All in a Day's Work for the Lighthouse Service

Photos of Pacific Northwest lighthouse tender USS Cedar, from lighthouseantiques.net.

This excerpt from the 1921 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses shows what doesn't happen now that all U.S. lighthouses--except one--are fully automated. (Boston Light still has Coast Guard keepers, thanks to the late Senator Edward Kennedy.)

ASSISTANCE RENDERED IN SAVING LIFE AND PROPERTY BY VESSELS OR EMPLOYEES OF THE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 1921.

The following extracts from reports received by the bureau give some typical cases of especially meritorious service rendered by vessels and employees of the Lighthouse Service in saving life and property during the fiscal year:

Stranded oil tank.—The Standard Oil tank Atlas, of 1,145 net tons, with a cargo of gasoline and kerosene, struck a reef and was stranded in Snow l ass, about 75 miles from Ketchikan, Alaska, at about 5 o'clock on the morning of December 20, 1920. It appeared that the master of the oil tank feared the vessel would slide off into deep water at low tide and was preparing to abandon ship. The lighthouse tenders Cedar and Fern, which were at the lighthouse depot at Ketchikan, were ordered to proceed at once to the assistance of the Atlas. The floating of the stranded vessel was accomplished promptly by the two tenders and was carried out with skill and good judgment.

Disabled schooner.—The Annie E, a 60-ton schooner which left Honolulu for the island of Hawaii on August 8,1920, with a cargo of lumber and gasoline, sprung several leaks and became disabled the first day out of Honolulu. Two days later three of the sailors, who had left the vessel in an endeavor to make shore and summon assistance, were picked up by a fishing sampan. Motor launches were sent in search of the schooner, and Navy Department hydroplanes and airplanes also made search, but without success. On August 15 information by wireless was received from the U. S. transport Madawaska, which was on its way from Honolulu to Manila, that a sailing vessel showing flareups, but apparently in good condition, was sighted, and gave its location. The lighthouse tender Kukui, which was having its boilers repaired, was ordered to get up steam and leave in search of the missing vessel. The tender left Honolulu the same evening, and the next evening at 8 o 'clock located the disabled schooner 80 miles westward of the location given by the transport Madawaska and about 225 miles from Honolulu. All the members of the crew were rescued by the Kukui, but the dilapidated condition of the schooner made it impossible to tow it to port, and it was set afire to prevent its becoming a menace to navigation.

Motor boat in distress.—At 6 o'clock on the morning of March 29, 1921, the keeper of Bakers Island Light Station, Massachusetts, sighted a small open motor boat in distress about 2 miles northeast of the light station. The wind was northwest and very strong, the weather cold and clear. The keeper and assistant keeper went to the assistance of the boat and found two men who were nearly exhausted from cold and hunger, the boat having broken down the preceding evening. The men were taken to the light station, where they were given a hot breakfast by the light keepers.

Grounded steamer.—On the morning of December 17, 1920, at about 10 o'clock, the U. S. Shipping Board steamer National Bridge, a vessel of 3,545 tons, was found to be aground on Bald Head Shoal, Cape Fear River Bar, N. C, by the lighthouse tender Cypress. A strong southwesterly breeze was blowing. The Cypress ran close enough to throw a heaving line on board the disabled steamer, and with a towing line succeeded in pulling her off the shoal into deep water. The captain of the Cypress states that the tender arrived just in time to save the National Bridge.

Endangered lighthouse.—About 5 o'clock on the morning of December 24, 1920, the keeper of Long Point Shoal Light Station, North Carolina, discovered that a string of 12 or 15 barges had become entangled around the lighthouse, causing violent vibration of the structure. The keeper thought the lighthouse in serious danger, as the sea was running high, with a strong tide. The keeper stated: "I knew that something had to be done, and that quick, or the lighthouse would soon be torn up. When I descended I found that the barges were connected with a heavy wire cable. I got an ax and managed to cut the cable, and by hard labor and perseverance for quite awhile I got the barges on the weather side freed. It was the worst job I ever tackled in the night, but I believe I saved this house from serious damage, if not wreck, for just after this it blew hard."

Disabled motor boat.—On November 11, 1920, at 11 o'clock in the morning, the lighthouse tender Mayflower picked up the disabled motor boat Alleppo, of Newbwyport, Mass., at a point about 10 miles southeast of Cape Ann Light Station, Massachusetts, with two men aboard, who stated that they had been adrift for two days without food or water. The motor boat was without gasoline, had no sail, and the oars were lost. There was no compass and the men had no idea of their location.

Floating dry dock.—The 8,000-ton floating dry dock owned by the Charleston Dry Dock & Machine Co., of Charleston, S. C, and which had been temporarily removed from its slip and moored during dredging operations, parted its moorings and went adrift during a heavy squall about 11 o'clock on the night of July 2, 1920. The tide was ebbing and the dry dock was beginning to drift out of the harbor, when the lighthouse tender Mangrove, which was at the lighthouse depot, was notified and promptly got under way. The tender found the' dry dock floating out through Folly Island Channel, a little below Fort Ripley Shoal Light Station, made fast and, assisted by the tugs Cecelia and Manomet, returned the dry dock to the company's wharf. The loss of the dry dock or its serious damage would have been in the nature of a disaster to the owners, its value being estimated at half a million dollars, and would also be very detrimental to local shipowners, who depend on it for docking their vessels.

