If you have accessed the Digital Archives or the Lighthouse Enthusiasts Community sections on the Society’s website, you have Society volunteer Gary Riemenschneider to thank. The Society would like to take this opportunity to highlight Gary’s remarkable contributions! Many years ago Gary created an application on his computer that allowed him to log lighthouse visits. Around… Continue reading Shining the Light on Gary Riemenschneider
Most of the lighthouse records are in the downtown D.C. National Archives with photos and drawings at the College Park, Maryland, facility. This is a useful article for planning your research trip. The Society has more tips on their website at http://uslhs.org/resources/finding_information/libraries_archives/national-archives Candace CliffordCandace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed… Continue reading Two Steps Every Researcher Should Take
Current Situation: The United States Lighthouse Society (USLHS) Library, officially named the “Unites States Lighthouse Society Wayne Wheeler Library,” currently occupies about 200 linear feet of shelf space. (At this time the Society is only interested in transferring its books, but would also consider including its photo and document collection if circumstances warrant.) We anticipate… Continue reading U.S. Lighthouse Society In Search of New Home for Library
Small Craft for Lighthouse and Buoy-Tending Work; A Lesser-Known Part of U.S. Lighthouse Service History by Timothy Dring; CDR, USNR-Retired While there has been a lot of very fruitful historical research on the history of the lighthouses and personnel that have served the United States, much less is known about one aspect of U.S. Lighthouse… Continue reading Researching Small Craft
Mrs. Henry Schmuck became keeper of the North Point Light Station in Maryland in 1864, not because her keeper husband died, but because he was drafted. On September 24, 1864, 5th District Inspector Hugh Y. Purviance in Baltimore wrote that “Henry Schmuck, keeper of North Point Lighthouses, has been drafted in the service of the United… Continue reading Lighthouse Service Employees Drafted for Service in the Civil War
The above sketch was submitted by Fifth District Lighthouse Engineer Major Peter C. Hains to Major George H. Elliot, Engineering Secretary of the U.S. Light-House Board, to make the Cape Lookout tower distinguishable during the day time from nearby coastal towers that were similar in construction. The following letter, dated February 17, 1873, accompanied the sketch: Referring… Continue reading Design of Cape Lookout Lighthouse’s Daymark
Next week we will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the United States entering into World War I. On April 6, 1917, the U.S. Coast Guard came under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy. The Lighthouse Service was not yet part of the Coast Guard, so President Woodrow Wilson ordered “transfer for temporary use, of certain… Continue reading Growing Vegetables at Point Wilson Light Station
You may have read the recent sidebar on the storm warning signal towers at Cape Elizabeth in the “From the Archives” column in the last issue of the 2016 Keeper’s Log. Society Member David Gamage provided the following article on the storm warning signal tower at Whitehead Island, Maine. He also provided a copy of… Continue reading Coastal Storm Warning Display at Whitehead Island, Maine
A huge thank you goes out to the National Archives for making their main collection of lighthouse photos available online! Over 1100 folders of lighthouse images taken between 1855 and 1933 can now be viewed and downloaded from the National Archives digital catalog. A project started several years ago appears to be complete. According to… Continue reading Large National Archives Collection of Lighthouse Photographs Now Available Online
I came across these images of Gull Rocks Light Station in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, in the wonderful Rhode Island Collection at the Providence Public Library’s digital library. Both images were captured by William King Covell before and after the change in optic. The above image is dated 1921 and the one below is 1932. I’m not… Continue reading Gull Rocks Light Station, Rhode Island
