Saving the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse, Louisiana
Madisonville, in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, is bordered on the east by the Tchefuncte River, which runs south to Lake Ponchartrain. The town owns the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse, which is managed by the Ponchartrain Basin Maritime Museum. Erosion has removed much land from the area around the mouth of the river, leaving the lighthouse unprotected. The land immediately around the lighthouse is receding.
A committee at the museum wants to put sheet pile down, add rock in front of it and fortify the land. The plans also includes rebuilding a pier. The price tag for this solution is $2 million.
“This is a pretty unique and historic place and I think the lighthouse defines it,” Lighthouse Committee Chair Alexis Hocevar said.
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BLM looking at proposals for old Coast Guard barracks near Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse (FL)
The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the natural area around the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, has a meeting planned for the afternoon of Wednesday, March 12 for any groups interested in applying to use the four 2,300-square-foot houses that the agency considers surplus. At the meeting, the bureau will offer a tour of one of the barracks, explain the use limitations and provide a timeline. The groups must be a non-profit, one of the natural area’s stated partners under federal law, a government entity, or an organization established by state legislators.
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Five Fingers Lighthouse (AK) exterior under renovation
The Juneau Lighthouse Association, which operates and maintains the Five Finger Lighthouse in Alaska, has changed its name to the Five Finger Lighthouse Society (FFLS) and is renovating the exterior of the lighthouse.
National Archives image 26-LG-71-98-ac
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Hudson-Athens Lighthouse (NY) will have study of deteriorating foundation this year
The underwater foundation of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse on the Hudson River, also known as the Hudson City Lighthouse, is deteriorating and there are plans for a study this year to evaluate the condition of pilings that were replaced in 2009. It was named as one of seven threatened sites by the Preservation League of New York State.
“We are delighted with the designation of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse as one of the Seven to Save by the Preservation League of New York State,” Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society President Carol Gans said. “This recognition will be a big boost to our efforts to build awareness of the need for structural repairs, new volunteers and new donors for the future of the lighthouse. Our objective is to build on this icon’s role in the history of our communities by giving it a new and more connected role for today and the future.”
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The Lighthouse wins Independent Spirit Awards for acting and cinematography
Writer/director Robert Eggers’ second feature film The Lighthouse, filmed in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as early 1900s Maine lighthouse keepers, snagged awards for best supporting actor (Dafoe) and cinematography (Jarin Blaschke) at the recent Independent Spirit Awards.
The film is available on DVD, blu-ray, and On Demand. It was the subject of a discussion on the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s podcast Light Hearted.
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Intense winds rip part of the roof off the fog signal building at Beavertail Lighthouse (RI)
Last Friday’s intense wind ripped a portion of a roof right off the fog signal building located next to the Beavertail Lighthouse in Jamestown, Rhode Island. The wind gusts hit at least 60 mph.
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U.S. Lighthouse Society News is produced by the U.S. Lighthouse Society to support lighthouse preservation, history, education and research.
If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to Jeremy at Jeremy@uslhs.org
Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is the president and historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org