Wrecked power boat.—On November 17, 1920, during a heavy windstorm, the power boat Stroller, Capt. Langley, was driven upon the dock at the Lazaretto Lighthouse Depot, Maryland, staving in her side. The officers and crew of the lighthouse tender Maple assisted in removing from the sinking vessel the wife and three small children of Capt. Langley and afterwards beaching the vessel.

Damp Life on San Francisco Bay

In 1905 Southampton Shoal Lighthouse began lighting the way for the Santa Fe Railroad Company ferry that ran between San Francisco and Point Richmond. Two keepers and their families lived in the 2-story wooden building, which stood on a platform in the middle of San Francisco Bay.

The 1907 inspection report includes these poignant comments:

General opinion: General health at station is fair. 

Diseases: Rheumatism & catarrh prevail during winter & spring months. 

Local causes: Caused by dampness & continual wetting in boating to & from shore. 

Recommended improvement: A power boat supplied to station would cut out the necessity of getting wet & would enable keepers to reach destination in a half hour, whereas at present it is often the case that we are 4 hours & sometimes more in reaching shore, or station.

Access to Lighthouse: Boat landing is situated 3 miles ENE from station, a float moored in 10' of water at high water at Point Richmond. Landing at station is by swinging ladder suspended from lower platform.

In 1960 the decommissioned lighthouse was moved by the St. Francis Yacht Club to Tinsley Island in the San Joaquin Delta, where it is used for lodging.

Historic Reports from Cape Mendocino

We've been doing deep research for our forthcoming California & Hawaii Lighthouses map. And what we found makes for interesting reading (at least we think so!) 100+ years later.

All spelling sic; some paragraph breaks were added for legibility.

From the 1868 U.S. Treasury Report:
Cape Mendocino.—The iron light-house and the keeper's dwelling for this station were completed in San Francisco in September, 1867; but the lens and lantern not arriving in time, the shipment of the tower, lantern and lens was delayed until July last, when they were shipped to Eureka, in Humboldt bay, about thirty miles to the northward of the cape, to avoid the difficulty and risk of landing them there. All the materials for the keeper's dwelling were shipped to the cape during August and September of 1867, a portion of them on board of sailing vessels, and some on board of the steam tender Shubrick. The wreck of that vessel and the probable loss of those materials were mentioned in the annual report of last year. The hull of the Shubrick has since been recovered, but the light-house materials were lost.

The nature of the ground at Cape Mendocino makes it difficult to secure a good foundation. The excavation for the foundation of the keeper's dwelling was made during the summer in ground as hard as rock, and. apparently of equal consistency and durability. In the rainy season, however, this ground becomes soft, and on many parts of the coast, near the cape, landslides have occurred. With these peculiarities in view, the site for the dwelling was chosen on the outcropping of a ledge of shale rock, a ditch was dug round the house, and the bank of the excavation sloped off. These precautions, it is believed, render the foundations secure; it is, however, proper to state that some inconsiderable cracks have appeared in the walls. Should they increase in size or number, it will become necessary to secure the walls by iron ties. The spot selected for the tower was on a projecting rocky ridge; but as that also becomes softer in winter, an excavation has been made two feet deeper than originally intended, and the space filled in to a depth of two feet, and a little larger in circumference than the bed-plate of the tower, with concrete. By the last advices it was expected that the tower would be finished in October of this year.

The dwelling is 29 by 31, with two additions for kitchens, 12 by 14, and is built of the best materials. The walls are of brick, with an air space between the roof covered with galvanized iron. In consequence of the great difficulty in landing materials on the open sea shore, the cost of transportation has exceeded that of the materials.

1869 Treasury Report:
Cape Mendocino.—As reported last year, the lantern for this light-house reached San Francisco in February, 1868, and after waiting until the 20th July for the lens, and it not arriving, it was decided to send the tower (manufactured in San Francisco) and lantern to the Cape, as it would take several months to transport them there and put them up, and it was hoped that the lens would meanwhile reach San Francisco. This occurred, and on August 5 the lens was shipped to the Cape.

From the experience of the previous year in landing materials at the Cape, and the serious delay and expense that would have to be incurred should any part of the iron work or lens apparatus be lost or broken in landing, it was determined to ship all the materials for the tower together with the lantern and illuminating apparatus, to Eureka, Humboldt Bay, and to transport them by wagons to the Cape, some forty miles distant. In November everything was ready, for the exhibition of the light, and after proper notice it was shown for the first time on the night of December 1, 1868, and this important and very difficult work was considered as completed.

