The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present lights.
Most of the lights in the United States have been built and maintained by the Coast Guard (since 1939) and its predecessors, the United States Lighthouse Service (1910–1939) and the United States Lighthouse Board (1852–1910). As their importance to navigation has declined and as public interest in them has increased, the Coast Guard has been handing over ownership and in some cases responsibility for running them to other parties, the chief of them being the National Park Service under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.
What is the oldest lighthouse in the U.S.? The answer depends on what is meant by the "oldest." The Boston Light on Little Brewster Island was the first lighthouse built in the United States in 1716. However, it was renovated in 1783 because it was damaged in the Revolutionary War. So, the oldest lighthouse as it was originally constructed is actually the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey. Both are still in use today, with the Boston Lighthouse being the last manned lighthouse in the U.S. A picture of the Boston lighthouse is below.
The tallest lighthouse in the United States is Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina at 207 feet (63 m), which includes 10 feet (3.0 m) underground. This is the 23rd tallest lighthouse in the world. A picture is below. Au Sable Light in Grand Marais at 87 feet (27 m)is the 61st tallest.
There is a taller light tower in Put-in-Bay, Ohio. The Perry Memorial monument is 352 feet (107 m). A photo is below.
The tallest lighthouse or light tower in the world is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is the Jeddah light. It is 436 feet (133 m) tall. A photo is below.
The Jeddah light location is shown on the following map.
Lighthouse Facts
*The first known lighthouse was the Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt. Constructed between 300 and 280 BC by Ptolemy I and his son Ptolemy II, it stood about 450 feet high. This lighthouse was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was destroyed in stages by invaders and earthquakes, being completely destroyed in the 1300’s.
*The oldest existing lighthouse in the world is considered to be La Coruna in Spain that dates from ca. 20 BC. A Roman lighthouse is located on the Cliffs of Dover in Britain that was constructed in 40 AD.
*The first lighthouse in America was at Boston on Little Brewster Island (1716). The first keeper was George Worthylake who drowned, along with his wife and daughter, when returning to the island in 1718. The original tower was destroyed by the British and eventually reconstructed in 1784.
*The oldest existing lighthouse in America is Sandy Hook, NJ (1764) which is still in operation.
*There were 12 lighthouses when the United States declared its independence in 1776.
*The most expensive lighthouse built in America is St. George Reef, off Crescent City, CA. It took ten years to construct (1882-1892) and cost $715,000.00. The Coast Guard abandoned it in 1972.
*The Lighthouse Service was created in 1789 by the 9th Act of the first Congress. Over the years, lighthouses were placed under the direction of Department of Revenue (this department was disbanded in 1820), Treasury (until 1903), the Commerce and Transportation. The Lighthouse Board (of the U. S. Lighthouse Establishment) held sway from 1852 to July 1, 1910 when Commerce created the Bureau of Lighthouses. The Coast Guard took over on July 7, 1939.
*After 1852 the country was divided into Districts; originally eight, they eventually numbered 19. Today the Coast Guard only has ten districts. The USLHE had a District Inspector (Naval Officer) as operational control. He ran the district in tandem with an Army Corps of Engineer who was in charge of engineering projects. In 1910 civilians started replacing the military officers.
*There were never more than 850 lighthouses in operation at once, although about 1,500 were constructed in this country over the years. The hey-day was around 1910. There were 220 constructed on the U.S. shores of the Great Lakes. By 1910 Michigan had the most with around 90 followed by Maine with about 80.
*Lightships were employed where the water was too deep to construct a lighthouse or it was impractical. The first lightships were located in the lower Chesapeake Bay (1820) and the most stations were in 1915 when there were 72 lightships manning 55 stations. The extra ships were used for relief. Lightships displayed lights at the tops of their mast(s) and in foggy areas sounded a bell or other fog signal such as a whistle, siren or horn. In 1921, lightships began being equipped with radio beacons. The last lightship was removed from the Nantucket Station in 1984. A picture of a light ship is below.
