The ledge was barely 20 feet wide and was exposed at low tide, being dry

only 2 or 3 hours a day. On this narrow rock construction was begun in

the spring of 1847 of a 75-foot open-work iron light structure. The men

could only work on very calm days when the tide was at its ebb. The work

was conducted from a schooner which remained near the ledge, unless the

sea was rough, with the workmen sleeping on board. If a storm

threatened, the schooner put into Cohasset Harbor until it was over.

Nine holes were drilled into the solid rock, each 12 inches wide and 5

feet deep. Eight were placed in a circle, 25 feet in diameter, with the

ninth in the center. Iron piling, 10 inches in diameter were then

cemented into each hole. Four men worked in 20-minute shifts at the

drilling from a triangle, set on heavy spars, which supported a platform

high above the ledge, on which the drilling machinery was installed.

All the apparatus was swept from the rock by two different storms in the

summer of 1847. Workmen were swept into the sea several times, but none

was drowned. Work had to be stopped for the winter in October 1847 and

begun again in the spring of 1848, but by September of that year the

nine holes had been drilled and the nine iron piles placed. The outer

piles started toward the center to a 14-foot circumference, 38 feet

above the uneven surface of the ledge. These were braced horizontally by

iron rods at 19-foot intervals. Braces planned to strengthen the lower

part of the tower were omitted on the theory that they would lessen

rather than increase the over-all security of the edifice. However, it

was where these braces were planned to go, that the structure actually

broke off later.

A cast-iron spider, or capping, weighing 5 tons was secured to the top

of this piling. The keeper’s quarters were erected on top of this.

Finally a 16-sided lantern room at the very top, housed a Fresnel

lantern, with 15 reflectors. The light, a fixed beacon with an arc of

210°, was first lighted January 1, 1850.

The first keeper, Isaac Dunham, was confident the light structure was

not safe and wrote Washington requesting that it be strengthened. When

no action resulted he resigned on October 7, 1850.

Capt. John W. Bennett, who succeeded him openly scoffed at his

predecessor’s fears. He hired new assistants including an Englishman

named Joseph Wilson and a Portuguese named Joseph Antoine. Two keepers

remained at the light at all times.

The braces of the structure were soon showing signs of strain, however,

and were constantly having to be removed, taken to the mainland and

strengthened and straightened. A terrific northeast storm a few weeks

after he took charge, changed Bennett’s mind and he officially reported

the tower as in danger. A committee, delegated to investigate, arrived

during a perfectly calm sea and returned to Boston, deciding nothing

should be done.

On March 16, 1851, during another terrible storm, the keepers deciding

the lantern room was unsafe, retreated down into the store room, where

they cowered for 4 days and nights, only occasionally climbing to the

lantern to repair some damage done by the storm. The violent pitching

and swaying of the tower almost knocked them off the rungs of the

ladder, when they did. A relatively calm spell followed during which the

braces were tightened.

[Illustration]

Then easterly winds began blowing around April 8, 1851. Bennett departed

for the mainland 3 days later and this was the last time he saw his two

assistants alive. When he sought to return next day, too heavy a sea was

running at Minots Ledge to permit the attempt. The storm increased in

fury and, by the 16th, was causing considerable damage ashore. At Minots

Ledge, the two assistant keepers kept the bell ringing and the lamps

burning, but just before midnight on the 16th they cast a bottle adrift

containing a message for the outside world in case they failed to

survive. The high tide at midnight sent wave after wave through the

upper framework of the weakened structure. What actually happened then

will never be known. Probably about 11 p.m. the central support snapped

off completely, leaving the topheavy 30-ton lantern tower held only by

the outside piling. Then just before 1 a.m. on April 17, 1851, the great

Minots Ledge Lighthouse finally slid over toward the sea. One by one the

eight iron pilings broke until only three remained. The keepers,

probably realizing that the end was near, began pounding furiously on

the lighthouse bell. This was heard by residents of the Glades. With the

tower bent over, the remaining supports now gave way and the great tower

plunged into the ocean.

The body of Joseph Antoine was washed ashore later at Nantasket. Joseph

Wilson managed to reach Gull Rock, probably mistaking it for the

mainland. Here he apparently died of exhaustion and exposure.

Between 1851 and 1860 Minots Ledge was guarded by a lightship. Plans for

a new stone edifice were meanwhile drawn up for the Lighthouse Board by

Gen. Joseph B. Totten; model makers built the proposed new structure in

miniature; the same location was decided upon; and Barton S. Alexander,

of the United States Engineers, started to work on its construction in

April 1855.

The ledge had to be cut down to receive the foundation stones and space

was not available for a regular cofferdam. In June the old stumps of the

first tower were removed. Meanwhile cutting and assembling of the

granite was done on Government Island, near Cohasset. Seven granite

blocks were to form the foundation. Permanent iron shafts, 20 feet high,

were set in eight of the holes in which the old lighthouse piling had

been, while the ninth or central hole was left open, to form a cavity

for the base circle. Later a well for drinking water was built up from

this cavity through the middle of the new tower.

The framework structure disappeared during a severe storm on January 19,

1857, when the barque _New Empire_, which later went ashore at White

Head, struck the temporary tower and demolished the iron scaffolding. So

in the spring of 1857 the work had to be started all over again.

The first stone was finally laid July 9, 1857. Temporary cofferdams were

constructed from sand bags, so that the foundation blocks, laid more

than 2 feet under the surface of the lowest tide, could be cemented to

the rock face of the ledge. Strap iron between the courses kept the

2-ton stones apart while the cement was hardening.

The total appropriation of $330,000 was all spent, except a small

surplus, in the construction. By the end of 1859, the thirty-second

course, 62 feet above low water had been reached, and 377 actual crew

working hours had been consumed. The final stone was laid June 29, 1860,

the whole granite structure having thus taken 5 years to complete,

lacking 1 day. The new lighthouse was finished by mid-August 1860 and

the light first exhibited August 22, 1860. The light was not regularly

shone, however, until November 15, 1860, when Joshua Wheeler, the new

keeper, and two assistants entered upon their duties.

The new stone tower has withstood every subsequent gale. The strongest

waves cause nothing but a strong vibration. On some occasions the seas

have actually swept over the top of the 97 foot structure with no more

damage than that caused by a few leaky windows or a cracked lamp or two.

On May 1, 1894, a new flashing lantern was installed, with the

characteristic of a one-four-three flash, which lovers on shore soon

found contained the same numerical count as the words “I love you.”

Minots Ledge has thus become known up and down the coast as the “Lover’s

Light.”

The light was made automatic in 1947. Today its 45,000 candlepower

light, 85 feet above water, can be seen for 15 miles. (5)

_MASSACHUSETTS_

NANTUCKET (GREAT POINT) LIGHTHOUSE

In 1770 the town fathers of Nantucket chose a committee to ask the

General Court to erect “a lighthouse on the end of Sandy Point of

Nantucket.” Later the committee idea was abandoned, however, and the

local Nantucket representative in the General Court was instructed to

“use his influence in the General Court to get a Light House on our

Point according to his own discretion.” This method proved effective,

for on February 5, 1784, the General Court of the Commonwealth of

Massachusetts passed a resolution providing for the erection of the

Great Point Light at Nantucket as soon as possible. On November 11,

1784, Richard Devens, the commissary general, was granted 1,089 pounds,

15 shillings, and 5 pence in addition to 300 already paid out “for the

erecting a lighthouse and small house at Nantucket” (Massachusetts

Resolves, 1784, No. 81, Laws of Massachusetts). The lighthouse was

erected that same year. On June 10, 1790, the “lighthouse, land, etc.,

on Sandy Point, county of Nantucket,” was ceded to the United States in

accordance with the act of August 7, 1789.

The keeper in 1812 was Jonathan Coffin. There was no keeper’s dwelling

on the point and in order to reach the light each evening the keeper had

to make a long journey. Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury,

accordingly raised his salary to $166.67 per year and preparations were

begun to build him a dwelling near the tower.

In November 1816, however, the lighthouse was entirely destroyed by

fire. Some said the fire was purposely set, but no positive proof was

ever forthcoming. On March 3, 1817, Congress appropriated $7,500 “for

rebuilding the lighthouse at Nantucket, recently destroyed by fire” and

$7,385.12 of this was expended in 1818 in erecting the handsome stone

tower which still stands today.

A petition signed by many citizens and shipowners of Nantucket in 1829

called for the removal of Captain Bunker, who was then keeper, because

of his intemperate habits, but Stephen Pleasonton, Fifth Auditor of the

Treasury, wisely refrained, after an investigation, from taking any

action in the matter. The petition had suggested George Swain as a

replacement for Bunker and such petitions, circulated by ambitious

candidates for a keeper’s job, or by disgruntled and disappointed

applicants, were far too numerous to be acted upon without careful

consideration of the source and the motive.

In his report of November 1, 1838, Lt. Edward W. Carpender, USN, noted

that the light was in a stone tower 60 feet high and 70 feet above sea

level. It consisted of 14 lamps, 3 with 15-, and 11 with 16-inch

reflectors, arranged in two circles parallel to each other and to the

horizon. The lantern was 8½ feet high and 9 feet in diameter. The tower

and dwelling were connected by a short covered way “which, among these

sand hills, where the snow must drift in winter, is a security that the

light will be well attended.”