During the winter of 1867-68, immediately after the completion of the dwelling-house, several small cracks appeared in the walls, showing that the structure had not settled uniformly; but no new cracks have since been developed, and no fears are entertained regarding the stability of the building. When the light house was about to be commenced, the rocky slope on which it was to be built had to be made level to receive the concrete of the foundation. In summer this rock is very hard, but in winter it absorbs water to such an extent as to become soft; so much so, in localities not far distant, that masses of the steep bluffs sometimes slide off into the sea. It is possible that such a slide on a small scale might occur on the steep bank just above the tower, which was left in making the excavation.

As a proper precaution it is deemed advisable to slope the earth or rock above the tower to a more gentle inclination, and to cover this grade with a bed of concrete of sufficient thickness, and about twenty-five feet in width on each side of the center of the tower, with a large drain at the top and a smaller one at the bottom, by which means all the water from the mountain side, the summit of which is nine hundred feet above the tower, will be diverted to the right and left before reaching the tower, and the foundation thus protected. The materials required to do this have been shipped to the Cape.

When the dwelling house at this place was built, brick for the purpose, including a sufficient number for two cisterns, were shipped from San Francisco. In consequence of the inclemency of the weather, a small portion were not landed, and therefore the cisterns were not built. At the time this was considered of but little importance, because there was a spring near the house where a sufficient, though not abundant supply, of water was obtained. This year, however, this spring has almost entirely failed, the rain-fall of last winter having been under the average, and the greater portion of the water required has to be obtained from a stream one and a half miles distant. The materials for the two cisterns which now appear to be necessary have been shipped to the station at a cost of $26 per ton (in coin) for transportation, the only other offer being at $30 per ton. These matters are spoken of in considerable detail to show the great difficulty of foreseeing everything which may be required, and the consequent difficulty in making accurate estimates of the cost of any projected work, as well as the great cost of even the most trivial repairs or improvements upon this exposed and sparsely settled coast.

1872 Treasury Report:
Cape Mendocino, sea-coast of California.—During the month of November, 1871, the keeper's dwelling and cistern, referred to in the last annual report, were completed.

1873 Treasury Report:
Cape Mendocino, sea-coast of California.—There is a settlement of the ground, caused by an earthquake, in the ravine to the north of the tower, the limits of which are well defined by a continuous crack in the earth. The south line of this crack passes through one end of the cement retaining-wall and within 15 feet of the tower; this has been filled up with concrete and well rammed. Granite posts were cut and sent there to be planted at the corners of the reservation to mark its limits. A suit, Buhne vs. Chism, to eject the lighthouse keepers at this station—a suit involving the title to the site—was decided on the 10th of October in favor of the United States.


San Francisco Call, June 29, 1896:

CAPE MENDOCINO DISASTER
The Schooners Mary Buhne and Jennie Thelin Collide
Both Are Badly Damaged

Eureka, Cal, June 28—While in the vicinity of Cape Mendocino, the schooner Mary Buhne, returned empty from a southern trip last night, collided with the Jennie Thelin, bound for San Francsico, heavily loaded with lumber. The Thelin was struck amidships and immediately filled with water. The lumber prevented it from sinking. Both vessels were badly damaged. The Buhne's bow was injured, and the Thelin's side caved in. The tug Ranger towed them into port this afternoon.

The crew of the Buhne claim that no side lights were exposed to view on the Thelin, and it was not seen until only a few yards away.

1901 Treasury Report:
Cape Mendocino, seacoast of California.—The roadway was repaired. The act of June 6, 1900, appropriated $1,000 for the construction of a masonry oil house at this station. A stone oil house was built. The temporary structure now occupied by one of the keepers is almost uninhabitable, on account of its bad and unsanitary condition; it is also unsafe, as its foundations are so poor that it has settled several times during the last year, and although each time it has been raised and temporarily repaired, it has subsequently settled. As it was originally built for an oil house and not a dwelling, no permanent improvement can be attempted.

The following recommendation, made in the Board's last five annual reports, is renewed:

The plans approved by the Board contemplated the construction of an additional cottage for the assistant keeper. It is estimated that a proper structure tan be erected for $5,500, and it is recommended that an appropriation of that amount be made therefor.

San Francisco Call, August 24, 1902:

Through School of Sharks

The steamship George W. Elder arrived yesterday from Portland. Captain Randall reports that off Cape Mendocino he ran through a large school of sharks.

Los Angeles Herald, July 27, 1905:

STEAMER TOTAL LOSS
Norwegian Ship Tricolor Still Ashore at Cape Mendocino

By Associated Press
EUREKA, Cal., July 26—With a fair chance of holding together many days yet, despite the fact that breakers are pounding over her, the Norwegian steamer Tricolor, which went ashore in the fog at Cape Mendocino at 3 o'clock yesterday morning, still lies hard and fast on the rocks.

Captain Wold states that the steamer was fully insured. He is very bitter in his comments of the lightship stationed on the Mendocino coast, to whose failure to give good service he attributes the loss of his vessel. He stated this morning that the lightship was inactive when he passed her and that no sound was heard from her until 5:30 a. m., when she started blowing. This was after the steamer had gone ashore.

