinued in 1926, replaced by a small steel [[skeletal tower]] located nearby; this smaller tower was in use for ten years before being discontinued.  After being dark for more than half a century, Jones Point Light was relit by a private concern in 1995, however, it was eventually put out again after ownership switched from the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] Foundation to the [[National Park Service]]. Certain local efforts have called for the structure to be relit, but as of 2017, the only working lighthouse on the [[Potomac River]] is the [[Fort Washington Light|Fort Washington Point Lighthouse]], located five miles downriver.

The lighthouse is located on [[Jones Point (Virginia)|Jones Point]] in Alexandria, and is part of [[Jones Point Park]].  Visitors can approach the lighthouse, but it is currently impossible to enter the building.

The lighthouse is immediately north of the confluence of [[Hunting Creek]] and the Potomac River. The 1791-1792 survey of the boundaries of the [[History of Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] began at a spot that was then at the tip of a [[headland|cape]] at the Point.  The [[boundary markers of the original District of Columbia|south cornerstone]] from the [[surveying|boundary survey]] remains in the [[seawall]] adjacent to the lighthouse.

In 1980, the lighthouse and the cornerstone were listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as reference #80000352. The lighthouse is also listed in the [[Library of Congress]] [[Historic American Buildings Survey]] as survey number VA-641. The listing shows lighthouse drawings and several black-and-white photos of the lighthouse prior to restoration.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Jones Point seen from Belle Haven.jpg|The lighthouse and the [[Woodrow Wilson Bridge]], seen from the bank of the Potomac River at [[Belle Haven, Fairfax County, Virginia|Belle Haven]]
File:Jones Point lens.jpg|Fifth-order Fresnel lens once used at the lighthouse, on display at [[Lyceum (Alexandria, Virginia)|The Lyceum]], Alexandria's history museum
File:Jones Point Lighthouse (1996).jpg|Jones Point Lighthouse in 1996
Image:USCGJones_Point_1.jpg|Skeleton tower at the point, which replaced the earlier structure
File:South_cornerstone_plaque_1926.jpg|Plaque placed in the sea wall next marking the south cornerstone.
File:South_cornerstone_in_sea_wall.jpg|The boundary cornerstone is located in the lighthouse's sea wall.
File:Boundary Stone (District of Columbia) South Cornerstone close-up.jpg|A close-up of the cornerstone.
File:Jones Point Light, Jones Point, Alexandria, Virginia, 2017.jpg|Jones Point Light, Jones Point, Alexandria, Virginia, in the spring of 2017
File:JonesPointLight.jpg|Jones Point Lighthouse,  Looking Southeast
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Jones Point lighthouse}}
*[http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/park/jonespt.htm NPS Inventory of Historic Light Stations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509095215/http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/park/jonespt.htm |date=2006-05-09 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051230180336/http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=439 Lighthousefriends: Jones Point Lighthouse]
*[http://cblights.com/lights/jonespoint.html Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project - Jones Point Light]
*[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.va1050/ Jones Point Lighthouse, Jones Point, Potomac River, Alexandria, Independent City, VA] at the [[Historic American Buildings Survey]] (HABS)
*[http://byways.org/explore/byways/60807/places/60814 America's Byways: Jones Point Lighthouse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214020602/http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/60807/places/60814/ |date=2008-02-14 }}

{{Alexandria, Virginia}}
{{Lighthouses of Virginia}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Lighthouses completed in 1855]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Alexandria, Virginia]]
[[Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, Virginia]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia]]
[[Category:George Washington Memorial Parkway]]
[[Category:National Park Service areas in Virginia]]