Old Cape Henry Lighthouse (VA) to be stablilized
The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, located within the Fort Story military base near the northern end of Virginia Beach, was established in 1792. It is the fourth oldest standing lighthouse tower in the U.S. and the first federal construction project authorized by President George Washington after the Revolutionary War. A $1.1 million restoration project for the lighthouse began in September. The landmark is expected to reopen to the public in March.
Here is a Youtube video about the restoration project:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CQ-Ee7V4D4]
You can read more about this story here.
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40-Mile Point Lighthouse (MI) has new family of caretakers
40-Mile Point Lighthouse is in northern Michigan on the western shore of Lake Huron in Rogers Township. On January 10, the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners chose a family of caretakers to live at the property: Eric Kleon, his wife Lisa, along their three children and his sister, Sabre. The family plans to move into the living quarters of the lighthouse when renovations are complete in the next few weeks. At the moment, they are painting and redoing the wood floors with the assistance of the 40-Mile Point Lighthouse Society.
Eric dresses in period clothing as a lighthouse keeper when greeting the public. “I get asked if I am a train conductor a lot,” he said.
You can read more about this story here.
Visit the home page for the 40-Mile Point Lighthouse here.
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Restoration of keeper’s house at St. Augustine Lighthouse (FL)
Preservation of the keeper’s house continues at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. Replacement of the shingles, gutters and wood soffits is currently underway. The house is restored to the year 1888, when two summer kitchens were added.
“We are using photographic evidence from the 1880s to determine that the roof was cedar shake/shingle at the time,” said Kathy Fleming, Executive Director of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum.
You can read more about this story here.
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Eilean Glas Lighthouse (Scotland) slated for changes
The Eilean Glas Lighthouse, on the Hebridean island of Scalpay, one of the four oldest lighthouses in Scotland, is slated to receive a number of improvements. Alastair Rae, Northern Lighthouse Board project leader, said: “Our planned works include replacing the lighthouse’s existing sealed beam lamp array with an updated LED optic, in order to achieve more energy efficiency and lower maintenance costs. As well as the lighthouse tower, the adjoining building . . . will be fully refurbished and redecorated both internally and externally.”
If approved, the existing operating and monitoring system in the structure will be replaced by an equivalent updated system with LED optic technology.
You can read more about this story here.
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If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to Jeremy at nelights@gmail.com.
Candace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed away in August 2018. For 30 years, her work involved lighthouse history. She worked with the National Park Service and the Council of American Maritime Museums. She was a noted author and was considered the most knowledgable person on lighthouse information at the National Archives. Books by Candace Clifford include: Women who Kept the Lights: a History of Thirty-eight Female Lighthouse Keepers , Mind the Light Katie, and Maine Lighthouses, Documentation of their Past.