1905 Light-House Board Report:
Cape Mendocino, seacoast of California.—The following recommendation, made in the Board's last ten annual reports, is renewed, and the immediate need for it can not be too strongly urged:

The temporary structure now occupied by one of the keepers is almost uninhabitable on account of its bad and unsanitary condition; it is also unsafe, as its foundations are so poor that it has settled several times, and although each time it has been raised and temporarily repaired it has subsequently settled again. As it was originally built for an oilhouse and not a dwelling, no permanent improvement can be attempted. It is estimated that a proper structure can be erected for $5,500, and it is recommended that an appropriation of that amount be made therefor.

Illustration: Reconstructed Cape Mendocino Light at Shelter Cove, CA © Gerald C. Hill, from California & Hawaii Lighthouses Illustrated Map & Guide, coming in summer 2012.

Beauty vs History at Yaquina Head

The Oregonian reports on a conflict that often breaks out over historical sites:

Oregon lighthouse caught up in philosophical wrestling match: beautification vs. historical integrity

In this case, Ron Exeter, a well-meaning botanist at the Bureau of Land Management, wants to landscape with native plants around Yaquina Head Lighthouse, where the soil was killed by the acid wash used to remove the tower's toxic lead paint.

Long-time Yaqina Head volunteer George Collins is fighting BLM tooth and nail: "It was just plain grass and soil for years and years until this came along. There simply was nothing like that so it doesn't conform to the history." He objects to the utilitarian lighthouse being "made all frilly for visitors to stop by." According to the Oregonian, "state and federal agencies are working together to resolve the problems."

Here are excerpts from historic inspection reports (courtesy of the United States Lighthouse Society), which seem to support Mr. Collins's objections. Note the changes in acreage, soil, paths and garden size after 29 years. [All spelling sic; emphasis ours.]

From 1881:

Area of the entire site: 17.86 acres.
Character of surface soil: dark clayey loam.
Soil susceptibility: Grass grows well. Winds are too violent for shrubbery or trees.
Misc remarks: Wind at times sweeps across point of cape with great violence taking gravel stones from the cliffs 100' distant & hurling them against the dwelling with such force as to break the glass in the windows.
Paths and walks: Gravel walk around dwelling & from dwelling to tower.
Area inclosed: A board fence runs across point of cape from S shore to N shore, enclosing entire site. Keeper's dwelling is also enclosed by a neat picket fence.
Area of garden: About 1 acre.

From  1910:

Area of the entire site: 19.35 acres.
Character of soil surrounding the lighthouse: Sand.
Soil susceptibility: Yes, can be protected by grass.
Paths and walks: Cement around dwellings to tower.
Area inclosed: 12.08 acres inclosed with wire fence.
Area of garden: About 1/4 acre.

Illustration: Yaquina Head Light © Gerald C. Hill,  

from Northwest Lighthouses Illustrated Map & Guide.

Too Close for Comfort at Piedras Blancas

From the 1922 Lighthouse Service Annual Report:
Improvements at Piedras Blancas Light Station, Calif., $6,500.

Note.—This is a large station, with a first-class fog signal and a first-order light. The keeper occupies a separate dwelling, which was constructed when the fog signal was established, and the three assistant keepers occupy one two-story dwelling, which was intended for the accommodation of but two keepers. The quarters are dark and very poorly arranged, and the third assistant keeper has but three small rooms widely separated, one being on the lower floor and two on the upper floor. It is necessary in order to maintain decent living conditions to assign the whole building for the use of two keepers as was originally intended. Great trouble has been experienced in keeping assistants on this station on account of the congested condition and the trouble which constantly arises between assistant keepers' families. A new set of quarters for the first assistant keeper is urgently required.

The request was never granted. (Imagine: A house built for $6500!) In 1960 the Coast Guard erected cinder block housing for 4 keepers and got rid of the original dwellings. The 1906 head keeper's house was sold for $1, cut into 4 pieces and reassembled in Cambria, where it reportedly still stands. The 1876 "duplex" (elevation above, floor plan below) was razed. The Bureau of Land Management, which now owns Piedras Blancas Light Station, plans to build replicas of the 19c dwellings as well as reinstate the lantern atop the tower, which has been headless since 1949.

1875 architect's plan of ground floor of Piedras Blancas keepers' duplex. Note the 2 living rooms but just 1 kitchen--a recipe for discord. Images courtesy of Bureau of Land Management.

The Gold Coast

On building lighthouses in California, from U.S. Treasury Annual Reports of 1855 and 1863. A decent wage back East was $1 a day. No wonder so many heeded the call, "Go West, young man!"

I have had the offer of the services of a superintendent for $10 a day and his expenses paid, and this I am told may be considered as rather under the current price of this class of employees.... the machinist who put up the apparatus of the Point Bonita light received the same per diem. All other labor and materials for the most part are equally high.

Considerable difficulty has been experienced and expense incurred in the district, by reason of the fact that gold and silver is the only currency of that coast, and payments in the legal currency of the government are subjected to heavy depreciation. The cost of the establishment [of lighthouses] on this coast has, in consequence, been materially increased.

