For as long as men have gone down to the sea, ships there has been a need for navigational markers. In ancient times, men lit fires on hilltops near harbors to warn mariners of danger. The Pharos of Alexandria in Egypt were the first known to construct a lighthouse in recorded history around 280 B.C. It stood approximately 450 feet in height. Standing about 450 feet tall, it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It used an open fire at its summit to guide ships until it was destroyed by earthquakes in the 1300s. The Tower of Hercules in Coruña, Spain, was originally built by the Romans in the 1st century A.D. Restored in 1682, it is in operation to this day. The first lighthouse built in America was located on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The Boston Light was originally lit on September 14, 1716.
The purpose of the lighthouse is to warn ships of dangerous shallows, hazardous coastlines, and hidden reefs. They are structures built to function as reliable visual traffic signs and navigation aids by providing safe guidance into ports and harbors. They are often painted in vivid colors or stripes to mark the entrances to bays and harbors and the safe channel in daylight. At night, they are beacons of light piercing through the darkness to guide ships. In poor visibility, some lighthouses sounded thunderous horns and fired cannons, while others rang bells which could be heard for miles.
The light in early lighthouses was created by burning wood or coal. Vegetable oil fuels and candles predominated in the 1500s. Electric arc lamps provided a powerful source of light by 1857. The incandescent lamp gained popularity by 1899 and is still being used today.
The most important evolution of the lighthouse beacon was the development of a lens originally invented by French scientist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, in 1748. The concept was not put into practical use until 1820, when a French physicist, Augustin-Jean Fresnel, developed what is known as the Fresnel lens. The unique Fresnel lens was designed to increase the intensity and range of the light beam, allowing them to be seen from 20 or more miles away. Instead of a single, thick, heavy, and inefficient convex lens, Fresnel created a lens composed of a series of concentric, thin-ringed prisms (or “stepped” lenses) that bend and focus light, significantly reducing the weight and volume of glass needed. The Fresnel lens was first used in 1823 at the Cordouan lighthouse in France.
The structure of lighthouses varies, from tall stone, steel, or concrete towers to a wooden building or combination of both. Many were miles from shore while others were on the mainland. The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach is the first lighthouse in Virginia. It was the first federal construction project authorized under the U.S. Constitution in 1789 and commissioned by George Washington. Built of Aquia sandstone, it was designed by John McComb, Jr. The light is located on the present Fort Story, near the “First Landing” site of the 1607 English settlers. The original tower still stands and is open for tours as a museum, while a second, newer lighthouse was built in 1881.
Life as a lighthouse keeper can be very lonely and, for some, incredibly depressing, but not for all. In her book Guardians of the Lights (Pineapple Press, Inc.) Elinor DeWire describes the life of Captain Charles A. Sterling was the keeper of the Hog Island Lighthouse in Virginia in 1903. Sterling was so inspired by the beauty of the place that he authored a book about it. DeWire wrote, “His work was a psalm of sorts, extolling the great turrets of pine, oak, and red cedar; wildflowers so abundant an apron full could be gathered in minutes; and birds – wild geese, brants, mallards, and black ducks – rising from the water at dawn in silhouetted phalanxes of wings.
Yet just three years before Sterling became the keeper of Hog Island light, chaos ensued when a flurry of wingbeats inundated the tower windows. Birds thumped against the glass. A large brant rammed the window and fell to his death. A flock of geese and ducks smashed into and broke the glass. A second bird came through the broken window, followed by countless more. The keeper fired his gun to chase the birds, but they were not relenting. By morning, 68 geese, brants, and ducks lay dead around the base of the tower.
Imminent danger is very much a part of life for a lighthouse keeper, especially on a lighthouse located miles from land on a barren rock or built on a concrete foundation in deep water. At any moment, the raging seas can attack and destroy even some of the sturdiest lighthouses. Mother Nature has unearthed yet another threat from Ice flows. The worst lighthouse disaster in Virginia’s history was the catastrophic destruction of the Smith Point Lighthouse by massive ice flows in February 1895. Severe winter ice completely sheared the wooden keeper’s cottage and lantern off the screw-pile foundation, carrying the entire structure away. Fortunately, the keepers were able to abandon the lighthouse before the disaster. High seas and rough waves. In 1946, a massive rogue wave destroyed the Scotch Cap Lighthouse on Unimak Island, Alaska. A massive wave estimated to be well over 120 feet high destroyed this reinforced concrete structure. The catastrophic impact left nothing but the foundation and resulted in the tragic deaths of five Coast Guard crew members.
On occasion, the Lighthouse keeper would have his wife living in the longhouse. She shared the chores, and whenever the keeper had to go to the mainland, she took over his duties. In some instances when the keeper died, the widow took over as keeper of the light. In other cases, the keeper’s whole family would live at the light. In recent years, many women have become keepers.
Keepers had a cat to keep them company and control rodents. Dogs were kept as companions. Some kept goats and cows for milk, and chickens for eggs. Some kept exotic animals for their own amusement to fight boredom.
Prior to 1789, lighthouses were maintained by local towns. The United States Government officially took charge of lighthouses on August 7, 1789, when the first Congress passed the Lighthouse Act. Then the United States Coast Guard (USCG) officially took over responsibility for all U.S. lighthouses on July 1, 1939. On that date, the Bureau of Lighthouses (formerly the U.S. Lighthouse Service) was merged with the U.S. Coast Guard, transitioning the operation of lighthouses, lightships, and other navigational aids to the Coast Guard.
Advancing technologies have forced the traditional lighthouse keeper to fade into the pages of history, replaced by modern technology, and remembered only in logs, journals, and old photographs. A new kind of keeper is emerging as one who ensures the winds of time and change do not erase the memory of what it was like to be a lighthouse keeper. To that end, the United States Lighthouse Society (https://uslhs.org) and others have the history of lighthouses readily available. In the NY area, one can learn about lighthouses at the National Lighthouse Museum. Located on the former site of the United States Lighthouse Service’s (USLHS) General Depot in St. George, Staten Island, the National Lighthouse Museum educates visitors about the history and technology of the nation’s lighthouses.
The General Depot was the national headquarters, testing ground, and distribution center for all materials and equipment used by light keepers and USLHS personnel from 1864 to 1939. Once a lively and bustling site of 18 buildings, today only six remain.
The Museum occupies the 2,400-square-foot 1912 USLHS foundry building. Visitors are welcome to enjoy self-guided tours of the Museum exhibits, including Beacons Through Time, Supplying the Nation’s Light Stations: The Genera.