In 1857 Fresnel lenses were installed at Great Point and in 1882 mineral

oil was substituted for lard oil. In 1889 a red sector was inserted in

the light to cover Cross Rip Shoal and the shoals south of it.

[Illustration]

Between 1863 and 1890 there were 43 shipwrecks within the jurisdiction

of Great Point Light. A number of vessels mistook Great Point Light for

the Cross Rip Light Ship. The schooner _William Jones_ was wrecked for

this reason on the clear moonlit night of April 17, 1864, when together

with two other vessels she went ashore on Great Point Rip. All three

eventually got off, however, at high tide. Another schooner hit the bar

in a heavy gale on October 12, 1865, but the captain was able to get his

wife and three children, together with the crew into the vessel’s long

boat and row to Great Point Beach, where the keeper had a carriage

waiting for him. Arriving at the lighthouse the survivors watched their

ship go to pieces shortly afterward. The schooner _Leesburg_ struck

Great Point Rip in September 1866, and the crew were rescued by the

island steamer. The following month, on October 4, 1866, the brig _Storm

Castle_ mistook Great Point Light for Handkerchief Light Ship. The brig

was towed into Nantucket Harbor 3 weeks later, after her cargo of lumber

had been jettisoned. A sugar and molasses brig struck Great Point Rip

the day after Christmas 1866 and was a total loss, though the crew

reached shore safely. The same thing happened to another schooner in May

1867, and to one in December 1867. Still nothing was done about the

confusion in the lights. Wrecks continued. There were two in 1869, one

in 1877, and two in 1878. In 1880 the _West Wind_ hit the east end of

Nantucket Bar, 4½ miles from the lighthouse with a cargo of ice. The

vessel soon went to pieces, the crew being picked up later.

In February 1881, the keeper sighted the _U. B. Fisk_ caught in an ice

floe. The crew had abandoned ship but were unable to make shore. The

keeper waded out into the water, up to his armpits, and threw them a

small line. With this he sent them a heavier line which he used to pull

their boat ashore, as their schooner was being crushed in the ice pack.

Other wrecks occurred in 1887, 1889, and in 1890. It was not until 1889

that the red sector in the Great Point Light was inserted to mark Cross

Rip Shoal and the other shoals south of it. From then on the wrecks were

less numerous although in 1915 the _Marcus L. Oran_ was wrecked on the

Wasque Shoal and keeper Norton at Great Point helped rescue “13 men, a

woman, and a cat.” He was given a life-saving medal for this

performance.

Nantucket (Great Point) Lighthouse is described as a white tower 71 feet

above ground and 70 feet above water, visible 14 miles, and located on

the point at the north end of Nantucket Island. It is equipped with a

25,000-candlepower third-order electric light, fixed white, with a

5,000-candlepower red sector which covers Cross Rip and Tuckernuck

Shoals. (5)

_MASSACHUSETTS_

NEWBURYPORT HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE,_PLUM ISLAND_

[Illustration]

On November 16, 1787, the Massachusetts Assembly authorized the building

of two lighthouses on the north end of “Plumb Island” and the original

towers were erected the following year. On June 10, 1790, they were

ceded to the newly formed Federal Government.

Because of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of the Merrimac River,

these lights have since been moved many times.

In 1830 the _Lady Howard_ was wrecked in the vicinity, and during the

storm of December 22, 1839, the _Pocahontas_ and _Richmond Packet_ both

came to grief. The former bound from Cody to Newburyport was swept to

destruction on the sand bar off Plum Island and all hands were lost. The

latter was driven ashore and began to break up on a point of rocks.

Captain Toothaker jumped overboard with a line and reached the rocks,

where he made the line fast. Then he signaled his wife to come in on the

line, but before she could do so the line snapped and she was lost. The

crew members were all saved, however.

Forty-one of the one hundred and thirty vessels that had taken refuge in

Newburyport Harbor were damaged in this storm, which struck so suddenly

that the keeper of the light, who had left the tower for a few hours for

the mainland, was unable to return. That night there was consequently no

light at the entrance to the harbor.

In order to conform to changes in the river channel the “bug” light was

removed to a new position in 1864, and, again in 1867, the range light

was moved 90 feet to mark a new channel formed by a shifting of the bar.

In 1869 the beacon was moved one-third of a mile northeast. In 1870 a

more powerful light was recommended, but in 1874 the towers on Plum

Island had to be moved 75 feet southward “owing to the encroachment of

the sea.” Sand and thatch embankments were erected to protect their

foundations in 1876. In 1887 a new stone tower was built for the range

light but by 1890 the position of the river channel across the bar had

so shifted that the lights no longer served as a guide through it.

Meanwhile jetties were being built to better control the shifting

channel and in 1898 the rear light tower was rebuilt.

Today only one white conical tower built in 1788 and rebuilt in 1898

remains on Plum Island. It is 50 feet above water and the

3,000-candlepower, fourth-order electric light is visible for 13 miles.

(5)

_MASSACHUSETTS_

PLYMOUTH (GURNET) LIGHTHOUSE

One of Massachusetts’ two minor peninsulas, extending north and south

into the sea between Scituate and Plymouth, extends far south along a

great stretch of sand dunes which end at the Gurnet.

In 1606 Champlain landed here and watched the Indians fishing for cod

with fishhooks made of wood, on which a spear-shaped bone was fastened.

The lines were made of tree bark.

The Pilgrims called the land “the gurnett’s nose.” The place was

apparently named after several similar headlands in the English channel,

many of them being called for the fish of that name which is caught

along the coast of Devonshire.

The Plymouth (Gurnet) Lighthouse was first established in 1768 by the

Massachusetts Legislature. The first keeper was John Thomas on whose

land the original lighthouse was built, and for which rent of 5

shillings per year was paid him by the colony. Later Hannah, his widow,

was keeper. Both had received $200 per annum for their services. The

lighthouse cost £660 to erect, was 30 feet long, 20 feet high, and 15

feet wide with a “lanthorn” at each end of the building, holding two

lamps each.

During the Revolution, the three towns of Plymouth, Duxbury, and

Kingston had erected a fort on the Gurnet. In the midst of an engagement

between the fort and the British frigate _Niger_, which had gone aground

on Brown’s Bank, a wild shot from the ship pierced the lighthouse. Later

the vessel got off and escaped. The Gurnet Light, however, is thus the

only United States lighthouse known to have ever been hit by a cannon

ball.

In 1778 the armed brigantine _General Arnold_ was caught in a blizzard

while less than a mile from the light and the captain anchored his

vessel rather than risk the treacherous waters of Plymouth’s inner

harbor without a pilot. The vessel dragged anchor and hit on White

Flats. Seventy two of the crew died most of them freezing to death in

the below-zero temperature before they could be rescued. The keeper of

Gurnet Light was unable to go to their aid because the harbor was

blocked with ice. A causeway had to be built over the ice to rescue the

survivors.

[Illustration]

In 1783 the damage done to the lighthouse during the Revolution was

repaired. In a terrible December snowstorm in 1786, a coasting sloop

from Boston to Plymouth was caught off Gurnet. Only one man was hurt

when the ship struck a sand bar and all landed safely. Several miles

from any habitation two men finally reached Gurnet Lighthouse and Thomas

Burgess, the keeper, dispatched his assistant to help the others reach

the lighthouse safely.

Under the act of August 7, 1789, the United States accepted cession of

the lighthouse by Massachusetts on June 10, 1790, including “the

interest of the Commonwealth in the lighthouse land, etc., on the Gurnet

Head, west of Plymouth.”

On July 2, 1801, the lighthouse was completely destroyed by fire. The

merchants of Plymouth and Duxbury erected a temporary beacon at their

own expense. On April 6, 1802, Congress appropriated $270 to reimburse

them. At the same time Congress also appropriated $2,500 “for rebuilding

the lighthouse on Gurnet.” Twin lights were built and the Thomas family

was paid $120 for the land on which the new lighthouses were

constructed.

Joseph Burgess succeeded his father as keeper on October 16, 1812, and

remained in charge of the light until 1851.

Congress appropriated $5,000 in 1836 “for preserving the point of land

leading to the fort and lighthouse at the Gurnet, in Duxbury, by hurdles

or double ranges of piles.”

Lt. Edward W. Carpender, USN, reported on November 1, 1838, that the

Gurnet light beams were horizontal rather than perpendicular as other

lighthouse beams were. “They require to be double to distinguish them

from the single light at Barnstable. They are in separate towers, 22

feet high and 30 feet apart. They consist * * * of a single series of

six lamps each, with old 8½-inch reflectors, arranged in a circular

form, so as to suit the harbor as well as sea navigation. Their

elevation is 70 feet above the level of the sea, enabling them to be

seen * * * 19 miles.”

Carpender pointed out that the lights were too close together, causing

them to blend and appear as a single light at a short distance. Also

being horizontal they “were likely to come into a range with each other,

by which they also appear single.” Carpender’s remedy for this was to

convert them from horizontal to perpendicular beams, but his suggestion

was never carried out.

