Description and Contact Information
Colin MacKenzie
Nautical Research Centre Library
Colin passed away in 2023, and his library was transferred from his home in Petaluma, California to the U.S. Lighthouse Society Archives. Bound material will be relocated to The Mariners Museum, while other items will be digitized and added to the Lighthouse Research Catalog.
Major Subject Areas: lighthouse and life-saving services, the age of sail, revenue marine, and the Coast Guard.
Resources: books, pamphlets, journals/magazines, newspaper clippings, drawings, blueprints, plans, photographs, slides, postcards, audio, video, and more. Library-quality reproductions of rare books/pamphlets on lighthouses and life-saving including the Annual Report of the U.S. Life-Saving Service (1876 to 1914) and the Annual Report of the U.S. Light-House Board (1868 to 1939). Individual volumes as well as entire sets of reproductions are available.
Synopsis: Maintained and operated by Colin MacKenzie and his family, the Nautical Research Centre Library was open to the public from 1983 to 2023. The facility was a one-story building adjacent to the MacKenzie home with a small amount of space for researchers to work and view materials.
Mr. MacKenzie began collecting materials during a merchant sailing career of over nine years on the Great Lakes, in the Atlantic, and in the Caribbean. Colin's interest in the age of sail continued during his tenure as a demolition/deconstruction technician for the British military. His commission ended in the 1960's, and he continued to pursue his interests in maritime history via the Library. He worked on a data bank of information on lighthouse keepers, lightships, aids-to-navigation, and other nautically related information.
A citizen of the First Nations People of Canada (Anishinabe), Mr. MacKenzie lived and conducted research in the United States for over 40 years. He enthusiastically welcomed inquiries and visits from researchers from all over the world.