A Light on January 4th

Point Pinos by Gerald C. Hill, from forthcoming California & Hawaii Lighthouses: Illustrated Map & Guide.

On January 4, 1856, Charlotte Layton became the first official female head lighthouse keeper on the West Coast. She was appointed to the job at Point Pinos, CA, held by her late husband, which she'd been doing for some months--along with caring for their four children. Charles Layton had died the previous November, after being shot as part of a sheriff's posse that tried to capture outlaw Anastacio Garcia. (Garcia was arrested in October 1856 and lynched in the Monterey jail four months later by his "friends.") Charlotte married her assistant keeper in 1860, whereupon they traded jobs. They were gone by 1863.

From Morris Island Lighthouse, SC (then known as Charleston Light-station):

The keeper further reports that a light shock of earthquake occurred on January 4, 1887, at 6:45 a. m., of about twenty seconds duration, accompanied by the usual rumbling noise. It had, apparently, a horizontal motion. It was pretty well felt in the town, but did no damage.

From the Annual Report of the Light-House Board for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1899 (note the chain of transmission!):

...Congress authorized that C. K. Marr and E. H. Pierce, keepers of the Cuckolds, Maine, fog-signal station, accept each a silver watch awarded to them, respectively, by the government of the Dominion of Canada, in recognition of their services in rescuing the captain and crew of the schooner Aurora, of Harboursville, Nova Scotia, on January 4, 1896.

The watches were forwarded to the State Department by the British Government, which transmitted them through the Treasury Department to the Light-House Board, by which they were delivered through the inspector of the First light-house district to the specified lightkeepers, and their receipts for the watches were transmitted to the government of the Dominion of Canada through the same channels.

Curious Remarks, Or Very Disagreeable Sitting

We found some interesting tidbits in The Mariner's Chronicle; or Interesting Narratives of Shipwrecks, published in 1825 (frontispiece above). They sure don't write headlines like these anymore! Two centuries later, the "Curious Remarks" are still...er...curious.

NARRATIVE OF
CAPTAIN KENNEDY’S DISTRESSES,
From Losing his Vessel at Sea, December 23, 1768.
___________________________________

CAPTAIN KENNEDY and his crew, being twelve in number, sailed from Port Royal, in Jamaica, on the 21st of December, 1768, bound for Whitehaven; but on the 23rd, having met with a hard gale at north... they could scarcely get into the yawl, before the vessel sunk; having with much difficulty been able to take out only a keg, containing about sixteen pounds of biscuit, ten pounds of cheese, and two bottles of wine…

Between the seventh and fourteenth days of their being in the boat, they were most miraculously supported…having nothing to eat or drink. The wild sea-fowls, hovered over their heads in the evening, and lighted on their hands when held up to receive them. Of these the sailors at the flesh, and drank the blood, declaring it to be as palatable as new milk. The captain ate twice of the flesh, and thought it very good….

During this distressing voyage, Captain Kennedy, had recourse to the following efficacious expedients, which he had learned from the perusal of a treatise written by Dr. Lind, and which beneficial circumstance should certainly be known to all sea-faring people in case of similar calamities—this was soaking his clothes twice a day in salt water, and putting them on without wringing. It was a considerable time before he could prevail upon the crew to follow his example; but when they witnessed the good effects which this measure produced, they afterwards practiced it twice a day of their own accord; and to this may be attributed the preservation of their lives.

There is another remarkable circumstance, which is, that they daily made the same quantity of urine, as if they had drank moderately of any liquid; this must be owing to a body of water having been absorbed through the pores of the skin. The saline particles remaining in their clothing, became incrusted by the heat of their bodies and that of the sun, which cut and wounded their posteriors, and from the intense pain, rendered sitting very disagreeable….

Lost in Alaska: Only Castles Burning

Sitka in 1867. Baranof Castle is between the peaks at far right.

Baranof Castle, as it came to be called, was the only Russian lighthouse transferred to the United States when Alaska was acquired in 1867. The light was deactivated in 1877; the massive building burned down in 1894.

The below passage is from Appleton’s Guide-book to Alaska & the Northwest Coast (1893) by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore (1856-1928). The first female trustee of the National Geographic Society, who made several trips to Japan, is best remembered for hatching the idea of planting Japanese cherry trees in Washington, DC.

Sitka & Vicinity: Makhnati (Rugged) Island is the landmark for ships from the ocean. It was chosen for a light-house site in 1867, and Captain Beardslee’s wooden beacon on the seaward bluff is often taken for a shaman’s grave. Signal Island was the place for bonfires to light and lead ships in Russian days. The firing of a gun caused the beacon on the citadel roof to flash out, and men were in waiting to light the signal-fires that marked the course into the harbor. Departing ships were blessed by the Russian bishop in full canonicals, and deck, mainmast, flag, and boats rowed three times round, singing a farewell, and nine cheers sped the ship as the sails filled….

