Lighthouse News

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, the only lighthouse to appear on United States Money (the state quarter issued in 2003) is undergoing a $105,000 USD facelift this year. Thanks in part to a $50,000 grant from Lowes Charitable Educational Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, work has begun on stripping the layers of paint from the exterior and repointing the mortar. A $10,000 grant from the Maine Historic Commission awarded to ALF has also been earmarked in part for this project. The work is being done by J.B. Leslie Masonry Contractors of South Berwick, Maine, and is expected to take up to eight weeks for completion.

The Manton Foundation has awarded a grant in the amount of $125,000 USD to Thacher Island Association for repairs to the South Tower of the Thacher Island Lights (Cape Ann Lightstation), in Rockport, Massachusetts. Renovations are expected to cost $250,000 USD. The North Tower was renovated last year by the International Chimney Corporation, best known for moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina.

The original towers were built in 1771, but were replaced in 1861. The twin towers were the site of the first tests by Winslow Lewis’ modified Argand lamp in 1814. They were later adopted at all US lighthouses, until the far superior Fresnel lens replaced them in the 1850s.

I’m going through the list of saved items for this site, and thought today would be a good day to post these two unusual lighthouses. The first is a house built in the shape of a lighthouse in Jonestown, Texas, far away from the Gulf of Mexico. It is built on a lake, Lake Travis to be exact, but wasn’t built to save any mariners from disaster.

The house was built to honor owner Roger Storer’s late father, a veteran of the Roayal Navy. It stands 72 feet tall and has 58 windows. The Autin-American Statesman site has an audio slideshow showing off the interior and detailing the construction of the home.

Lighthouse Keeper Wanted: Not to tend the lights, but to keep the grounds mowed, the buildings maintained, and be an “ambassador” to the city of Racine, Wisconsin. Job perks include five acres with a beach, and a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. Competition for the job is expected to be stiff, as over 135 applications were received last time the job came open. It’s not all good, though, as the departing keepers state in this story in JS Online.

The Detroit (Michigan) Free Press has a nice story today (July 1) about the efforts to restore the South Channel Range Lights on Lake St. Clair by the Save Our South Channel Lights organization.

Originally lit in 1859, the two lights off Harsen’s Island guided ships through the St. Clair Flats channel until a deeper channel was dredged nearby. The first tower (the rear range light) was deactivated in 1907. According to the story, the island was used as a bootleg operation during Prohibition, and as a site where the local well-to-do would go to hold illicit (although “classy”) parties without fear of being caught drinking. The house was eventually torn down in the 1930s, due to vandalism and the elements.

Steven Huyser-Honig, on his lovely blog Lighthouses Forever, beat me to the punch with the story of the reopening to the public of Raspberry Island Lighthouse. Check it out, it’s a nice article.

About two years ago, I received an email from Terry Pepper, of Seeing the Lights, letting us know the National Park Service was preparing to abandon all care of the lighthouses in the Apostle Islands. Through an email campaign, comments were sent decrying the loss of these national monuments. It worked, and now Raspberry Island has been restored.

Cape Brett Lighthouse, in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand has just undergone an eight week long renovation, due in part to having to remove 98 years of paint jobs. That came out to sixty complete layers of paint that had to go. According to the New Zealand Herald online story, there was also rot found at the bottom of the doors, and due to the lightstation’s location, the new rosewood doors, weighing in at around 600 pounds, had to be helicoptered in to the island.

The lighthouse is owned and operated by the Maritime Safety Authority.