United States Lighthouse Service

US Lighthouse Service

• Administrative History

• Lighthouse Technology

• Types of Lighthouses

• Distinct Lighthouses

• People of the USLHS

• Lightships and Tenders

• Legacy of the USLHS– Lighthouses in the USCG after 1939

AdministrativeHistory

Earliest Aids to Navigation

• Early Navigation

• Daymarks

• Fires ashore

• Emergence of maritime commerce

• Pharos of Alexandria

• PharologistsArtist’s depiction of Pharos of Alexandria

Early Lights in America• Havana, Cuba

• 1716-Little Brewster Island

• Prior to 1775

• Sandy Hook

British ship passes the light on Little Brewster Island

Light at Sandy Hook, NJ

New Nation

• 1783• Articles of

Confederation• Constitutional

Convention• Constitution• First Congress• Secretary of the

Treasury

Early Administration

• Albert Gallatin

• 1820

• Construction to 1820

Albert Gallatin

Stephen Pleasanton1820-1852

• Fifth Auditor (1820-1852)

• “Lowest Bidder”

• Predecessors

• Expanding USStephen Pleasanton

THE LIGHTHOUSE BOARD(1852-1910)

• 1851• 1852• Lighthouse

Districts• Inspectors• Instructions• Light Lists

1880 Regulations 1893 Light List

Map of 5th Lighthouse District in 1883

Bureau of Lighthouses• 1903• 1910• Organization• George R. Putnam

President Theodore RooseveltGeorge Putnam

USLHS Joins the USCG

• Reorganization Plan No. 11

• Efficiency & Economy

• Integration of 5,200 personnel and other assets

• 7 July 1939

LighthouseTechnology

Lenses to the 1800s

• Plano-Convex Lens

• Buffon Lens

Early Lamps

Spider Lamp Argand Lamp and Reflector

Kettle Lamp Pan Lamp

Illuminants• Wood & Coal

• Candles

• Oils

–Sperm Oil

–Colza Oil

–Lard Oil

–Kerosene

• Electricity

The Unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in 1886

Augustin-Jean Fresnel

• 1788

• Wave Optics

• Fresnel Lens

• Intensification of light

• 1827Augustin-Jean Fresnel

Orders of Fresnel Lenses

• First through Sixth Orders

• Original classifications

First Order Lens

Comparing Lens Orders

Fixed & Revolving Lenses

Fixed Lens Revolving Lens

Types ofLighthouses

PRE-FEDERAL ERA LIGHTHOUSES

(1716-1789)

• 12 Lighthouses

• Wood or Stone

• 90 feet

• Questions

Sandy Hook, NJ

EARLY FEDERAL ERA LIGHTHOUSES

(1789-1820) • 1789

• George Washington

• Albert Gallatin

• Cut Stones & Brick

• 11 Survive

Old Tower at Cape Henry, VA

Portland Head, ME

Georgetown Harbor, SC

THE FIFTH AUDITOR OF THETRESURY'S LIGHTHOUSES

(1820-1852)

• “Lowest Bidder”

• Matinicus Rock

• Problems

Matinicus Rock, ME

PILE FOUNDATION

• John Phillips

• Henry Whiteside

• Brandywine Shoals

• Desdemona Sands

Old Brandywine Shoal, NJ

Cover to Desdemona Sand Specifications

PROTECTED SCREW PILE LIGHTHOUSES(1850- ?)

• 1850

• Alexander Mitchell

• Iron Stilts

• Technology

Drum Point, MD

EXPOSED, SCREW-PILE LIGHTHOUSES(1852-1880)

• 1852

• Florida reefs

• Carysfort Reef

• Civil War

Carysfort Reef, FL

Fowey Rocks, FL

Sombrero Key, FL

Straight-Pile Tubular Skeletal Towers

• Cast & Wrought Iron Piles

Southwest Reef, LA

WAVE-SWEPT LIGHTHOUSES(1850-1906)

• John Smeaton

• Minots Ledge

• “I Love You” Light

• St. Georges Reef & Mile Rock

Plan of Minots Ledge, MA

St. Georges Reef, CA

Mile Rock, CA

TALL BRICK TOWERS(1857-1876)

• Cape Hatteras

• 1859

• Conical

• Construction techniques

• Suggestions

• 14 of 15

Fire Island, NY

Pensacola, FL

Cape Hatteras, NC

CAST IRON LIGHTHOUSES

• Late 1830s

• Light & inexpensive construction

• Destruction Island

Destruction Island, WA

CRIB LIGHTHOUSES

• 1870s

• Great Lakes

• White Shoal

Spectacle Reef, MI

Poe Reef, MI

White Shoal, MI

COFFERDAM LIGHTHOUSES

• Dry site

• Shallow water

• Wooden walls

Robbins Reef, NY

Craighill Channel Upper Front Range, MD

UNDER-WATER FOUNDATION LIGHTHOUSES

• Man-made foundations/Underwater ledges– Race Rock– Stratford Shoal– New London Ledge