In 1842 the Gurnet lighthouses were rebuilt and the new structures,

while still of wood, each had a distinctive design. In 1871 the lights

were of the sixth order and were declared by the Lighthouse Board to be

“entirely too small” and “readily mistaken for the lights in a dwelling

house, when they can be seen at all.” Their distance apart was also too

short to afford an efficient range. Nothing ever came of the

recommendation that they be replaced with fourth-order lights “separated

by a proper distance for an effective range.”

After 1851, Thomas Treble followed Joseph Burgess as keeper. His

successors were William Sears, Milton Reamy, Edward S. Gorham, Henry L.

Pingree, and A. S. Eisener. Keeper Davis in 1929 had a long list of

rescues to his credit, and keeper Reed rescued the crew of the mine

sweeper U. S. S. Swan stranded on Gurnet Beach on November 28, 1930.

Gurnet Light had lost its importance as a light as Plymouth Harbor lost

its shipping traffic over the years. Not until Cape Cod Canal was opened

in 1914 did the lighthouse again become an important coastal beacon.

In 1924 the northeast tower was discontinued and the station is now

described as a white, octagonal, pyramidal tower, with white dwelling,

39 feet above ground and 102 feet above water. Its 700,000 candlepower,

fourth-order electric light shows group flashing white every 20 seconds

and is visible for 16 miles. An air diaphragm horn blasts for 3 seconds

every 15 seconds during fog. (5)

_MICHIGAN_

LITTLE SABLE LIGHTHOUSE

[Illustration]

East shore of Lake Michigan.

Little Sable Lighthouse, a white brick tower, 107 feet in height,

connected to the keeper’s dwelling, and surrounded by a picturesque

group of trees, stands on a point about 10 miles south of Pentwater. The

lighthouse was built in 1874, and the light now shown from the tower is

fixed and flashing white, the flashes being of 40,000 candlepower.

Several miles to the northward is Big Sable Lighthouse, on the point of

that name, distinguished at night from Little Sable by having a fixed

white light, and by day by the color of the tower, banded in black and

white. Big Sable Lighthouse is the same height as the tower at Little

Sable, but was erected in 1867. (1) (2)

_MICHIGAN_

SPECTACLE REEF LIGHTHOUSE, LAKE HURON

The Spectacle Reef Lighthouse cost $406,000 and is the best specimen of

monolithic stone masonry in the United States. The work on the

lighthouse, which stands on a submerged limestone reef off the eastern

end of the Straits of Mackinaw, was commenced in May 1870. It was

planned and built by Maj. O. M. Poe, who was General Sherman’s chief

engineer on his march to the sea. The light was first exhibited from the

finished structure in June 1874. The available working time on the

structure was, however, only about 20 months, because no work could be

done on it during the winter months.

The nearest land to Spectacle Reef is Bois Blanc Island, 10½ miles away.

The stone for it was prepared at Scammon’s Harbor, 16 miles distant and

one of the items in its cost was the purchase of a steamer to convey the

materials to the site.

The waves at Spectacle Reef have a fetch of 170 miles to the

southeastward and the ice fields, which are moved by a current and are

thousands of acres in area, are often 2 feet thick. These had to be

especially provided for because when they move in mass, they have an

almost irresistible force. This force was overcome by interposing a

structure against which the ice is crushed and by which its motion is so

impeded that it grounds on the 7-foot shoal, which thereby forms a

barrier against other ice fields.

The tower, in the shape of a frustrum of a cone, is 32 feet in diameter

at the base and rises 93 feet above the base, which is 11 feet below the

water. The focal plane is 4 feet 3 inches above the top of the parapet,

making it 97 feet 3 inches above the top of the submerged rock and 86

feet 3 inches above the surface of the water. For 34 feet up the tower

is solid and from them on up it is hollow. In it are five rooms, one

above the other each 14 feet in diameter, with varying heights. The

walls of the hollow portion are 5 feet 6 inches at the bottom, tapering

to 16 inches at the spring of the cornice.

The blocks of stone below the cornice are 2 feet thick, and those of the

solid portion of the tower are cut to form a lock on each other in each

course, and the courses are fastened together with wrought iron bolts 2½

inches thick and 2 feet long. The tower is bolted to the foundation rock

with bolts 3 feet long which enter the bed rock 21 inches, the other

courses receiving the bolts for 9 inches. Each bolt is wedged at both

ends, and the bolt holes, which were made with a diamond drill, after

the stones were in place, are plugged with pure portland cement, now as

hard as the stone itself. Hence the tower is, in effect, a monolith.

The stones were cut at the depot at Scammon’s Harbor, 16 miles away, and

fitted, course by course, on a platform of masonry. The stones were so

well prepared that a course could be set, drilled, and bolted in 3 days.

The foundation, 11 feet under water, was laid in a cofferdam protected

by a crib work of 12-inch timber, built upon ways at the depot, as a

ship might have been, than launched and towed by a number of steamers to

the reef and grounded on the site. This crib was 92 feet square and 24

feet high. This afforded a protected pond for the cofferdam, a landing

wharf, and quarters for the men all 12 feet above water. The cofferdam

was then pumped out until the bedrock was exposed and on this bedrock

the masonry courses were laid.

[Illustration]

A severe gale in September 1872 did considerable damage, though only of

a temporary character, exposing the east face of this crib at a point

where it had not been sheathed to protect it from the ice during the

winter. It swept away the temporary cribs and nearly destroyed the

workmen’s quarters.

After the winter of 1873-74, when the keepers returned to the newly

completed tower, they found the ice piled against it at a height of 30

feet, or 7 feet higher than the doorway, and they could not gain

entrance until they had cut away the iceberg of which the lighthouse

formed the core.

The light now flashes alternately white and red, every 60 seconds, the

white light being 400,000 candlepower and the red light 80,000

candlepower, both second-order electric, and visible for 17 miles. There

is also a 100 candlepower white winter light which flashes every 5

seconds. An air-diaphone fog signal is also located at the station. (1)

(2)

_MICHIGAN_

STANNARD ROCK LIGHTHOUSE, LAKE SUPERIOR

[Illustration]

Stannard Rock, lying about 23 miles southeast of Manitou Island, was for

years the most serious danger to navigation in Lake Superior. The rock

was first marked by a day beacon in 1868, but by 1871 the rapid increase

in commerce between Duluth and the lower lakes demanded the construction

of a lighthouse on the rock. The construction of Spectacle Reef Light,

which presented a similar problem, had been started in 1870 and it was

believed that all the costly apparatus and machinery purchased for that

job could be made available for constructing a lighthouse on Stannard

Rock.

In 1873, when the Spectacle Reef construction was three-quarters

completed, Congress appropriated $10,000 for a preliminary survey. This

indicated that a structure would be needed of the most substantial and

costly kind, that it would probably be located in 11 feet of water and

would cost $300,000. As a matter of fact the final cost was $305,000.

It was not until 1877, 4 years after Spectacle Reef Lighthouse had been

completed, that Congress appropriated $50,000 for commencing the

construction of the lighthouse. All the machinery which had been used in

constructing Spectacle Reef was moved to the depot at Huron Bay where

necessary quarters, docks, shops, etc., were erected. The tower was to

be similar to that of Spectacle Reef, with the addition of a permanent

protective crib. This crib was begun at Huron Bay in July 1877 and taken

out to the rock in August, where soundings were made to fit it to the

bottom. It was then returned to Huron Bay and built up to 14 courses and

in August 1878 was taken out and placed in position at Stannard Rock. By

October it had been filled with concrete and stone mined from a quarry

opened on Huron Island. Congress had meanwhile appropriated another

$100,000 for this work.

By June 1879 the iron casting for the concrete pier was in place and the

pier had been built up to the surface of the water with another $50,000

appropriation. By midyear 1880 the work was 14 feet above lake level.

The tower was completed and the light first exhibited July 4, 1882, with

another $123,000 made available.

Work on the tower and its various appliances continued in 1883. The

light is exhibited 102 feet above water and shows a 20,000 candlepower

flashing white light of the second order, visible about 18 miles. There

is also an air diaphone fog signal at the station. (1) (2)

_MINNESOTA_

SPLIT ROCK LIGHTHOUSE

In township of Split Rock, north shore of Lake Superior.

Picturesquely located at the top of an imposing rock jutting out into

Lake Superior is Split Rock Lighthouse. The station derives its name

from the appearance of the rock as it is approached from the open lake.

The octagonal brick tower 54 feet in height was built in 1910. Because

of the height of the rock, the light was 168 feet above the level of the

lake and could be seen for 22 miles. An incandescent oil-vapor lamp was

used inside the third-order lens, producing a light of 450,000

candlepower. The station was also equipped with a compressed air

operated diaphone fog signal, sounding a blast every 20 seconds in time

of fog. Split Rock Lighthouse is one of the most frequently visited

lighthouses in the United States. The light was discontinued in 1969.

(1) (2)

[Illustration]

_NEW HAMPSHIRE_

ISLE OF SHOALS LIGHTHOUSE

Capt. John Smith discovered the rugged, storm-swept Isles of Shoals off

the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire in 1614. The first settlers were

Robert, John, and Richard Cutts who came across the seas from Wales to

build their huts on the islands. Later Sir William Pepperell established

the fishing industry there and laid the foundation for a fabulous

fortune. The Pepperell Mills at Biddeford, Maine, stem from this

beginning and Sir William was closely associated with Gen. George

Washington and Gen. Knox during the Revolution.