A long flight of steps leads to the Castle, as Americans have called it since 1867, crowning a rocky eminence 80 ft. in height. Baranof first occupied a leaky two-roomed cabin at the foot of Katlean’s Rock, where the barracks of jail kitchens stand. Later he built a block-house on the height, which was burned. Governor Kupreanoff built a large mansion, which was nearly completed at the time of Sir Edward Belcher’s visit, 1837. It was destroyed by the great earthquake of 1847, and rebuilt on the same plan….

Castle Hill in 1827, from Old Sitka, Alaska by Postels.

It is a massive structure, measuring 86 x 51 ft., built of cedar logs, joined with copper bolts and riveted to the rock. It is three stories in height, with a glass cupola, which was formerly the light-house of the harbor, the lamp standing 110 ft. above the sea. It was richly furnished and decorated when transferred to the U.S. military commandant in 1867, but after the departure of the troops was looted of every belonging, wantonly, stripped, and defaced. No repairs were made until 1893….

Detail of Russian Castle (undated), from Univ. of Washington Libraries.

Two young officers of the U.S.S. Adams and the purser of the Idaho manufactured a ghost story to meet the demands of the first pleasure travelers in 1883, who insisted that the deserted and half-wrecked castle must be haunted. A Lucia di Lammermoor, condemned to marry against her will, killed herself, or was killed by a returned lover, in the drawing-room, the long apartment on the second floor, north side, adjoining the ball-room, where she walks at midnight.

Baranof Castle burning, from Univ. of Washington Libraries.

December 1861: The Occupation of Ship Island

A sandy barrier island sited about 15 miles SW of Biloxi, Miss., offered the only deep-water anchorage between Mobile Bay and the Mississippi River. Thus Ile aux Vasseaux, or Ship Island, had great commercial and strategic importance. The US built a conical brick lighthouse (left) there in 1853. Its pyramidal wooden 1886 replacement burned down in 1972. A reproduction of the latter was dedicated in 1999, only to be washed away--along with the eastern half of the island--by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Fort Massachusetts, begun in 1859, still stands.

Harper's Weekly (via sonofthesouth.net) described what happened at Ship Island, Miss., 150 years ago this week:

THE OCCUPATION OF SHIP ISLAND.

The United States steamer-transport Constitution, Captain A. T. Fletcher, arrived at Fortress Monroe on 15th, where she called for orders, on her return from Ship Island, Mississippi Sound, having safely landed at the latter place, December 4, the two regiments (Twenty-sixth Massachusetts, and Ninth Connecticut), which embarked on her at Boston, the 18th and 21st of November. In this southward expedition, after proceeding to Portland for the Twelfth Regiment of Maine, which did not embark on her, the Constitution proceeded to Fortress Monroe, November 23, where she arrived on the 26th. She coaled, and left on the 28th, and, after a pleasant passage, arrived at Ship Island, Mississippi Sound, December 3.

Her arrival here was as gratifying as it was unexpected by the little fleet and small garrison which have been holding the place against constant threats, and occasional attacks from the rebels. By the assistance of two large river steamers, which had been captured in Mississippi Sound only a short time previous to her arrival, the troops and material of war, and subsistence stores, were landed between the 4th and 8th of December—a single accident only occurring, by which one of the steel rifled guns belonging to Captain Manning's Light Battery was lost overboard. The two regiments were comfortably encamped on the island, near the light-house, and the Salem Battery near the fortification. On the 8th the last of the cargo was landed on the beach, and was taken charge of by Commissary Butler, brother of Major-General Butler, who will probably join the expedition in a short time with a large accession to the force.

Learn more about Ship Island--the "Plymouth Rock of the Gulf Coast"--and Fort Massachusetts at mssshipisland.com and Wikipedia.

Early 19c U.S. Lighthouses: The Original Tallies

In the course of doing research for our lighthouse maps, we came across widely varying estimates as to the number of lighthouses in early 19th century America. Which to believe?

We were stumped. Then after months of exhaustive Googling, we hit the jackpot: THE AMERICAN STATE PAPERS: Documents, Legislative and Executive of the Congress of the United States, from the First Session of the First to the Third Session of the Thirteenth Congress, Inclusive: Commencing March 3, 1789, and Ending March 3, 1815.

Above: Sandy Hook, NJ (1764), the oldest standing U.S. lighthouse. Illustration by Peter M. Mason, from Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses: Illustrated Map & Guide.

From an 1804 report in THE AMERICAN STATE PAPERS:

Our own Government has attended to the erection of light houses, with a vigilant eye. Already their number on our extended sea coast amounts to thirty-one...

Those lighthouses, listed north to south, were in a statement "shewing" expenses:

New Hampshire: Portsmouth; Massachusetts: Boston, Nantucket, Nantucket Beacon, Cape Roge [Cape Pogue], Thatcher's Island, Plum Island, Plymouth, Seguin Island [now in Maine], Baker's Island, Cape Cod, Wigwam Point [Annisquam], Gayhead; Rhode Island: Newport; Connecticut: New London, Faulkner's Island, Lynde's Point; New York: Montauk, Sandy Hook, Eaton's Neck; Delaware: Cape Henlopen; Virginia: Cape Henry, Smith's Point, Old Point Comfort; North Carolina: Cape Fear, Cape Hatteras, Shell Castle [off Ocracoke Island]; South Carolina: Charleston, George Town; Georgia: Tybee.

