Construction to limit access to Ocracoke, NC, lighthouse over next 12 months
Visitors to one of the lighthouses in the Outer Banks will have to make some adjustments at least the next year.
Construction work has begun at Ocracoke Light Station at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, according to the National Park Service. The $3.6 million project, which is expected to take a minimum of 12 months to complete, will raise and make repairs to the Double Keepers' Quarters and other structures at the lighthouse.
Click here to see more of Ocracoke on the USLHS Research Catalog
* * *
This Small South Carolina Island Is a Local Favorite, With Gorgeous Beaches, Incredible Restaurants, and an Iconic Lighthouse
Here's how to plan a beach day, a long weekend, or an extended vacation on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina.
You can't go inside Sullivan's Island Lighthouse, also known as "Charleston Light," it makes for a great photo opp. It's also easy to spot, thanks to its two black and white blocks and its position near Station 18 (a public beach access spot).
Click here to see more of Sullivan's Island on the USLHS Research Catalog
* * *
Coast Guard honors legacy; Final Makapu'u (HI) Lighthouse keeper returns after 50 years
Ron Cianfarani, retired U.S. Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer and the final manual caretaker of the Makapu'u Lighthouse, received a guided tour from the Coast Guard's Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) Honolulu, Jan. 24. 2024.
Built in 1909, the Makapu'u lighthouse was a fully manned and operational station until becoming automated in 1974. The Lighthouse has been under the maintenance and care of ANT Honolulu for the past 50 years. Cianfarani, currently in retirement, took the opportunity during his vacation to revisit the lighthouse and the ground where he served.
Click here to see more of Makapu'u on the USLHS Research Catalog
* * *
These 6 Gulf Coast lighthouses are more than 100 years old
Lighthouses, those beacons of inspiration for British authors like Robert Louis Stevenson and Virginia Woolf, are no strangers to the Gulf Coast, either. In 1997's "Lighthouses, Lightships, and the Gulf of Mexico," author David L. Cipra details the nearly 50 such structures still standing between Texas and Florida.
Even though they've largely gone the way of the horse and buggy-in the U.S., all of the remaining 'lights' are now automated, save one in Boston Harbor-their aesthetic allure, and link to maritime history, remains bright.
Click here to see more of Aransas, Bolivar, Galveston Jetty, Matagorda, & Halfmoon Reef on the USLHS Research Catalog
* * *
Maine lighthouses hit with millions in storm damage
Earlier this week, on a bright and sunny January Sunday, Ford Reiche and Bob Trapani Jr. climbed aboard a glossy red helicopter and headed out to sea. Their mission? To survey the damage from recent storms to Maine's historic lighthouses, battered by back-to-back January storms that left widespread coastal devastation in their wake.
The two men are both lighthouse enthusiasts and preservationists-Reiche has been working to restore Halfway Rock Lighthouse off Harpswell since buying it in 2016, and Trapani Jr. serves as director of the American Lighthouse Foundation.
Click here to read more, Click here to see the video
Click here to see more of Maines lighthouses on the USLHS Research Catalog
* * *
Lighthouses played pivotal role in Civil War
They were tall, majestic and romantic, and they were required to keep the waters safe. But more than that, lighthouses in local waters played a key role during the Civil War.
I think it's important to know about the history of the lighthouses because they're not here anymore, but they were so important and they played such a vital role during the Civil War," St. Mary's County Museum Division Manger Karen Stone said following a 90-minute "Targeting Lighthouses: Civil War on the Potomac River" lecture on Jan. 23 at the Leonardtown Library. "People forget that this was about [holding] a line, even thought there was no battle here even though there were some skirmishes."
Click here to see more of Piney Point on the USLHS Research Catalog
* * *
DNR asks for comments on variances for Eagle Bluff (MI) Lighthouse projects
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is seeking public comments on variances requested for improvement projects on two Peninsula State Park's most popular attractions, and the Door County Historical Society is asking people to offer their comments on the project with which they're directly involved - Eagle Bluff Lighthouse.
One variance proposes additional parking and rerouted or reconfigured access roads at and around Eagle Tower, the 60-foot-tall structure overlooking the bay of Green Bay with an accessible canopy walk.
Click here to see more of Eagle Bluff on the USLHS Research Catalog
* * *
Chania (Greece) Lighthouse - This stone tower was built to protect Crete from incoming pirates
The lighthouse was originally built by the Venetians in the 16th century. It saw a rocky life, death and rebirth through following years when in 1645, Turks took control of the city and allowed the tower to collapse.
In 1864, Egyptian troops raided and rebuilt it. It once again became damaged during WWII, however has now been a listed archeological site since 1862. Of the original building, only the base remains.
* * *
First right whales of the season spotted near Wood End (MA) lighthouse
Researchers got a glimpse of some critically endangered whales in Cape Cod Bay for the first time this season.
The Center of Coastal Studies says scientists on board a research boat saw between four and seven North Atlantic right whales on Wednesday.
Click here to see more of Wood End on the USLHS Research Catalog
* * *
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