[Illustration]

The largest of the island group was originally called Hog Island, but

this was later changed to Appledore. This island contains about 4 acres

and its greatest elevation is 75 feet above the sea. In 1641 the 40

families living on the island incorporated it into a town and here the

first church in the Province of Maine was erected, under the direction

of the Reverend John Brock. The town flourished through its fisheries

and enjoyed an extensive trade with the Spaniards. In 1670, during

trouble with the Indians, the inhabitants moved to Star Island, for

greater protection.

Smutty Nose, earlier known as Haley’s Island, lies close to Appledore

and at low tide Cedar and Malaga Islands are connected with the latter

by a breakwater, built, it is said, by Captain Haley with the proceeds

from four bars of silver found among the rocks. He also erected a salt

works, built a ropewalk and set up a windmill. Each night he kept a lamp

lighted from the sunset to sunrise to aid the mariners into the harbor

formed by the breakwater. Notwithstanding this aid to navigation, the

ship _Sagunte_ from Cadiz was wrecked on the southeast point of the

island on January 14, 1813, and stones marking the graves of those lost

can still be seen.

It was on Star Island that Captain Kidd was said to have buried some of

his treasure. During the colonial period, the Indians swept down upon

Star Island in their canoes and killed or carried off every inhabitant

except a Mrs. Moody, who hid herself and her two children under the

rocks. Unable to keep them quiet, the mother killed them with a knife

she was carrying rather than let them fall into the hands of the

Indians.

The first Isle of Shoals Lighthouse was erected on White Island, 5½

miles off the coast of New Hampshire in 1821. It was a stone tower with

the lantern about 90 feet above the water. In 1835 Capt. Henry D. Hunter

of the United States Revenue Cutter _Jackson_ inspected it and reported

“The lanthorn is old and wants a new one. The whole establishment is

dirty and in bad order.”

Thomas B. Laighton, who was defeated for Governor of New Hampshire in

1839, sold his business in Portsmouth and became keeper of the Isle of

Shoals Light. Five years before, he had purchased Appledore, Smutty

Nose, Malaga, and Cedar Islands, across the boundary line in Maine, from

Capt. Samuel Haley. When Laighton retired as keeper in 1847, he had

built a large hotel, the Oceanic, on Star Island.

During the Civil War, because of the danger from blockade runners and

Southern gunboats, the lighthouse was entirely rebuilt of granite, with

walls 2 feet thick.

One night in 1873, Louis Wagner, knowing that the men were away from

Smutty Nose Island, rowed all the way across from the mainland to rob

fisherman Houtnet’s residence. Caught and recognized by the women,

Wagner killed two of the three females on the island. Then he returned

to his dory and rowed back to the mainland. Later he was captured,

tried, and hanged.

Today the white conical tower rises 58 feet above ground and 82 feet

above the water, and the 170,000-candlepower second-order incandescent

oil-vapor light, flashing white every 15 seconds, is visible for 15

miles. An air diaphragm horn blasts for 3 seconds every 30 seconds

during fog. (5) (6)

_NEW HAMPSHIRE_

PORTSMOUTH HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE

In 1771 the first wooden tower at Portsmouth Harbor was built on a point

of land running out into the harbor. This early colonial tower was one

of the 12 lighthouses turned over to the Federal Government under the

act of August 7, 1789. The original tower was replaced by another wooden

tower in 1804. In 1877 this second tower was removed and a cast-iron

beacon erected 1,000 feet east of the first station. This was on ground

known as Newcastle. In reaching the lighthouse by land one has to pass

through the “Old Fort” yard before arriving at the lighthouse

reservation.

For 30 years after its first settlement in 1623, this area was known as

“Strawberry Bank” because of a large patch of wild strawberries on the

bank of the river.

[Illustration]

In 1789 the Portsmouth Lighthouse was visited by George Washington who

remained in Portsmouth 4 days. Earlier in 1782 General Lafayette had

been a lighthouse visitor. Daniel Webster practiced law here in 1807,

and was a frequent visitor at the lighthouse during his 9 years of

residence in Portsmouth.

Today the lighthouse is a white conical tower, with a fog signal house

attached, built on Fort Point. It rises 52 feet above the water and its

3,000 candlepower fourth-order electric light flashes a green light

visible 13 miles. During fog a bell strikes once every 10 seconds. (5)

(7)

_NEW JERSEY_

NAVESINK LIGHTHOUSE

Navesink Light, N. J., on Navesink Highlands, south of the entrance to

New York, was established in 1828. It consisted originally of two rubble

towers. In 1862 two brownstone towers replaced these, the north tower

being octagonal and the south tower square. They are 73 feet high and

connected by a dwelling. The present light is exhibited from the south

tower only and shows a flashing white light every 5 seconds, 246 feet

above water and visible 19 miles. The light in the north tower was

discontinued in 1898.

[Illustration]

In 1841 the first Fresnel lens to be used in this country was imported

from France and installed in the south tower. In 1898 an electric arc

lamp replaced oil lamps in the south tower, this being the first primary

lighthouse in the United States to use electric light. The electric arc

lamp was equipped with a bivalve lens of the new lighting type. This

lens, weighing over 7 tons, revolved in 10 seconds, and gave a flash

every 5 seconds, lasting 0.3 seconds. The Navesink Light was the only

shore station having a plant for generating electricity. Its estimated

candlepower was 25,000,000 making it the most powerful coast light in

the United States. Although on account of the curvature of the earth,

the light itself could not be seen more than 22 miles, its beam was

reported to have been observed in the sky at a distance of 70 nautical

miles.

After the establishment of this electric flashing light many complaints

were made by residents of the neighborhood of the great discomfort and

annoyance caused by the brilliancy of the flash. This was remedied by

darkening several of the lantern panels on the land side. The light was

later changed to an electric incandescent light of 9,000,000

candlepower. With the improvement in floating aids, however, this

lighthouse lost some of its early importance, and the candlepower was

reduced to 5,000 candlepower. It was changed to unwatched in 1949. The

light was discontinued in 1952 and used as a daybeacon until 1963. (3)

(4)

_NEW JERSEY_

SANDY HOOK LIGHTHOUSE

The Sandy Hook Light tower is the oldest original tower still standing

and in use in the United States. The light in this tower was lighted for

the first time on June 11, 1764. Originally called the “New York

Lighthouse,” it was built by Mr. Isaac Conro of New York City with money

collected by a group of New York merchants and maintained by tonnage

dues of 22 pence per ton paid to the port of New York “By order of an

Act of the Colony.” The location of the lighthouse on New Jersey land

eventually caused dissension between the two States. It was one of the

12 lighthouses built by the colonies which, by the act of August 7,

1789, were ceded to the United States. The new Federal Government agreed

to maintain them thereafter.

The lighthouse was described in 1764 as follows: “This House is of an

Octagon Figure, having eight equal sides; the Diameter of the Base 29

feet; and at the Top of the Wall 15 Feet. The Lanthorn is 7 feet high;

the Circumference 15 Feet. The whole Construction of the Lanthorn is

Iron; the top covered with Copper. There are 48 Oil Blazes. The Building

from the Surfaces is Nine Stories; the whole from Bottom to Top 103

Feet.”

[Illustration]

A lot of about 4 acres “at the point of Sandy Hook, in Monmouth County,”

was ceded to the United States by the State of New Jersey on November

16, 1790, and on March 1, 1804, the State of New Jersey “consented to

the purchase of a lot on the north point of Sandy Hook, for the purpose

of erecting a beacon.” Appropriations for a beacon “to be erected on the

north point of Sandy Hook” were made in 1804 ($2,000), 1805 ($6,000),

1807 ($1,200) and 1817 ($1,200). In 1832 there were two beacons on the

Hook, “one on the north point, ranging with the light and buoy of the

upper middle; and the westernmost one and light ranging with the buoy on

the SW. spit, in both of which are lamps.”

In 1852 the Lighthouse Board reported “The tower of Sandy Hook main

light was constructed in 1764, under royal charter, of rubblestone, and

is now in a good state of preservation. Neither leaks nor cracks were

observed in it. The mortar appeared to be good, and it was stated that

the annual repairs upon this tower amount to a smaller sum than in the

towers of any of the minor lights in the New York district. * * * The

illuminating apparatus is composed of 18 21 inch reflectors, and argand

lamps which were fitted new, according to the best information on the

subject, in 1842.”

The light is a 60,000-candlepower, third-order electric light, fixed

white, in a white stone tower, 85 feet above ground and 88 feet above

water, visible for 15 miles. (1) (2) (7)

_NEW YORK_

CROWN POINT MEMORIAL, LAKE CHAMPLAIN

In 1858 a light was placed on a 7-acre site at Crown Point, on Lake

Champlain, near the historic Grenadier Battery, historic ruins of French

and English fortifications. The base of the tower was 57 feet above

water and the focal plane was 86 feet above water level. A fixed

fifth-order, white light was there in 1894. In 1888 a steamboat wharf

had been built to accommodate visitors by water to the fortifications.

