United States Lighthouse Service

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United States Lighthouse Service
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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

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AdministrativeHistory
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Earliest Aids to Navigation

• Early Navigation
• Daymarks
• Fires ashore
• Emergence of maritime commerce
• Pharos of Alexandria
• Pharologists

Artists depiction of Pharos of Alexandria
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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
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New Nation

• 1783
• Articles of Confederation
• Constitutional Convention
• Constitution
• First Congress
• Secretary of the Treasury

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Early Administration

• Albert Gallatin
• 1820
• Construction to 1820

Albert Gallatin
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Stephen Pleasanton1820-1852

• Fifth Auditor (1820-1852)
• Lowest Bidder
• Predecessors
• Expanding US

Stephen Pleasanton
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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
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Bureau of Lighthouses

• 1903
• 1910
• Organization
• George R. Putnam

President Theodore Roosevelt
George Putnam
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USLHS Joins the USCG

• Reorganization Plan No. 11
• Efficiency Economy
• Integration of 5,200 personnel and other assets
• 7 July 1939

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LighthouseTechnology
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Lenses to the 1800s

• Plano-Convex Lens
• Buffon Lens

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Early Lamps
Kettle Lamp
Pan Lamp
Spider Lamp
Argand Lamp and Reflector
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Illuminants

• Wood Coal
• Candles
• Oils
• Sperm Oil
• Colza Oil
• Lard Oil
• Kerosene
• Electricity

The Unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in 1886
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Augustin-Jean Fresnel

• 1788
• Wave Optics
• Fresnel Lens
• Intensification of light
• 1827

Augustin-Jean Fresnel
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Orders of Fresnel Lenses

• First through Sixth Orders
• Original classifications

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First Order Lens
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Comparing Lens Orders
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Fixed Revolving Lenses
Fixed Lens
Revolving Lens
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Types ofLighthouses
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PRE-FEDERAL ERA LIGHTHOUSES(1716-1789)

• 12 Lighthouses
• Wood or Stone
• 90 feet
• Questions

Sandy Hook, NJ
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EARLY FEDERAL ERA LIGHTHOUSES(1789-1820)

• 1789
• George Washington
• Albert Gallatin
• Cut Stones Brick
• 11 Survive

Portland Head, ME
Old Tower at Cape Henry, VA
Georgetown Harbor, SC
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THE FIFTH AUDITOR OF THETRESURY'S
LIGHTHOUSES(1820-1852)

• Lowest Bidder
• Matinicus Rock
• Problems

Matinicus Rock, ME
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PILE FOUNDATION

• John Phillips
• Henry Whiteside
• Brandywine Shoals
• Desdemona Sands

Old Brandywine Shoal, NJ
Cover to Desdemona Sand Specifications
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PROTECTED SCREW PILE LIGHTHOUSES(1850- ?)

• 1850
• Alexander Mitchell
• Iron Stilts
• Technology

Drum Point, MD
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EXPOSED, SCREW-PILE LIGHTHOUSES(1852-1880)

• 1852
• Florida reefs
• Carysfort Reef
• Civil War

Fowey Rocks, FL
Sombrero Key, FL
Carysfort Reef, FL
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Straight-Pile Tubular Skeletal Towers

• Cast Wrought Iron Piles

Southwest Reef, LA
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WAVE-SWEPT LIGHTHOUSES(1850-1906)

• John Smeaton
• Minots Ledge
• I Love You Light
• St. Georges Reef Mile Rock

St. Georges Reef, CA
Plan of Minots Ledge, MA
Mile Rock, CA
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TALL BRICK TOWERS(1857-1876)

• Cape Hatteras
• 1859
• Conical
• Construction techniques
• Suggestions
• 14 of 15

Pensacola, FL
Cape Hatteras, NC
Fire Island, NY
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CAST IRON LIGHTHOUSES

• Late 1830s
• Light inexpensive construction
• Destruction Island

Destruction Island, WA
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CRIB LIGHTHOUSES

• 1870s
• Great Lakes
• White Shoal

Spectacle Reef, MI
White Shoal, MI
Poe Reef, MI
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COFFERDAM LIGHTHOUSES

• Dry site
• Shallow water
• Wooden walls

Craighill Channel Upper Front Range, MD
Robbins Reef, NY
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UNDER-WATER FOUNDATION LIGHTHOUSES

