State of South Carolina to spend $3 million repairing Hunting Island Lighthouse
The lighthouse at Hunting Island State Park will soon get a $3 million upgrade to ensure it will stand along the Beaufort County coastline for years to come. The state legislature recently approved the SC Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism’s 2021-22 budget request for the lighthouse project, The $3 million will go toward structural repairs for the only publicly accessible lighthouse of its kind in South Carolina.
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Renovated Copper Harbor Lighthouse (MI) still hidden from the public
Restoration work has been ongoing at the Copper Harbor Lighthouse, but it remains mostly a mystery to the public. Only so much can be gleaned from a distance and the property connecting Fort Wilkins State Park to the remote structure is privately owned, with no easement in place. The brick exterior had fallen into disrepair, but work on the foundation of the keeper’s quarters was also a part of the project.
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Phase One of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (NC) restoration wraps up, and new mysteries arise
The ongoing Cape Hatteras Lighthouse restoration project reached a milestone this past week. 99.9% of the interior paint removal was completed, and multiple tests confirmed that the interior air quality was safe and free of lead-based paint, eliminating the need for the hazmat suits that workers had to wear well into the summer months. The end of the first phase for the multiple-year project is a landmark moment, but this initial phase has also resulted in new challenges, and new mysteries.
With the paint removed, little areas of recently-discovered damage are visible if you look hard enough. A continuous and jagged crack runs through 6-7 stories of the lighthouse, which occurred after a lightning strike in 1890. Other spots are completely devoid of the mortar that holds the bricks together, while areas where metal meets the brick interior, (like near the lighthouse’s windows), have small gaps where deteriorated metal used to be.
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Celebrate Burnt Island Lighthouse’s 200 Years of Service with the Keepers of the Burnt Island Light (ME)
The nonprofit Keepers of the Burnt Island Light’s “Keep the Light Burning” campaign received widespread support in restoring the Burnt Island Light Station in time for its 2021 Bicentennial. The Keepers (KBIL) will be hosting evening socials this summer with the first two being offered on the Tuesdays of July 20 and 27 (rain dates scheduled for the 21st and 28th). There will be no charge for your island visit and a complimentary snack will be served. The water taxi fee of $20 per person will be paid at the booth before boarding.
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Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival (WA) is on track to return in September
The waiting game seems to have paid off for the Lighthouse Festival. When Tim Meek was appointed as the new president of the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival Association in late February, the status of three-day event was tenuous at best. Meek and the rest of the all-volunteer board, however, were optimistic about staging MukFest after it was canceled in 2020. On June 30, the state lifted most of the COVID-19 restrictions, clearing the way for the much-anticipated return of the Lighthouse Festival.
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Considered jewel of Cape Cod, historic lighthouse undergoes extensive renovation
Lighthouses are some of the most iconic symbols of Cape Cod. Many of them have guided mariners up and down the Massachusetts coast for hundreds of years. Highland Lighthouse in North Truro is the oldest and tallest one on the Cape and it’s showing its age. The structure is currently wrapped in scaffolding as it undergoes a multi-million-dollar makeover. The goal is to finish the work so Highland Light can re-open next summer.
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French lighthouses are being turned into holiday accommodation along the Brittany coast
A stay on the rugged, northern French coast has long been associated with cold plunges into the deep blue, charming towns and villages and – most importantly – crêpes. Now, you can make your stay even more characterful by renting a lighthouse right on the seafront.
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$3.4M renovation of Tarrytown Lighthouse, NY
County Executive George Latimer is committed to preserving the facilities that are intertwined into the fabric of Westchester County. To this end, Latimer announced the Board of Legislators passage of $3,311,000 to finance capital project RKLO 1 – a rehabilitation of the historic Tarrytown Lighthouse Restoration. Latimer said, “This long overdue work will breathe new life into an iconic Westchester landmark.”
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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 D’Entremont 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