[Illustration]

In 1926 the light was discontinued and the site conveyed to the State of

New York. The States of New York and Vermont, as part of the

commemoration of the three hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the

lake by Samuel de Champlain, removed the old tower and built in its

stead an ornamental cylindrical tower of cut granite blocks, surrounded

by eight Doric columns. On the pedestal is an heroic group in bronze

with Champlain as the central figure, presented by the Republic of

France. The bronze group was designed by Rodin, the famous French

sculptor. (3)

_NEW YORK_

PORTLAND HARBOR (BARCELONA) LIGHTHOUSE SOUTH SHORE OF LAKE ERIE

Congress appropriated $5,000 on May 23, 1828, “for building a lighthouse

at a proper site, at or near Portland, on Lake Erie, in the State of New

York.” The site was purchased for $50 and contract was made to erect a

lighthouse and dwelling which cost $3,456.78. The first keeper appointed

May 27, 1829, was Joshua Lane, a “deaf, superannuated clergyman, having

numerous female dependents” whose salary was $350 per annum.

The first light apparatus was described in the contract as 11 patent

lamps with 11 14-inch reflectors and 2 spare lamps. There were double

tin oil butts for 500 gallons of oil. No mention was made at that time

of equipment for burning natural gas.

On January 1, 1831, a contract was made to provide the light with

natural gas “at all times and seasons” and to keep the apparatus and

fixtures in repair at an annual cost of $213. This was described at the

time as follows:

“The Lighthouse at Portland Harbor in the County of Chautauqua and State

of New York, is now illuminated, in the most splendid style, by _natural

carburetted hydrogen gas_. Ever since the first settlement of the

country about Portland, it has been known that an inflammable gas

constantly issued from the fissures of a rock, which forms the bed of a

little brook that empties into Lake Erie, near the harbor, in such

quantity as to be easily set on fire by applying a flame to it. This

fountain of gas was known to the early settlers of the country by the

name of the ‘burning spring.’ No valuable use, however, was made of this

gas until Mr. W. A. Hart, an ingenious gunsmith of the village of

Fredonia, and some other young mechanics, five or six years ago,

collected a quantity of similar gas from the rocky bed of Canadaway

creek in a reservoir, and conveyed it from thence to all the principal

stores, taverns, and shops in the said village, where it is still used

instead of lamps.”

In the fall of 1829, on completion of the lighthouse at Portland Harbor,

several persons associated together for the purpose of conveying the gas

from the “burning spring” to the lighthouse. They dug into the rock at

the place where the largest quantity of gas was found, in the form of a

common well, about 40 or 50 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep. Over this

well they erected a cone of solid mason work, so tight as to contain the

gas which should collect within it, and at the same time exclude the

water around it. They inserted a pipe at the base of the cone; bent down

the end toward the bottom of the well; and then extended the pipe along

on the bed of the brook to its termination below the dam. From that

point it was conducted by pipes buried in the ground the distance of 230

rods to the lighthouse.

[Illustration]

A stand of lamps adapted to the reception, emission, and burning of the

gas was next invented and constructed by Mr. Hart. These consisted of

several horizontal arms extended like the radii of a semicircle, at the

end of each of which a brass pipe was attached. The quantity of gas

consumed by each burner was regulated by a stopcock. Each burner had a

large and suitable reflector. There were two tiers of these lamps, seven

on the lower tier and six in the upper, interspaced so that, when viewed

from the lake at night, the whole tower represented one complete,

constant and unwavering blaze.

“Altogether” the account continues “this is one of the greatest natural,

philosophical and mechanical curiosities which the country can produce.

As a light for a lighthouse it exceeds, both in quantity and brilliancy,

anything of the kind I ever saw.”

In November 1838 it was reported, however, that “Owing to a failure of

gas, that may be attributed to the excessive draught, oil is now

substituted. It is presumed, however, that the fall rains will replenish

the stream from which the fountain is supplied, and thus prevent the

escape and loss of the gas.”

In 1851 the report read: “We have one lighthouse at Portland on Lake

Erie, lighted with natural gas, carried a distance of 2 miles in pipes

to the tower; and even here we are obliged to keep oil and lamps, as

water frequently collects in the pipes, over which the gas will not

pass, and whilst they are being taken up and freed from water, oil light

has to be used. We have a contract for supplying this gas at the annual

cost of the oil which would be required, if lighted with that material.”

The Portland Harbor (Barcelona) Light was discontinued in 1859 and in

1872 the buildings were sold to the highest bidder. (1) (2)

_NEW YORK_

RACE ROCK LIGHTHOUSE

Race Rock Lighthouse, in Long Island Sound, 8 miles from New London,

Conn., was built under great difficulties. The builder was Captain

Scott. His engineer was F. Hopkinson Smith, who later became famous as a

writer of lighthouse stories. Race Rock Lighthouse is off Fisher’s

Island Sound, at the mouth of the Race, where the waters of the Sound

rush both ways, according to the tide, with great velocity and force,

and where, in heavy weather, the waves run high. By 1837 eight vessels

had been lost in 8 years on Race Point reef.

In 1838 Congress appropriated $3,000 for erecting a lighthouse at Race

Rock but the money was never expended. In 1852 the Lighthouse Board

reported: “Various efforts have been made, and numerous appropriations

expended, in endeavoring to place an efficient and permanent mark on

this point. Buoys cannot be kept on it, and spindles have hitherto only

remained until the breaking up of the ice in the spring.” In 1853 $7,000

was appropriated “for a beacon on Race Rock.” This took the form of a

daybeacon completed in 1856.

In 1854 Congress appropriated $8,000 for a lighthouse but only $1,600 of

this was spent, mostly in surveys. In 1869 $90,000 was appropriated “for

a lighthouse at or near Race Point, Fisher’s Island, Long Island Sound.”

After preliminary surveys costing $6,528.57, an additional appropriation

of $10,000 was made in 1870, after the Board had estimated that $200,000

would be required to build the lighthouse. In 1871 $150,000 more was

provided by Congress.

Construction of the riprap foundation began in April 1871. In all 10,000

tons of granite were used in the foundation. “The proposals for the

construction of the foundation and pier of this structure were so

excessive in rates” the Board reported in 1872, “and so much above the

amount of the appropriation on hand ($95,539.66 had been expended out of

$261,000 appropriated to June 10, 1872) that no more than the landing

and the enrockment of the foundation, and two courses of the pier, could

be contracted for.”

In 1873 Congress appropriated a further $75,000 and the lighthouse was

completed at an additional expenditure of $175,048.09 between 1873 and

1878. The total cost of the lighthouse was $278,716.33.

The ledge on which the lighthouse is built is under water and

three-fourths mile from Race Point Reef. It has one large and several

smaller spurs of rock rising above the general surface. The least depth

at mean low water on the principal spur or Race Rock proper, is 3 feet.

The greatest depth at mean low water, within the circle of 69 feet, is

13 feet.

[Illustration]

The ledge was, with the help of divers, made approximately level with

small broken stone and riprap. Upon this was placed a circular-stepped

mass of concrete, 9 feet thick, built in 4 concentric layers. The lower

layer is 69 feet in diameter and 3 feet thick. To form the layers of

concrete, cylindrical bands of half inch iron, of the height and

diameter required for the respective layers, were used. The upper

surface of the concrete, 8 inches above mean low water, carries a

conical pier, 30 feet high, 57 feet in diameter at the base, and crowned

by a projecting coping 55 feet in diameter. The pier is made of heavy

masonry backed with concrete, in which cisterns and cellars are located.

The pier is surmounted by a granite dwelling one story and a half high.

From the center of its front the granite light tower ascends. A

landing-pier, 53 feet long and 25 feet wide, built of heavy masonry,

gives access to the lighthouse. The whole structure is surrounded and

protected by riprap. The tower, which is square at the base and

octagonal at the top, carries a fourth-order alternating flash white and

red electric light of 90,000 candlepower, being 67 feet above sea level

and 45 feet above land, and visible 14 miles at sea. (1) (2)

_NORTH CAROLINA_

CAPE FEAR LIGHTHOUSE, “BALD HEAD LIGHT”

On December 14, 1790, the State of North Carolina ceded to the United

States 10 acres of land on Cape Fear Island, in response to the

invitation held out by the act of August 7, 1789, for the States to make

cessions to the Federal Government of “lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and

public piers, and lots of land for lighthouses, etc.”

On April 2, 1792, Congress appropriated $4,000 and provided “that the

Secretary of the Treasury, under the direction of the President of the

United States, be authorized, as soon as may be, to cause to be finished

in such manner as shall appear advisable, the lighthouse heretofore

begun under the authority of the State of North Carolina, on Bald Head,

at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in said State.” Three further

appropriations totalling $7,359.14 were made between 1793 and 1797 and

the light was completed and first shone in 1796.

Between 1813 and 1817, $16,000 was appropriated “for rebuilding Bald

Head Lighthouse.”

[Illustration]

On July 1, 1834, Capt. Henry D. Hunter of the revenue cutter Taney

inspected Bald Head Light which he described as having 15 lamps, 109

feet above the level of the sea, showing a fixed light. Two years later

he again inspected the light. “The keeper is an old revolutionary

soldier,” he reported “and is unable from sickness to give the

lighthouse his constant personal attention. The light, however, shows

well from a distance.”

