You could be the next keeper of Bakers Island Lighthouse (MA)
Thousands of people flock to New England each and every summer to take in the beauty of the ocean and to lay their eyes on a signature coastline dwelling: a classic New England lighthouse. While most people just want to visit, snap a photo and move on, what if you could become a lighthouse’s keeper for an entire summer? An opportunity has arisen as the Bakers Island Light Station is looking for a new keeper for the summer of 2023.
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Visit Burnt Island Lighthouse (ME) in 2022
The Keepers of Burnt Island Light, a nonprofit organization in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, is offering a unique, “living history” tour of the recently restored light station. They are pleased to announce that this year’s interpretive staff are “the real McCoy.” Yes – former Burnt Island keepers, the wife of a deceased keeper, and the son of another are taking turns in sharing their life stories. Visitors who come ashore on their own, or as part of an organized tour, will receive a one-of-a-kind educational experience that spans a period of 30 years from 1958 to 1988.
Tours are Mondays and Thursdays from June 27 to Sept. 1.
Click here for more information
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Bay Mills Indian Community takes over management of Point Iroquois Lighthouse (MI) from feds
The historic Point Iroquois Lighthouse and Museum are under new management: The Bay Mills Indian Community took over today after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service.
The lighthouse, which is within the Hiawatha National Forest and sits on the shore of Lake Superior, has cultural and historical significance to the Upper Peninsula’s Anishinaabe people, according to a news release from the USFS.
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Marquette Harbor Lighthouse (MI) offers spooky seasonal tours
The Marquette Maritime Museum and Yooper Paranormal host a Paranormal Tour of the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse every month. Participants go through several levels of the Harbor Lighthouse, showcasing numerous spots of paranormal activity and communicating with ghosts.
Whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, investigators from Yooper Paranormal say the tour is a must.
Click here for more information
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Hudson-Athens Lighthouse (NY) Needs $6 Million In Repairs
Constructed in 1873, the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse sits mid-Hudson River, halfway between Columbia and Greene Counties. It features a striking red brick exterior, but it’s the part you don’t see that is the real architectural marvel. The entire structure is held up by 200 underwater, wooden pilings that give the lighthouse the illusion of floating on water. But this 19th-century foundation is in desperate need of repairs.
Tours of the lighthouse are available to the public during the warmer months of the year (roughly every 2nd and 4th Saturday from July to October). The lighthouse is also available for rental corporate events, small weddings, private parties, and photoshoots. Free educational tours are open to schools upon request.
Click here for more information
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Fire that destroyed historic New Brunswick lighthouse deemed suspicious
The Sackville RCMP is investigating a suspicious fire Thursday that destroyed an historic lighthouse in Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick. Members of the Sackville RCMP and Bayfield Fire Department responded to a report of a fire around 11 a.m. at a lighthouse off Highway 960 near Vista Drive, according to Corporal René Blanchard.
The CBC reports the Indian Point Front Range Lighthouse had been loaded on a large trailer and was set to be moved from its spot near the Confederation Bridge to a nearby campground on Saturday. The lighthouse, which was constructed of lumber, and the trailer were completely destroyed by the fire, Blanchard said.
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Open houses being planned for Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse (ME)
The public may have opportunities this summer to tour inside the historic Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. The lighthouse has not been opened to the public for the past few years. The tentative lighthouse open house dates are all Sundays — July 10, July 24, Aug. 7, Aug. 21 and Sept. 4. The open houses run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Click here for more information
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Tour of Port Washington (WI) takes you to new heights with a look inside the 1860 lighthouse
It’s not every day you can visit a place dating back pre-Civil War. But in Port Washington, you can. Public tours are offered to see the 1860 Lighthouse on the north bluff overlooking downtown. The historic light station includes the lighthouse with the lantern room atop the modified schoolhouse design and keeper’s living quarters.
Click here for more information
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Oswego Lighthouse (NY) boat tours
The H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego will be offering boat tours to the National Register Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse starting June 17 and 18, each Friday and Saturday through July 2 with expanded days in July and August.
Tours start at noon and run on the half hour till 4 p.m. Reservations are required. Tours are weather dependent but check with us as Oswego weather can be fair when other areas are not.
Click here for more information
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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