In 1811 Winslow Lewis won a contract to outfit all U.S. lighthouses with his patented lighting system, which was a cheap imitation of the Argand system used in Europe (an example of the need for international copyright protection). He listed 45--in no discernible order, whether geographical, alphabetical or financial:

New Bedford Gay Head Cape Page [Cape Pogue] Nantucket Chatham, 2 lights Cape Cod Plymouth, 2 lights Boston Baker Island, 2 lights Cape Ann Wigwam Point Newburyport, 2 lights Portsmouth Portland Seguin Franklin Island West Quoddy Scituate Whitehead St. Simonds Sapelo Island Charleston, S.C. Georgetown, S.C.

Cape Fear Cape Lookout Cape Henry Cape Hatteras New Point Comfort Old Point Comfort Smith’s Point Cape Henlopen Sandy Hook Montauk Point Little Gull Island Eaton’s Neck New London Faulkner’s Island Lynde Point Five Mile Point Fair Weather Point Watch Hill Newport Point Judith Tybee Wood Island

Building St. George Reef Lighthouse: "The Dragon"

Left: St. George Reef, from California & Hawaii Lighthouses: Illustrated Map & Guide, coming in summer 2012.

St. George Reef Lighthouse, in the Pacific about 8 miles NW of Crescent City, CA , remains a marvel of engineering. The construction superintendent was Alexander Ballantyne, who in late 1880 completed the light station at Tillamook Rock, OR (aka "Terrible Tillie") in just 575 days. He brought the job in under budget, which must have brought great joy to the perpetually underfunded Light-House Board.

Perhaps the Board and Congress thought Ballantyne would repeat his performance at Northwest Seal Rock, as the site was originally called. (Later it became known as "The Dragon.") Instead the project ground on from April 1883 to November 1891, delayed by storms and rough seas; but most of all by Congressional penny-pinching.

From Ancient & Modern Light-Houses by David Porter Heap: View from the South-West, showing the Rock as it appeared at the end of the Working Season, and the Method of Landing Men from the Schooner “La Ninfa”.

In a final report dated Jan. 1, 1893, Ballantyne wrote:

In four years only one working season of about one hundred working days was utilized advantageously on the rock. During a part of this four years other attempts were made to work on the rock, but on account of small and insufficient appropriations expensive plant had to lie hired, property and plant which we had and which for lack of appropriations could not be used, deteriorated by exposure, rot, and rust, all of which combined to make the first four years of the work unduly expensive.

Ballantyne also reported:

The weather this season [1889] was more severe than in 1888, but rather an improvement over 1887. The men's quarters, although strongly built, were smashed in during a gale about 2 o'clock one morning in May. No one was injured, but some of the men were washed out of their bunks.

To get a further idea of the horrendous working conditions, here are passages from Ancient & Modern Light-Houses by Major David Porter Heap, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army (Ticknor & Co., Boston, 1888):

There was much parting of lines and tackle, and the men often had to be taken hastily off the rock just after they had been put on, but in spite of many narrow escapes and some dangerous accidents, there was no serious injury to any one. Work on the north low bench was the most difficult, though it was twenty-five feet above the sea; the men there were almost constantly drenched with spray, and hardly a day passed when the sea did not break upon it at high water.

During a gale on the 29th and 30th of September [1883] stones, over a ton in weight, which had been rolled overboard from this bench, were swept like chips up along its whole length and over again on the east end. On September 10, while two quarrymen were drilling a hole on the lee side, just below the top of the rock, a tremendous sea swept completely over it, washing them down the steep south slopes nearly thirty feet, where they fortunately lodged on the south bench, none the worse save for a few bruises.

Breeches buoy, from Ancient & Modern Light-Houses

At first the men were hauled to and fro singly in a breeches-buoy, but the cage was found much more convenient as it permitted the transport of at first four, and later of six men at a time, and allowed them to easily extricate themselves should any accident happen. The whole arrangement worked perfectly, and by the aid of the engine a round trip, taking off six men, and return, could be made in three minutes. The shore end of the cable being some sixty feet above the sea, and the lowest point of its curve not over fifteen feet, the cage, when released from the rock ran down this slope with great speed. Taking advantage of this, and standing by to haul in with the engine, the men were often taken on board dry, when every sea went over the low part of the cable; such confidence did they gain in this moans of retreat that they did not think of leaving the work till the sea began to run continuously over all the working levels; then, lashing their tools to ring-bolts prepared for the purpose, the cage was put in use and in twenty minutes all hands would be in safety. But one accident occurred with it, and that was the parting of the traveller-rope in a heavy sea just as four men were being swung off the rock, but, luckily, they had only started, and so fell unharmed on the east bench. Whenever the sea would permit, the men were taken to and from the rock in a surf-boat to save the costly item of water and also time. It was extraordinary to see how, little by little, they became more venturesome, till, at the end, they would jump out one by one from the boat, holding to a life-line from the rock, with the sea rising and falling fully fifteen feet on the nearly vertical east face.