A Jones fog bell was placed near Bald Head Lighthouse in 1855. In the

same year the Lighthouse Board recommended the substitution of “a

third-order lens, larger model, 360°, for the present apparatus.” It

also recommended a fixed light, light, varied by flashes “to distinguish

this light, under all circumstances, from Federal Point Light.”

The range lights on the upper jetty of Cape Fear River, which had been

installed in 1856, “were extinguished by the rebels in 1861, and the

structures entirely destroyed.”

In 1866 Bald Head Light was discontinued after a new lighthouse had been

built at the mouth of the Cape Fear River to replace Federal Point

Light. In 1880, however, Federal Point Light had been rendered useless

and was discontinued because of the closing of the New Inlet Channel by

the Engineer Department. Bald Head Light was relighted at that time and,

together with a small stake light on the beach in front of it, served as

a guide through the 16- to 18-foot Oak Island Channel across the bar.

The shore on the inside was reported in 1881 as being “rapidly abraded

by the action of the sea, which is doubtless increased by the augmented

flow of water through Oak Island Channel due to the closing of New

Inlet.” In the following year it was noted, “Some means of protection

must soon be used, or the lighthouse will be destroyed.” In August 1883

a stone jetty, 150 feet long, was authorized for the protection of the

foundation of the tower. This work was completed, in time probably, to

save the tower from destruction in the hurricane of September 1883. In

1885 the jetty was extended another 50 feet.

In 1889 the Lighthouse Board reported that the shoals forming the

continuation of Cape Fear for about 18 miles to the southeast were

dreaded by ship masters only a little less than those at Cape Hatteras.

The lightship, near the outer extremity of the shoals, warned vessels of

danger and gave them a good point of departure, but was not sufficient

to insure adequate protection because of the small area lighted by it,

and its liability to being set adrift from its moorings during violent

storms, at the very time it was most needed. The Cape Fear Light (Bald

Head), on account of its inland position and want of height, did not

cover the shoals and therefore did not give sufficient warning to

vessels in case the lightship should drift from her moorings. The Board,

therefore, recommended a first-order lighthouse, with a radius of 18½

miles of light, about 150 feet high and costing $150,000 to be built on

the pitch of Cape Fear.

This recommendation was made each year thereafter until 1897, the

estimate being revised downward to $70,000 in 1893. On July 1, 1898,

Congress appropriated $35,000 for the new lighthouse, with authority to

contract for another $35,000, followed by an appropriation for a similar

amount on March 3, 1901. A new skeleton tower was completed in 1903 on

Smith Island and furnished with a first-order flashing lens apparatus.

Upon completion of the new Cape Fear Light the old Cape Fear Station

(Bald Head) was changed to a fourth-order fixed light and its name

changed to Bald Head Light Station. The station was discontinued in

1935. A radiobeacon was established on the site in 1941. (1) (2) (7)

_NORTH CAROLINA_

CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE

On July 10, 1797, Congress appropriated $44,000 “for erecting a

lighthouse on the head land of Cape Hatteras and a lighted beacon on

Shell Castle Island, in the harbor of Ocracoke in the State of North

Carolina.”

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse cost $14,302 to build and the Shell Castle

Island Lighthouse was built from part of the surplus. Both were

completed in 1803.

The Cape Hatteras light marked very dangerous shoals which extend from

the cape for a distance of 10 nautical miles. The original tower was

built of dark sandstone and retained its natural color. The original

light consisted of 18 lamps, with 14-inch reflectors, and was 112 feet

above sea level. It was visible in clear weather for a distance of 18

miles.

In July 1851, Lt. David D. Porter, USN, reported as follows:

“Hatteras light, the most important on our coast is, without doubt, the

worst light in the world. Cape Hatteras is the point made by all vessels

going to the south, and also coming from that direction; the current of

the Gulf Stream runs so close to the outer point of the shoals that

vessels double as close round the breakers as possible, to avoid its

influence. The only guide they have is the light, to tell them when up

with the shoals; but I have always had so little confidence in it, that

I have been guided by the lead, without the use of which, in fact, no

vessel should pass Hatteras. The first nine trips I made I never saw

Hatteras light at all, though frequently passing in sight of the

breakers, and when I did see it, I could not tell it from a steamer’s

light, excepting that the steamer’s lights are much brighter. It has

improved much latterly, but is still a wretched light. It is all

important that Hatteras should be provided with a revolving light of

great intensity, and that the light be raised 15 feet higher than at

present. Twenty-four steamship’s lights, of great brilliancy, pass this

point in one month, nearly at the rate of one every night (they all pass

at night) and it can be seen how easily a vessel may be deceived by

taking a steamer’s light for a light on shore.” The improvement in the

light referred to had begun in 1845 when the reflectors were changed

from 14 to 15 inch. In 1848 the 18 lamps were changed to 15 lamps with

21-inch reflectors and the light had become visible in clear weather at

a distance of 20 miles. In 1854 a first-order Fresnel lens with flashing

white light was substituted for the old reflecting apparatus, and the

tower was raised to 150 feet.

In 1860 the Lighthouse Board reported that Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

required protection, due to the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1862 the

Board reported “Cape Hatteras, lens and lantern destroyed, light

re-exhibited.”

[Illustration]

Between 1867 and 1870 Congress appropriated $167,000 in three annual

sums, for rebuilding Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The new tower, from which

the first-order light was first exhibited December 16, 1871, was the

highest brick lighthouse tower in the world. It was 193 feet above

ground and the focal height of the light 191 feet above water. The old

tower “being no longer of any use and in danger of falling during some

heavy storm” was blown up and totally destroyed in February 1872.

In the spring of 1879 the tower was struck by lightning. Cracks

subsequently appeared in the masonry walls, which was remedied by

placing a metal rod to connect the iron work of the tower with an iron

disk sunk in the ground. In 1912 the candlepower of the light was

increased from 27,000 to 80,000.

Ever since the completion of the new tower in 1870, there had begun a

very gradual encroachment of the sea upon the beach. This did not become

serious, however, until 1919, when the high water line had advanced to

about 300 feet from the base of the tower. Since that time the surf had

gnawed steadily toward the base of the tower until in 1935, the site was

finally reached by the surf. Several attempts were made to arrest this

erosion, but dikes and breakwaters had been of no avail. In 1935,

therefore, the tower light was replaced by a light on a skeleton steel

tower placed farther back from the sea on a sand dune, 166 feet above

the sea, and visible for 19 miles. The old tower was then abandoned to

the custody of the National Park Service.

The Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration

erected a series of wooden revetments which checked the wash that was

carrying away the beach. In 1942 the Coast Guard reassumed its control

over the tower and manned it as a lookout station until 1945. The old

tower was now 500 to 900 feet inland from the sea and again tenable as a

site for the light which was placed in commission January 23, 1950.

The new light consists of a 36-inch aviation-type rotating beacon of

250,000 candlepower, visible 20 miles, and flashing white every 15

seconds. The skeleton steel tower has been retained to guard against the

time that the brick tower may again be endangered by erosion and thus

require that the light again be moved. (1) (2)

_NORTH CAROLINA_

CAPE LOOKOUT LIGHTHOUSE

The Cape Lookout Lighthouse was completed in 1812 at a cost of

$20,678.54 and had one wooden and one brick tower.

The station was described in 1850, when William Fulford was keeper, as

having 13 lamps, new lighting apparatus having been installed in 1848.

The keeper was obliged, in 1850, to keep wheeling away sand from the

front side of the keeper’s dwelling to prevent the sand from covering it

up. “The sand banks,” the report reads, “are now higher than the tops of

the windows; and only a few feet from them, at high water mark. On the

sea side, it has washed away about 100 feet last year by abrasion and

sea flows.”

[Illustration]

In 1851 Cape Lookout Lighthouse was reported as one of nine coast lights

“which require to be improved. * * * The towers of each of them should

have an elevation of 150 feet above the level of the sea and * * *

should be fitted up in the best manner with first-order lens apparatus,

to insure a brilliancy and range adequate to the wants of commerce.

These lights are not sufficiently well distinguished, but a general plan

for all the seacoast lights will best accomplish this object.”

On March 3, 1857, Congress appropriated $45,000 “for rebuilding and

fitting out with first-order apparatus the lighthouse at Cape Lookout,

North Carolina.” The new lighthouse was completed and first lighted on

November 1, 1859.

During the Civil War, in 1862, the tower was damaged and the lens, etc.,

removed, but by 1863 the lighthouse had been refitted and the light

re-exhibited. A third-order lens was placed in use temporarily until the

first-order lens, “injured by the rebels” could be repaired and restored

in 1867.

The lighthouse is now a black and white diagonally checkered tower, 169

feet above ground and 156 feet above water and shows a group flashing

white electric light every 15 seconds of 80,000 candlepower, visible 19

miles, from a first-order lens. (1) (2)

_NORTH CAROLINA_

OCRACOKE LIGHTHOUSE

As a consequence of the invitation held out by the act of August 7,

1789, and other similar acts of Congress, various cessions of

lighthouses, beacons, buoys, public piers, and lots of land for

lighthouses were made from time to time by the various States, vesting

the property, jurisdiction, and sometimes both, or right of occupancy in

the Government of the United States. On February 7, 1795, land necessary

for a lighted beacon on Shell Castle Island (later known as Beacon

Island) was turned over to the United States by the State of North

Carolina and in a deed from J. G. Blount and John Wallace bearing the

date of November 29, 1797, for a lot on Shell Castle Island, it was

stipulated “that no goods should be stored, no tavern kept, no spirits

retailed, no merchandise to be carried on, and that no person should

reside on, or make it a stand to pilot or lighter vessels.”