Race Rock, NY

Stratford Shoal, CT

New London Ledge, CT

CAISSON LIGHTHOUSES • Iron technology• Lawrence Potts• Expense• Duxbury

Duxbury, MA Bloody Point, MD

SUBMARINE SITE (PNEUMATIC CAISSONS) LIGHTHOUSES

• Special Preparation

• Double bottom

• Cellar

• Caissons vs. Screw-Piles

Wolf Trap, VA

BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSES

• Unique challenges

• Light, but sturdy

• Keeper’s Quarters

• Great Lakes

Cleveland Harbor East Pierhead , OH Grand Haven South Pierhead Rear Range, MI

SKELETON TOWER LIGHTHOUSES

• Pre-fabricated

• Low wind resistance

• Coney Island

Coney Island, NY Hog Island, VA

REINFORCED CONCRETE LIGHTHOUSES

(1908-1948) • Superior to metals

• Replace brick

• Point Arena

• Oak Island

Point Arena, CA Oak Island, NC

Distinct Lighthouses

Navesink Twin Lights

Split Rock

Makapuu Point

Jeffrey’s Hook

Point Fermin & Hereford Inlet

Point Fermin Hereford Inlet

Sabine Pass

Cape St. Elias

Oyster Bayou

Statue of Liberty

Alcatraz

Minot’s Ledge

Tillamook

Point Reyes

Point Bonita

Cape Sarichef

Southwest Pass

Toledo Harbor

People of the Lighthouse

Service

Duties of a Lighthouse Keeper

• Light & Extinguish

• “Wickie”

• Shine and Polish

• Maintain the log

• Fog Signal

Keeper inspects the lens

Ida Lewis• Lime Rock Lighthouse

• 24 Rescues

• Presidential visit

• Ida Lewis RockIda Lewis

Ida Lewis rescues two soldiers on 29

March 1869

Marcus Hanna

• Medal of Honor & Gold LSM

• 4 July 1863

• 28 January 1885

Frederick T. Hatch

• Twice Awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal

• 1884--USLSS

• 1890--USLHS

Frederick T. Hatch

Samuel Amalu

• Dean’s of Hawaii’s Keepers

• Joined LHS in 1906

Samuel Amalu

Others Who Served

Keeper and his LightCrew of a lighthouse tender

Keepers

Lighthouse Families

Keepers and their families

Lightships &Tenders

Evolution of Lightships• Ancient Rome• Great Britain

King George IIMap of Italy during the Roman Empire

First US Lightships

• Willoughby Spit

• Sandy Hook

Development of Lightships

• 116 Stations

• 1909

• 1927

Plan ofLV-1

Satisfying Multiple ATON Requirements

• Shallow Water

• Deep Water

• Multiple roles

• Highly efficient ATON

Merrill's Shell Bank Lightship, 1847

Life on a Lightship• Inadequate

• Poor light platforms

• “Similar to a barrel”

• Accommodations

Maintaining the Lights

Relaxing in the Wardroom LV 1

Lightship Losses• Cross Rip

• Diamond Shoals

• Nantucket

Lighthouse Tenders

• Commissioned vessels

• Logistical support

Tenders performing logistical support for the lighthouses

Lighthouse Tenders

USHLT Columbine

USHLT Goldenrod

USHLT Shubrick

Legacy of the USLHS in the

USCG

LORAN• Long Range Navigation=

LORAN• Pulse transmission• Range• March 1942• Lawrence Harding• Practical system• Stations built throughout the

world• Civilian applications

LORAN Station

Scotch Cap

• 1903

• 1940

• Tsunami

• 1950

• 1971

1940 Lighthouse Before and After the 1946 Tsunami

1903 Tower Current Light

OFF-SHORE "TEXAS TOWER" STRUCTURES

• Post-World War II

• Oil Industry

Ambrose Lightship passes by the Ambrose Offshore Light Tower

THE ALUMINUM LIGHTHOUSE(1960-??)

• Lantern Room

• Charleston Light

• Elevator

Charleston Light, SC

FIBERGLASS TOWERS

• British Innovation

• Little metal

• 1960s & 1980s

• Plastic Lighthouse

Deer Island, MA

End of the Lightships• LNB

• 29 March 1985

• Nantucket 1

ADM James GraceyLNB on Station with 44-ft. patrol boat (foreground)

New Technologies & Lighthouses

• GPS

• Boston Light

Satellites are vital to the Operation of GPS