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Lighthouse News of the Week

News of the week September 30, 2022

Sanibel Island (FL) Lighthouse Station suffers massive loss

Sanibel Island and its lighthouse station were hit hard by Hurricane Ian. The only bridge to the island was washed out and residents who stayed on the island are completely cut off.

The lighthouse station, was separated from the beach by sea grape and beach grasses.

Sanibel Island Lighthouse. Photo by Ralph Krugler
Sanibel Island Lighthouse Station. Photo by Ralph Krugler

Storm surge overtook the island. The Keepers’ dwellings dating back to 1844, oil house and cistern were completely obliterated, leaving only the lighthouse behind. It is still too early to know what damage the lighthouse itself sustained.

Sanibel Lighthouse post Hurricane Ian. Photo courtesy “The Sanibel Island Lighthouse, Tyler Laroe, Facebook.

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The Tampa (FL) Lighthouse That’s Still Standing A Century After The 1921 Hurricane


In September, 2022, Tampa Bay braced for Hurricane Ian, anticipated to be the worst storm of its kind to make landfall in south Florida in more than a century, as The New York Times reports. Storm surges of 18 feet were expected in some areas as thousands of local residents evacuated, according to CNN. Prior to Ian, the last massive storm to affect Tampa Bay came in 1921, a storm now called the Tampa/Tarpon Springs Hurricane. (Scientists began naming hurricanes as they do today in the 1950s, per the National Hurricane Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association website.)

Egmont Key Lighthouse. Photo by Keith Ramos

The Tampa/Tarpon Springs Hurricane battered the Tampa area with 120-mph winds and sea swells of 11 feet. The storm flooded downtown Tampa and killed at least eight people (via The New York Times). At the heart of the  1921 Tampa storm, though, was the Egmont Key Lighthouse (pictured), rebuilt after the last major south Florida storm prior to 1921 which struck in 1848, according to the Tampa Bay Soundings website.

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150th anniversary celebration of Bodie Island (NC) Lighthouse postponed

MANTEO, N.C. (WNCN) – Saturday’s 150th anniversary celebration of Bodie Island Lighthouse’s first lighting has been postponed due to Hurricane Ian, the National Park Service and Cape Hatteras National Seashore said.

Bodie Island Lighthouse. Photo by Kraig Anderson

The National Park Service said flooding and heavy rainfall across the weekend forced it to make the postponement call.

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Chesapeake Bay (MD) lighthouse sold for $192,000 after surprise bidding war

For 30 days, no one offered to buy this Chesapeake Bay lighthouse.

Hooper Island Lighthouse. Photo by Ralph Eshelman

Then the first bid came in. And a second. And soon there was a bidding war for a lighthouse that can’t be used as a home or rental property, sits in a Navy-controlled “danger area,” and will cost a substantial amount of money to maintain in accordance with specific preservation standards.

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St. Augustine (FL) Lighthouse thanks local marina for housing its research vessel during Ian’s damage

The ‘Empire Defender’ was made safe and taken out of the water thanks to Oasis Boat Yard and Marina, the lighthouse’s museum said.

St. Augustine Lighthouse. Photo by J. Candace Clifford

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A local marina may be the only reason an important boat used to conduct shoreline research is still able to float after Ian’s tropical storm winds hit the Jacksonville area.

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Climb to the top of Washington’s tallest lighthouse, Gray’s Harbor

WESTPORT, Wash. — John Shaw, director of the Westport Historical Society, has hiked the 135 steps of this lighthouse many times.

Gray’s Harbor Lighthouse. Photo by Ralph Eshelman

“This is the Grays Harbor Light, and this is one of the five main chain lighthouses along the west coast. This is Washington’s tallest lighthouse,” he said on his way up the spiral cast iron stairway that has led keepers and visitors to the top since 1898.

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Point San Luis (CA) Lighthouse museum’s lens gets some love

The Point San Luis Lighthouse’s original 4th order lens has been around since 1878. The light no longer shines but is now on display at the top of Point San Luis.

Point San Luis Lighthouse. Photo by Marie Vincent

Cleaning a 144-year-old lens takes someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.

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Door Co. (WI) Lighthouse Festival set for this weekend

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) – This weekend is your chance to check out many of the lighthouses in Door County.

Algoma Pierhead Lighthouse. Photo by Thomas A Tag.

The Lighthouse Festival starts tomorrow and runs through Sunday. All 11 of the Door County lighthouses and three more to the south will be part of air, land and boat adventure tours.

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Landmark lighthouse (Hunstanton UK) gets set for facelift

A prominent coastal landmark is set for a facelift.

Hunstanton Lighthouse UK. USLHS archives.

Scaffolding has been put up around the lighthouse, on the cliffs at Hunstanton.

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Odisha lighthouse (India) development hindered by delay in CRZ clearance

“The delay in CRZ clearance from the  authorities has been preventing us from  developing the four lighthouses in Odisha and 10 in West Bengal into tourist spots,” he said. 

9 -Gopalpur Lighthouse. Photo by Manojsahuctp wikimediacommons

KENDRAPARA:  The Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways’ proposal to develop four lighthouses at Gopalpur in Ganjam, Chandrabhaga and Konark in Puri and the century-old false point lighthouse in Kendrapara district into tourism spots has been hanging fire due to delay in clearance by the Coastal Regulated Zone (CRZ). 

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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

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