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Lighthouse News of the Week

News of the week March 31, 2023

Oregon’s remote ‘Terrible Tilly’ lighthouse is home to sea lions, funeral urns

Five volunteers braved a brief but chilling helicopter ride Tuesday to return from “Terrible Tilly,” the abandoned 142-year-old Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, a watery mile off northern Oregon’s coast.

Tillamook Rock, OR – Mike & Carol McKinney

The four men and one woman, age 29-58, had camped three nights on the exposed basalt outpost and spent their days cleaning up the stone fortress to ready it for sale. They also collected artifacts to raise money for more maintenance work.

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Bodie Island Lighthouse (NC) to open for climbing Apr. 26

MANTEO, N.C. (WAVY) – The Bodie Lighthouse will be opening for climbing on Wednesday, April 26.

Bodie Island, NC – Dave Zapatka

Built in 1871 and standing nearly 165 feet tall, the Bodie Island Lighthouse has been a popular climbing spot since 2013. The lighthouse has just over 200 steps from the ground to the top, which is equivalent to climbing a 10-story building according to officials.

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Scituate (MA) lighthouse gets a million-dollar facelift

Scituate – The big renovation at her unusual, landmark home here has not yet begun, so Julie Gallagher invites me into her living room and talks about what it is like to live in the most famous house in town.

Scituate, MA – Jeremy D’Entremont

It’s a cozy place- warm and inviting – and the view of the Atlantic Ocean that laps against the seawall just steps away from her front door is a real estate agent’s dream, the stuff of glossy color photographs.

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Lighthouse in Grand Haven (MI) to open museum in 2024 following work on concrete base

GRAND HAVEN, MI – The last phase of exterior restoration of Grand Haven’s iconic lighthouse will be completed this summer with the expectation it will open a museum and gift shop next year.

Grand Haven, MI Ralph Eshelman

After 10 years of planning and executing restoration of the outer south pier lighthouse, the end is in sight.

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Loneliest job in Alaska history: The Cape Sarichef Lighthouse keepers and their stories of solitude

Part of a continuing weekly series on Alaska history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story.

Cape Sarichef, AK – USCG Historian’s Office

Many jobs across Alaska history have been backbreakingly difficult or inherently risky. Many professions in Alaska have been lonely pursuits, but none were as lonely as lighthouse keepers. Even the most isolated trapper or prospector was free to head toward the nearest town for company. Lighthouse keepers maintained their post day after day after day, staring at storm after storm. And no lighthouse was as isolated as that at Cape Sarichef, the site of the loneliest jobs in Alaska history.

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Florida Lighthouse Day!

Florida Lighthouse Day is celebrated every year at lighthouses throughout the state to commemorate Florida’s lighthouse heritage and preservation. Join us to celebrate outside with free cupcakes and lemonade at Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum. Unique souvenirs & gifts will be available for purchase at both Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum and Gasparilla Island Lighthouse.

Boca Grande, FL – Ralph Krugler


All proceeds benefit both historic treasures. Both lighthouses remain closed for repairs and lighthouse climbs will not be available for this event.

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Day Trips: Port Isabel Lighthouse, Port Isabel, TX

The Port Isabel Lighthouse still stands guard over the waters of the Laguna Madre after 171 years. The signal tower is more of a navigational device to motorists crossing the Queen Isabella Causeway than to mariners accessing the Brownsville Ship Channel.

Port Isabel ,TX – USLHS archive

Last November, the Texas Historical Commission, custodians of the lighthouse for the state, installed a functioning replica Third Order Fresnel lens in the tower’s lantern room. Not only is the lens historically accurate, but it is the first time in 117 years that the lighthouse was equipped with a beacon.

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Tawas Point (MI) Lighthouse restoration continues as planned

EAST TAWAS – The restoration work currently taking place at Tawas Point’s historic lighthouse, a project that this publication previously publicized, is proceeding as planned.

Tawas Point, MI – Chad Kaiser

The restoration is being completed by Mihm Enterprises and is anticipated to wrap up by August. Due to inclement weather conditions, the contractor is currently focusing on the work that needs completed on the inside of the tower such as thoroughly cleaning, painting the walls, replacing the windows and upgrading the tower’s metalwork.

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Port Maitland (Canada) Breakwater Light Collapses Into Lake Erie

A lighthouse collapsed into Lake Erie over the weekend due to heavy winds. Wind gusts were reported to be over 70 miles per hour at their peak. The lighthouse was located on the north side of Lake Erie by Port Maitland by Ontario. You can see the lighthouse that fell over below.

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Strike action Edinburgh: Lighthouse workers warn sea beacons could go out if strikes go ahead

Lighthouse workers could walk out for the first time in a row over pay, sparking major safety fears for vessels in Scottish Waters.

Bell Rock, Scotland – Thomas A Tag

Workers employed by Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), which maintains and operates Scotland’s lighthouses, beacons and buoys at sea, are being balloted for the first time in history on strike action in a dispute over pay…

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The Loneliest Lighthouses in the World

While lighthouse keeping has become an all-but-extinct job, many of these unmanned structures continue to keep mariners safe. In so doing, they withstand daily pounding from the waves in some of the most remote corners on Earth.

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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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