The Nansemond River Power Squadron was chartered on September 13, 1964. It was an offshoot of the Elizabeth River Power Squadron. A number of charter members still remain in the organization today. The base of operations is in Suffolk, Virginia.
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The Nansemond River Lighthouse was once located near Pig Point on the eastern side of the entrance to the Nansemond River in Suffolk, Virginia (at Tidewater Community College - Portsmouth Campus). It was located offshore halfway between the visible green marker #5 and the row of stakes that can be seen extending out into the harbor.
The white hexagonal woodpile cottage-style lighthouse was built there in 1878. The cottage was assembled at the Lazaretto Depot in Maryland. Some parts of the lighthouse came from the former Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse in North Carolina. It featured a fixed white light and a fog bell. The lighthouse was 36 feet high and had a visible range of about 6 or 7 nautical miles. It was originally outfitted with the smallest sixth-order Fresnel (pronounced Fray-nell) lens, typical for a harbor. In 1899, the lighthouse was upgraded with a larger and brighter fifth-order Fresnel lens.
The lighthouse was dismantled to the foundation and deactivated in 1935. It was replaced with an automated light on a steel skeleton tower erected on the original foundation. There are no remains of it today.
One of the lighthouse keepers was Mrs. Ella Edwards. She served as the "Nansemond Light" keeper from 1903 to 1906. Lighthouse keeper positions were one of the first non-clerical U.S. government jobs that were open to women. Typically those appointed as keepers were actually the spouse of the assistant or head keeper. They assumed these professional duties to assist their spouse or took over when their husbands became ill or died. Nevertheless, many of these intrepid widows, and women appointed in their own right, served their country for many years with distinction in a time when employment for women was extremely limited. They were true trailblazers.
In honor of all of the "Nansemond Light" keepers for the services they provided over the years that the lighthouse operated, we named our squadron newsletter "The Nansemond Light Newsletter".
The NRPS burgee depicts a field of blue closely representing the winding Nansemond River and green representing land. The large portion of the blue field represents the mouth of the Nansemond River. In this portion of the pendant is a representation of the Nansemond Light as it was after 1935 with an automated light on a steel skeleton tower erected on the original Nansemond River Lighthouse foundation.
'Fair Winds and Following Seas'