News of the week May 12, 2023
This is the most beautiful lighthouse in New England, according to Boston.com readers
New England is teeming with gorgeous lighthouses, and Boston.com readers say Maine’s Portland Head Lighthouse is the most stunning of them all.
TravelMag.com named the 20 most beautiful lighthouses in America and included four in New England: Nauset Lighthouse in Eastham, Mass.; Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine; Stonington Harbor Lighthouse in Stonington, Conn.; and Rose Island Lighthouse in Narragansett Bay off Newport, R.I.
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A Bay Area hike with great views reveals a forgotten lighthouse on Angel Island
I’m standing on the edge of a point on Angel Island, looking out at San Francisco, which is obscured by a cottony layer of fog. The city isn’t too far away, and the blue and green bay waters are clearly visible, but here at Point Stuart, I’m still finding it easy to imagine the isolation of living in the middle of the bay a hundred or so years ago.
Back then, there was a lighthouse just below this spot and a keeper who lived here to maintain it.
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The Tallest Lighthouse in Georgia Is a Towering Masterpiece
When you imagine historic architecture, do you think of lighthouses? The tallest lighthouse in Georgia is the Tybee Island Lighthouse, which stands 144 feet tall. This height makes it the 20th tallest lighthouse in the country. Yet though it is not the tallest lighthouse in the United States, it is one of the oldest. In fact, what really makes this lighthouse special is that it is one of only seven lighthouses built during the colonial era that is still surviving. Today, the lighthouse stands as a quintessential Tybee Island landmark.
The Tybee Island Lighthouse in Georgia is the fourth lighthouse built on its site on the northeast end of Tybee Island on the Atlantic coast.
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The Tallest Lighthouse in West Virginia Is a Towering 104-Foot Behemoth
When you think about lighthouses, the landlocked state of West Virginia probably doesn’t come to mind first. However, it’s actually home to the 48th tallest lighthouse in the United States. Lighthouses surprisingly aren’t always located by the ocean, they can be enacted next to any body of water. The tallest lighthouse in West Virginia is also the only lighthouse in the state. Most other landlocked states don’t have lighthouses, making West Virginia’s lighthouse pretty unique.
The Summersville Lake Lighthouse is a newer attraction for the state. It was built in 2012 by the owners of Summersville Lake Retreat, Steve and Donna Keblesh. The idea to erect the lighthouse actually started from a joke and turned into reality after discussions with some local builders.
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WEST SEATTLE SUMMER: Alki Point Lighthouse tour season starts later this month
This summer, thanks to U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers, weekly tours will again be offered at a West Seattle icon – Alki Point Lighthouse. Here’s the announcement sent to us to share with you:
Click here to read the announcement
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Lighthouse History at Door County Historical Society (WI) Dinner
The Door County Historical Society’s (DCHS) May 20 dinner meeting will be all about family when Ann Sheridan, Ed and Sandy Miller, and Laurie Baum present “Family Matters: The Duclons, the Davenports and Sister Lighthouses.”
Baum will share her research into the family history of Capt. William Duclon, the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse keeper from 1883 to 1918 who lived at the lighthouse with his wife, Julia Davenport, and their seven sons. Baum researched Davenport’s lineage as well, which also includes lighthouse keepers.
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Gallery opens at Umpqua River Lighthouse
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners, along with the staff at the Umpqua River Lighthouse and Douglas County Coastal History Museum recently announced they have opened a local Artisan Gallery.
The local Artisan Gallery is located below the Douglas County Coastal History Museum in a beautifully renovated space that was once part of the original 1939 U.S. Coast Guard barracks. The Umpqua River Lighthouse, Coastal History Museum and Artisan Gallery are located at 1020 Lighthouse Road in Winchester Bay. The gallery will be open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. each week.
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A light in the darkness: North Head (WA) Lighthouse celebrates 125 years
Imagine for a second a ferocious world of brutal storms and a rampaging ocean. Imagine 35-foot waves and wind howling out of the southwest with speeds approaching 100 miles per hour.
The harried winds uncork sinister sounds, moans, threats and banshee wails. You’re a sailor, or the captain of a three-masted sailing ship, a barkentine or schooner, caught off the mouth of the Columbia River on a series of sandbars called Peacock Spit. It’s your command, your responsibility. A dozen crewmen await your decision.
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Full lighthouse scan at Egmont Key (FL), courtesy Dr. Laura Harrison, Director of Access 3d Lab at USF
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The Tallest Lighthouse in Maryland Is a Towering Masterpiece
Despite its small size, Maryland boasts an incredible amount of coastline. According to the NOAA, the state features 3,190 miles of coastline or roughly 3.4% of the total coastline of the United States. Most of the state’s coastline lies along the Chesapeake Bay. Every year, thousands of ships travel up and down the bay on their way to or from the Port of Baltimore or one of the hundreds of recreational docks or marinas. These boats rely on lighthouses to help them navigate the waters of the bay and its various channels. Since the late 18th century, nearly 74 lighthouses have lined the shores of Chesapeake Bay. Over 30 of these lighthouses still stand to this day, many of which continue to guide ships through the bay. That said, what is the tallest lighthouse in Maryland?
In this article, you’ll discover the tallest lighthouse in Maryland. We’ll also discuss the size, location, and history of the light, as well as the wildlife you can find around it.
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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