The first lighted beacon at Ocracoke was built on Shell Castle Island in

the year 1798, and was erected in connection with the lighthouse on Cape

Hatteras. This was authorized on July 10, 1797. Further appropriations

for this beacon were made in 1800, 1803, and 1808.

On May 15, 1820, Congress appropriated $14,000 “for building a

lighthouse on Shell Castle Island, in the State of North Carolina, or,

in lieu thereof, a light vessel to be moored in a proper place near said

island if, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury, the latter

shall be preferred.”

[Illustration]

A total of $6,625 was spent in 1820 and 1821 for this purpose. “In

process of time” Mr. S. Pleasonton, Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, later

wrote “the channel leading in and out of Ocracoke left the lighthouse

the distance of a mile, so as to render it altogether useless. The fact

being made known to Congress, an appropriation was made of $20,000 for

building another near the channel, and this was built in 1823, by Noah

Porter, of Massachusetts, for $11,359.35.”

This light was built on Ocracoke Island under a congressional

authorization dated May 7, 1822. It was built on 2 acres of land sold to

the United States for $50 on December 5, 1822, by Jacob Gaskell,

jurisdiction being ceded to the United States by the North Carolina

General Assembly on December 28, 1822.

The 1854 report of the Lighthouse Board indicated that at Ocracoke

Island a fourth-order Fresnel fixed white light was substituted for the

old reflecting illuminating apparatus. In 1857 the Board reported “The

Ocracoke channel light vessel and the Beacon Island lighthouse, at the

same place have, several times, been reported by this Board as useless

and their discontinuance recommended. * * * The erection of a small

beacon light at the Ocracoke main light station, to serve as a range

light, at a cost, if authorized, of not over $750, and to form a part of

the present light station at Ocracoke, will fully subserve the wants of

the present and prospective navigation of that inlet much better than by

keeping up the Ocracoke Channel and Nine Feet Shoal light vessel, and

Beacon Island lighthouse, at an annual saving of between $5,000 and

$10,000.” Congress appropriated the $750 for the beacon range light on

Ocracoke Island on March 3, 1859, “provided that the lighthouse on

Beacon Island and Ocracoke Light vessel be discontinued after the

erection and exhibition of the aforesaid beacon light.” In 1862 the

Beacon Island light tower was still standing but the lens had been

removed. Meanwhile new Franklin lamps had been substituted for valve

lamps in the Ocracoke Lighthouse. In 1899 new model fourth-order lamps

were supplied. The present white tower, on Ocracoke Island built in

1823, stands 76 feet above the ground and 75 feet above water and the

8,000-candlepower, fourth-order fixed white electric light is visible

for 14 miles. (1) (2)

_OREGON_

TILLAMOOK ROCK LIGHTHOUSE

One mile off shore, at Tillamook Head.

[Illustration]

Tillamook Rock, one of the most exposed stations on the Pacific coast,

has received many batterings by violent storms. Although the lantern is

133 feet above the level of the sea, the protective glass has on more

than one occasion been shattered by stones hurled by giant waves. During

the building of the station a lighthouse engineer lost his life during

an attempted landing on the rock. While extensive repairs were being

made to the lighthouse following a disastrous storm, a keeper and a

workman were taken seriously ill as the result of exposure. A lighthouse

tender attempted to remove them from the rock, but after several efforts

to send a boat to the rock it was necessary to remove the men by means

of a breeches buoy. Other men were landed on the rock in the same manner

to take the place of those who were ill. In 1957 the light was

discontinued and the island sold.

_RHODE ISLAND_

BEAVERTAIL LIGHTHOUSE

[Illustration]

On the south end of Conanicut Island. Beavertail Lighthouse was the

third lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States, the

original tower having been constructed in 1749. Its erection was

authorized as early as 1738 by the General Assembly of the Governor and

Company of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation;

but nothing was then done because of war breaking out between England

and Spain. The first lighthouse has now been gone for nearly a century,

but there stands in its place a more sturdy structure, built of granite,

which was built in 1856. Almost from its first erection, Beavertail has

been a sort of proving ground for various types of signaling equipment,

many of which were here first tried out. One of the most curious of

these was an early air-operated fog signal, for which a horse was kept

on hand for the purpose of operating the air compressor. At the present

time Beavertail is equipped with an electric lamp set inside a

fourth-order lens. It also has a compressed-air-operated siren. (1) (2)

_RHODE ISLAND_

PRUDENCE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE

In 1862 a white octagonal tower for a lighthouse was built on Sandy

Point on the east side of Prudence Island, R. I. With the tower was

built a keeper’s dwelling.

During the terrible September hurricane of 1938, five persons, including

the wife of the lighthouse keeper, were carried out to sea and drowned,

when the dwelling house on the lighthouse reservation was swept away by

the savage fury of the tropical gale. The keeper was also thrown into

the sea, but another wave swept him back ashore.

[Illustration]

The light itself is only 28 feet above water and is visible for 10

miles, flashing green every 6 seconds. The light is now unwatched, being

a 1,400-candlepower fourth-order electric. A bell renders one stroke

every 15 seconds during fog. (5)

_SOUTH CAROLINA_

CHARLESTON LIGHTHOUSE, MORRIS ISLAND

The Charleston Light, located on Morris Island, at the entrance to the

harbor of Charleston, S. C., was one of the colonial lights turned over

to the Federal Government under the terms of the act of August 7, 1789.

The light was in a brick tower, built by the Colony of South Carolina in

1767. On May 7, 1800, Congress appropriated $5,000 for repairing the

lighthouse.

In 1838 the light was described as a revolving light, the tower being

102 feet from the base to the lantern. A new first-order lens was

installed in the tower on January 1, 1858.

[Illustration]

On December 20, 1860, on receiving reports from the lighthouse inspector

at Charleston regarding the probable seizure of the lighthouse property

by the Confederacy, the Secretary of the Lighthouse Board wrote the

Secretary of the Treasury that he would not recommend “that the coast of

South Carolina be lighted by the Federal Government against her will.”

Ten days later the inspector at Charleston informed the Board that “the

Governor of the State of South Carolina has requested me to leave the

State. I am informed that forcible possession has been taken of the

lights, buoys, etc., of this harbor, and that similar measures will be

adopted in regard to all lights in the State.” Early in January 1861,

the Rattlesnake Shoal Lightship was towed into Charleston and the

lighthouse tenders were seized. By the latter part of April 1861,

practically all lights were extinguished, lightships removed, and other

aids removed or destroyed from the Chesapeake to the Rio Grande, with

the exception of some of the lights on the Florida coast and reefs.

In 1862 the Lighthouse Board reported “Charleston, lens and lantern

destroyed.” In all, 164 lights were forcibly discontinued during the

Civil War on the southern coasts. These were relighted from time to

time, and by 1866, the greater part had been restored. The Charleston

Channel was re-marked promptly on the occupation of the city by Union

troops in February 1865.

In 1865 the Lighthouse Board reported “that an almost total change had

taken place, leaving no channel in the harbor as it was in 1860, and

opening new ones.” Under this altered state of things it became

necessary to establish lights temporarily at such places as would be

useful guides through existing channels and omit all other.

On March 3, 1873, Congress made the first of three appropriations for a

new lighthouse on Morris Island. $60,000 was granted on that date for

“commencing the rebuilding of a first-order seacoast light on Morris

Island destroyed during the war.” Two other appropriations totaling

$90,000 in 1874 and 1875 were for completing the work. The new structure

was to be at or near the same spot as the old tower, 150 feet high and

built of brick, with a first-order flashing light. Foundation piles were

driven and the space between them filled with concrete 8 feet thick. The

new tower, when completed in 1876, was 161 feet in height and the cost

was $149,993.50. A first-order Fresnel lens was installed. In 1884 the

illuminating apparatus was changed for the use of mineral oil instead of

lard oil.

The cyclone of August 25, 1885, destroyed the rear beacon of the Morris

Island range, overturned part of the brick wall which enclosed the tower

and dwelling of the main light, carried away the bridge between the

beacons, and destroyed a large part of the plank walks connecting the

several lights and dwellings, and overturned the boathouse. The range

was reestablished 3 days later by a temporary beacon. A new wooden

skeleton structure 40 feet high was built in 1885.

The earthquake of August 1886 threw the lens of the main light out of

position and cracked the tower extensively in two places, but not so as

to endanger its stability. The lens was replaced and the cracks repaired

without delay.

Erosion of land caused the Coast Guard to begin construction of a new

lighthouse in 1960. The new light was commissioned on June 15, 1962. The

tower stands 163 feet high on the north side of Charleston Harbor

entrance on Sullivans Island. (1) (2) (7)

_TEXAS_

POINT ISABEL LIGHTHOUSE

When Fort Polk was abandoned, after the Mexican War, the site was

transferred to the Treasury Department and on September 28, 1850,

Congress appropriated $15,000 “for a lighthouse and beacon light at

Brazos, Santiago.” The tower was completed in 1852 and was lit by four

lamps, 57 feet above the ground and 82 feet above sea level. By 1854 the

light had 15 lamps and 21 reflectors and was visible 16 miles. A

third-order lens was installed in 1857, and the fixed light was varied

by flashes.