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

Stratford Shoal, CT
New London Ledge, CT
Race Rock, NY
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CAISSON LIGHTHOUSES

• Iron technology
• Lawrence Potts
• Expense
• Duxbury

Bloody Point, MD
Duxbury, MA
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SUBMARINE SITE (PNEUMATIC CAISSONS) LIGHTHOUSES

• Special Preparation
• Double bottom
• Cellar
• Caissons vs. Screw-Piles

Wolf Trap, VA
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BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSES

• Unique challenges
• Light, but sturdy
• Keepers Quarters
• Great Lakes

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

• Pre-fabricated
• Low wind resistance
• Coney Island

Hog Island, VA
Coney Island, NY
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REINFORCED CONCRETE LIGHTHOUSES(1908-1948)

• Superior to metals
• Replace brick
• Point Arena
• Oak Island

Point Arena, CA
Oak Island, NC
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Distinct Lighthouses
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Navesink Twin Lights
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Split Rock
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Makapuu Point
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Jeffreys Hook
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Point Fermin Hereford Inlet
Point Fermin
Hereford Inlet
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Sabine Pass
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Cape St. Elias
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Oyster Bayou
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Statue of Liberty
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Alcatraz
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Minots Ledge
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Tillamook
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Point Reyes
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Point Bonita
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Cape Sarichef
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Southwest Pass
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Toledo Harbor
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People of the Lighthouse Service
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Duties of a Lighthouse Keeper

• Light Extinguish
• Wickie
• Shine and Polish
• Maintain the log
• Fog Signal

Keeper inspects the lens
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Ida Lewis

• Lime Rock Lighthouse
• 24 Rescues
• Presidential visit
• Ida Lewis Rock

Ida Lewis
Ida Lewis rescues two soldiers on 29 March 1869
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Marcus Hanna

• Medal of Honor Gold LSM
• 4 July 1863
• 28 January 1885

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Frederick T. Hatch

• Twice Awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal
• 1884--USLSS
• 1890--USLHS

Frederick T. Hatch
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Samuel Amalu

• Deans of Hawaiis Keepers
• Joined LHS in 1906

Samuel Amalu
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Others Who Served
Keepers
Keeper and his Light
Crew of a lighthouse tender
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Lighthouse Families
Keepers and their families
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Lightships Tenders
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Evolution of Lightships

• Ancient Rome
• Great Britain

King George II
Map of Italy during the Roman Empire
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First US Lightships

• Willoughby Spit
• Sandy Hook

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Development of Lightships

• 116 Stations
• 1909
• 1927

Plan ofLV-1
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Satisfying Multiple ATON Requirements

• Shallow Water
• Deep Water
• Multiple roles
• Highly efficient ATON

Merrill's Shell Bank Lightship, 1847
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Life on a Lightship

• Inadequate
• Poor light platforms
• Similar to a barrel
• Accommodations

Maintaining the Lights
LV 1
Relaxing in the Wardroom
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Lightship Losses

• Cross Rip
• Diamond Shoals
• Nantucket

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Lighthouse Tenders

• Commissioned vessels
• Logistical support

Tenders performing logistical support for the
lighthouses
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Lighthouse Tenders
USHLT Columbine
USHLT Goldenrod
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USHLT Shubrick
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Legacy of the USLHS in theUSCG
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LORAN

• Long Range Navigation LORAN
• Pulse transmission
• Range
• March 1942
• Lawrence Harding
• Practical system
• Stations built throughout the world
• Civilian applications

LORAN Station
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Scotch Cap

• 1903
• 1940
• Tsunami
• 1950
• 1971

1903 Tower
Current Light
1940 Lighthouse Before and After the 1946 Tsunami
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OFF-SHORE "TEXAS TOWER" STRUCTURES

• Post-World War II
• Oil Industry

Ambrose Lightship passes by the Ambrose Offshore
Light Tower
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THE ALUMINUM LIGHTHOUSE(1960-??)

• Lantern Room
• Charleston Light
• Elevator

Charleston Light, SC
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FIBERGLASS TOWERS

• British Innovation
• Little metal
• 1960s 1980s
• Plastic Lighthouse

Deer Island, MA
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End of the Lightships

• LNB
• 29 March 1985
• Nantucket 1

ADM James Gracey
LNB on Station with 44-ft. patrol boat
(foreground)
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New Technologies Lighthouses

• GPS
• Boston Light

Satellites are vital to the Operation of GPS
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