 The lighthouse was built just offshore from Accomack County, Virginia, and was located near the mouth of Pungoteague Creek, then called the Pungoteague River.It was the first screwpile lighthouse built on the Chesapeake, and its construction was overseen by Major Hartman Bache.Most of the foundation was prefabricated in Philadelphia, and was sent, along with the construction crew, down the Bay from Baltimore on April 23, 1854.