At the conclusion of the Civil War, when the southern portion of Texas

was occupied by Union forces, the light station was overhauled,

refitted, and relit February 22, 1866.

In 1879 the Lighthouse Board reported the tower in a dilapidated

condition. During a rain it was impossible to keep the lens and lamps

dry as the lantern leaked “in every direction.” By 1881 a new iron

lantern had been erected on the tower and the following year mineral oil

lamps were fitted.

[Illustration]

In 1887 a question as to the title of the United States to the land

occupied by the light station was raised, and, upon investigation, it

was found that the United States had no title to the land. It had been

occupied by General Taylor as a camp and depot at the outbreak of the

Mexican War. As no title to the land could be established, the light was

discontinued on May 15, 1888, and the station abandoned.

Evidence was soon presented to the Lighthouse Board that a light was

needed at Point Isabel and that it would be necessary to purchase land

for a site at an estimated cost of $8,000. “Upon the discontinuance of

the present light” the report continues “the possession of the light

structures went to the owners of the land upon which they were built.

These buildings are worth considerably more than the sum for which the

owners offer to sell the present site, including improvements, to the

United States.” Congress accordingly, in 1889, appropriated $8,000 for

reestablishing the light and the purchase of land on which it stood. The

owner offered to sell the site on which the station was situated for

$6,000 but the United States attorney reported adversely on the title

and he was directed to commence proceedings in condemnation to acquire

title. When the case was called for trial in 1891 the district engineer,

under instructions from the Lighthouse Board, declined to turn over the

requisite amount until the title had been approved by the Attorney

General. The sale was finally consummated in 1894 for $5,000 and the

Board reported “The purchase has at last been consummated. The title to

the site is now in the Government. The light will be shown at an early

day.” The light was finally reexhibited on July 15, 1895, but 10 years

later, in 1905, discontinued for good. In 1927 the site was sold to the

highest bidder for $2,760. (1) (2)

_VIRGINIA_

CAPE CHARLES LIGHTHOUSE

The original lighthouse on Smith Island, near Cape Charles, Va., at the

entrance to Chesapeake Bay was completed in 1828, at a cost of

$7,398.82. In 1856 Congress appropriated $35,000 for “rebuilding the

Cape Charles Lighthouse upon a proper site and fitting it with proper

illuminating apparatus.” This sum was spent in 1858 and 1859 and on June

20, 1860, an additional $10,200 was appropriated for a keeper’s

dwelling. Only about $1,890 of this was spent, however. Before the new

tower was finished it was completely destroyed by “a party of

guerrillas” in the Civil War then raging.

“In August last (1862)” the Lighthouse Board reported “the lighthouse at

Cape Charles was visited by a party of guerrillas, who completely

destroyed the light, carrying away such portable articles as they deemed

valuable. The new tower authorized for that station had, at the outbreak

of the rebellion progressed in construction to a height of 83 feet, the

greater part of the materials to complete the tower to its proper height

(150 feet) being on the ground, stored, ready for future use. During the

rebel occupancy of this part of the peninsula, the articles which had

been stored were subjected to indiscriminate pilfering and spoliation,

so that a new provision will have to be made.”

In 1864 Congress appropriated $20,000 for rebuilding the lighthouse and

the tower was completed forthwith, the light being first exhibited on

May 7, 1864. “Owing to the liability of this important light to an

attack from the enemy” the Board reported on June 30, 1864, “a competent

military guard for its protection has been asked for.”

The encroachment of the sea upon the shore at this station had been in

progress for many years by 1883 and about 300 feet had been washed away

since 1857. By that time (1883) the waterline was within 300 feet of the

tower and still nearer the keeper’s dwelling. The average annual

encroachment was then about 30 feet. As a result, Congress in 1885

appropriated $10,000 to be used for “jetties of stone resting upon heavy

timber mattresses to prevent too rapid sinking into the sand.”

[Illustration]

However, further congressional action was believed necessary in that

year to authorize the purchase of additional land needed for the three

large jetties and $30,000 was asked for this purpose. By 1886 about 120

feet of brush mattresses of this shore protection were completed and

partially loaded with stone and about 80 feet of one jetty was finished

extending from the shore to about low water mark. The jetty had already

gathered much sand but had washed away somewhat at the sea extremity. In

1889, as steps were being taken to extend the protection, a heavy

northeasterly gale washed away about 75 feet of the jetty and undermined

the south end of the protection wall, and, at one time, the station was

entirely surrounded by water. The retreat of the shore was not local but

was general along the island. Any protection works, therefore, would

have to extend a long distance to the northeast and be very expensive.

It was, therefore, thought to be more economical to build a new light

station where it would not be exposed to any danger. This would cost

about $150,000.

Measures were meanwhile taken to construct four jetties at right angles

to the shore protection and a protection wall in front of the one still

standing. These were begun in February 1890. An appropriation of

$150,000 for a new tower was made on August 30, 1890. The new jetties

were finished in April 1891.

The contract for a new iron tower on a new site was signed in June 1893

and the structure was completed December 21, 1894. A first-order lens

was installed and the light first exhibited August 15, 1895.

The tower is an octagonal, pyramidal skeleton structure, 191 feet above

land and 180 feet above water. The 1,200,000 candlepower first-order

electric apparatus is unwatched and is visible 20 miles. (1) (2)

_VIRGINIA_

CAPE HENRY LIGHTHOUSE

Provision for building a lighthouse at Cape Henry, at the entrance to

Chesapeake Bay, was included in the first appropriation made for

lighthouses by Congress on March 26, 1790. The amount was for

$24,076.66. The project had already been undertaken by the State of

Virginia and Governor Randolph had written President Washington on

December 18, 1789:

“The State, some years ago, placed upon the shore of Cape Henry nearly a

sufficient quantity of materials to complete such a lighthouse as was at

that time thought convenient, which have been, in the course of time,

covered with sand. Measures are being taken to extricate them from this

situation.”

The Governor offered to sell these materials to the Federal Government

and to cede the necessary land for the lighthouse to the United States.

The tower which was constructed under contract for $15,200, was an

octagonal sandstone tower, the materials for which had undoubtedly been

brought from abroad as ballast. The light, which was first shown in

1792, first consisted of oil lamps burning in turn fish oil, sperm oil,

colza oil, lard oil, and finally kerosene after the discovery of

petroleum in Pennsylvania in 1859.

In 1857 the lighthouse was provided with a dioptric Fresnel lens. Great

difficulty, however, was experienced in distinguishing between lights

along the coast in the 1840’s because of the numerous fixed white

lights, such as Cape Henry’s. It was not until 1922 that the Cape Henry

light’s characteristic was changed to a distinctive group flashing

light.

During the Civil War the lantern of Cape Henry lighthouse was destroyed,

but it was back in operation by 1863 being protected by a military guard

detailed from Fortress Monroe. All the light vessels from Cape Henry

southward had either been removed, sunk or destroyed by the Southern

forces.

In 1872 the Lighthouse Board recommended the building of a new tower,

stating that the old tower was in an unsafe condition and that there was

no way of repairing it satisfactorily. “It is in danger of being thrown

down by some heavy gale.” It was not until 1875 that Congress

appropriated $75,000 “for rebuilding and remodeling the lighthouse at

Cape Henry.”

[Illustration]

In 1879 a contract for a new iron lighthouse, consisting of cast-iron

plates backed by masonry walls, was entered into and after two more

appropriations of $25,000 each in 1880 and 1881, the new tower was

completed and the light first shown on December 15, 1881.

The old tower remained standing and became one of the antiquities of the

State of Virginia, serving as a monument commemorating the landing of

John Smith.

The new structure was 170 feet in height and the lantern was equipped

with a first-order lens, the lamp having five concentric wicks. A steam

siren fog signal was also established. An incandescent oil-vapor lamp,

burning kerosene vapor, replaced the wick lamp in 1912. This increased

the intrinsic brilliancy, but decreased the area lit. The candlepower,

however, was increased from 6,000 to 22,000. The candlepower has now

been increased to 80,000 for the white light, with 16,000-candlepower

red sector covering the shoals outside the cape and the middle ground

inside the bay. The light is 164 feet above water and visible 19 miles.

This station is also equipped with a diaphone fog signal and a

radiobeacon. (1) (2)

_WASHINGTON_

CAPE FLATTERY LIGHTHOUSE

Off shore, on Tatoosh Island.

[Illustration]

Cape Flattery Lighthouse was built in 1857, but only after great

difficulties with the Indians. Before commencing the lighthouse, it was

necessary to build a blockhouse, and 20 muskets with ammunition were

furnished for protection against Indians from the Canadian side of the

Strait. Shortly after the light was completed the keeper resigned

because he was annoyed by the numerous Indians who used the island as a

fishing and whaling station. Cape Flattery Lighthouse is now

electrified, and is fitted with a diaphone fog signal and a radiobeacon.