Having begun service in 1896 as part of the Hog Island Light off the Great Machipongo Inlet on the Eastern Shore, today this first order Fresnel lens is valued between $750,000 and $1 million. It stands about 10 feet high, weighs 2,500 pounds and is among the largest and brightest of its kind, with more than 250 prisms of optical glass. Housed in a 16-foot-wide pavilion, this lens is the only one displayed outside of a museum setting.