* The first fog signal in this country, a cannon, was at the Boston Lighthouse. Other fog signals have been whistles, sirens, reed trumpets, bells, diaphone (BEEEEooooh) horns and diaphragm (brrrrrrrrr) horns.
*Whale oil was used with solid wicks as the source of light until a parabolic reflector system was introduced around 1810. Although the Fresnel lens was invented in 1822, it was not used in this country until the 1850’s. Coiza oil (pressed from wild cabbages) replaced whale oil in the early 1850’s, but our farmers lack of interest in growing this caused the service to switch to lard oil in the mid 1850’s. Kerosene started replacing lard oil in the 1870’s and the service was finally totally converted by the late 1880’s. Electricity started to replace kerosene around the turn of the century. All U.S. lighthouses had Fresnel lenses by 1860.
*Lighthouses are constructed of wood, granite, brick, sandstone, steel, cast iron, reinforced concrete and one has an outer skin of aluminum.
*The source of light is called the ‘lamp’ (be it electric or fueled by oil), the magnification of the light is caused by the ‘lens’ or ‘optic’. They are located in the ‘lantern room’ of the tower and the glazings are called ‘storm panes’.
*The reflector system and the Fresnel system had fixed (steady light) and revolving (flashing) optics. The type of signal is called the characteristic. Other characteristics are occulting, group flashing, quick flashing, and equal interval. Some lighthouses display a green or red light and some a white light with a green or red sector created by substituting a colored ‘storm’ for a clear one. A photo of a Fresnel liens is below.
*One to five keepers manned light stations.
*Uniforms were not introduced into the Lighthouse Service until 1884.
*Keepers were paid a lower middle class wage. George Worthylake, our first, received 50 pounds ($250) a year. By today’s standards that would be the equivalent of $16,000. During the 19th century, the Head Keeper’s pay ranged from $250 to $600, others were paid less. The exception to this was in the West, where keepers were paid $1,000 during the Gold Rush. The service supplied certain foodstuffs during most of their history.
*There were many female lighthouse keepers (U.S. Lighthouse Society has files on 80), but most obtained their position when their spouses or male relatives died or became incapacitated.
*The most powerful optic produces a light seen 25 miles at sea. Although aircraft have reported picking up a light at 40 or 50 miles.
*Towers are given special (painted) patterns -- diamond shapes, spirals, stripes, etc. -- or colors to distinguish them from each other.
*Some famous American lighthouses are:
Marblehead - Oldest on the Great Lakes
Makapuu Point, Oahu, HI - Has the largest lens in this country
Navesink, NJ - Site of first Fresnel experiments in this country
Point Pinos, CA - Oldest (continuous) on the West Coast (with original 3rd order lens)
St. George Reef, CA - Most expensive
Split Rock, MN- One of the prettiest settings
Thomas Point Shoal, MD - Last screw-pile on Chesapeake Bay
Tillamook Rock, OR and Minots Ledge, MA - Exemplary engineering feats.
Here is a list I put together of the number of lighthouses in every state:
Alabama -- 3
Alaska -- 16
Arizona -- 16 (mostly new replicas or planned future replicas)
California -- 54
Connecticut - 22
Delaware -- 21
Florida -- 51
Georgia -- 9
Hawaii -- 31
Illinois -- 3
Indiana -- 12
Kentucky -- 1
Louisiana -- 29
Maine -- 69
Maryland -- 47
Massachusetts -- 67
Michigan -- 161
Minnesota -- 8
Mississippi -- 5
Nebraska -- 2
New Hampshire -- 2
New Jersey -- 26
New York -- 104
North Carolina -- 21
Ohio -- 18
Oklahoma -- 1
Oregon -- 16
Pennsylvania -- 16
Rhode Island -- 32
South Carolina -- 17
Tennessee -- 1
Texas -- 13
Vermont -- 8
Virginia -- 36
Washington -- 25
Wisconsin -- 47
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