Bethel Light House
n October 1996 the district accepted into the museum inventory a full-sized replica of the 30 foot Bethel Bridge Lighthouse — the reconstruction sponsored by the Chesapeake City, Md., Lions Club. The original was one of the many wooden light-houses used to warn vessels of locks and bridges in the days before the 1927 canal changes made it sea level. The lighthouse is located on Corps property, a short walk from the museum. The admission-free museum is open year-round, Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. It is closed on Sundays. The Corps also maintains a Canal Museum at Chesapeake City which provides visitors with a glimpse of the canal's early days. The waterwheel and pumping engines remain in the original pump house (now the museum). These steam engines are the oldest of their type in America still on their original foundations. Other artifacts and exhibits in the museum detail and illustrate the canal's history. In March 1996 a $400,000 exterior and interior renovation project was completed at the museum, including access ramps and a restroom for physically challenged visitors. New exhibits include interactive videos and a television monitor which gives visitors up-to-the minute locations on ships as they travel through the canal.
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