It was also the first federal construction project under the Constitution, for an original contract amount of $15,200 (an additional $2,500 was required to finish the lighthouse).

The first work of the new U.S. Federal government, the first Cape Henry lighthouse was built of Aquia and brown sandstone, likely Connecticut or Portland brownstone, by John McComb Jr. and was completed in November, 1792.

[4] The light was extinguished for the second time and the lens removed by Confederate forces during the American Civil War, but was removed by Union forces and returned in 1863, who depended on the light for navigation to maintain access to nearby Fort Monroe.

[5] In the 1870s, inspections by the Lighthouse Service discovered large cracks forming on six out of the eight faces of the tower and concerns soon arose about the safety of the old light at Cape Henry.

This led to the construction of a new, taller, lighthouse at Cape Henry in 1881, which stands 350 feet to the northeast of the original tower.