 Under contract with the young United States Government under President Thomas Jefferson, Elzy Burroughs built three lighthouses along the Virginia coast, at Old Point Comfort at Fort Monroe in 1802, at Smith Point in Northumberland County around 1803 (moved further inland and rebuilt by Burroughs in 1807), and at New Point Comfort, in Mathews County in 1804.Only the towers at Old Point and New Point have survived until the present, and both of these are known to be constructed from Aquia sandstone, likely from the Burroughs family quarry.Soon after the construction of the New Point Comfort Light, Burroughs settled in Mathews County with his wife and son John, building a private house for his family on New Point Comfort Island (which he owned).