All Hands Lost in Buffalo (1913); Lighthouse Reopens (2011)

Buffalo, Light Vessel No. 82, in Buffalo Harbor (Michael Vogel Collection).

From the Lighthouse Board Annual Report of 1914:

On November 10, 1913, Light Vessel No. 82, on Buffalo Light Vessel Station, was wrecked in storm and sunk in Lake Erie near her station, with her entire crew of six men. The vessel was valued at $50,000.

Read the story of LV 82 at BuffaloHistoryWorks.com.

The good news is that the Buffalo Lighthouse, which was closed after the Sept. 11 attacks, has been restored and reopened to the public. Here's the story:

Lighthouse restored, open to public: wivb.com

Postcard from Stella DuBois

Postcard of New Canal Lighthouse, New Orleans, from Klaus Hülse's website of vintage lighthouse and light vessel images from around the world. (Don't visit unless you have time to spare; before we knew it an hour had gone by--and we only looked at US lighthouses.)

Caption: Light House, West End, New Orleans, La.

Message:
N.O. 18 Jan. 1906
Chère cousine--Merci beaucoup de votre jolie carte et de vos bons souhaits. Tous deux m'ont fait grand plaisir--Stella

Translation: Dear [female] cousin--Many thanks for your pretty card and for your good wishes. They both gave me great pleasure--Stella

Stella DuBois Kowalski would have been born in the 1920s. But we can imagine that she was named after her grandmother, who left Belle Reve for a winter jaunt to New Orleans.

New Canal Lighthouse which appears out of plumb in the picture above, was badly damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and collapsed in November 2005. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation is seeking donations for rebuilding.

New Lighthouse for Rondout Creek, NY or Inside the Congressional Sausage Factory

Rondout Creek Light by Diana Hertz, from U.S. Lighthouses Illustrated Map & Guide. Available as a giclée print; contact Bella Terra to order.

Below are excerpts from Feb. 1910 proceedings of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the 61st Congress, chaired by Illinois Republican James R. Mann, author of the (in)famous Mann Act. Congressman George W. Fairchild (R, NY) had introduced a bill for the lighthouse two years previously, requesting $20,000 less (see Feb. 1908 Kingston Daily Freeman clipping here).

Maybe we've been reading too many old documents, but we were amused by the exchange between Frederick Clement Stevens (R-MN), William Henry Stafford (R, WI), Admiral Marix (photo) and Colonel William E. Craighill (Army Corps of Engineers) at the end.

NB: Kingston is across the Hudson River from Bella Terra World HQ.

February 1, 1910.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that a light-house and fog-signal station be established at the mouth of Rondout Creek, Hudson River, State of New York, together with a suitable building, under the direction of the Light-House Board, and that the sum of fifty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as maybe necessary, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated therefor out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Statement of Hon. George W. Fairchild, A Representative From The State of New York.
I desire to present to the committee the matter of the proposed light-house at the mouth of Rondout Creek, in the Hudson River, and I should like to have Captain Van Keuren. who is present with me, make a statement relative to the same...

Statement Of Capt. W. S. Van Keuren
...A good many years ago they built a light-house at Rondout Creek, which is now maintained by the Government, but which has...become absolutely obsolete....

...the channel of the creek has been changed by a government survey and diked, so that as the present light-house stands it is absolutely of no use; nobody pays any attention to it; the only protection we have there to get in and out of that creek is a stake light on the upper side, which is some 1,200 or 1,300 feet from the present light-house, which stands in only about 4 feet of water, and if a boat attempted to be guided by it, it would be sure to go aground....

The volume of business in a day at Rondout Creek...is immense. The largest steamboat ownership on the Hudson River has its headquarters in Rondout Creek. We have all sorts of interests there that produce marine commerce—coal, bluestone, cement, and various other things.... And to get into the creek, at the town of Kingston, they have to go at least three-quarters of a mile after they leave the river proper, and in getting into this creek they are guided by this stake light...which is but a small lantern....

Mr. Stevens. Is there any navigation at night?

Captain Van Keuren. Yes, a great deal; we have boats coming in and out at all times.... We now want a light-house there with a fog bell and a flash light, in order that people will not have to lie outside, whether it be a tow, a passenger vessel, or the ferry. A ferry runs there after dark. And for three months in the year the light is not available at all, for the reason that they can not get to the light-house to light that light, and can not get to this stake light unless some different means are provided on account of the ice.

The Chairman. Just where is Rondout Creek?

Captain Van Keuren. It is 16 miles north of Poughkeepsie... It is the water front of the city of Kingston...

The Chairman. Mr. Fairchild, may I ask you a question? You introduced the bill originally for $40,000 and subsequently introduced one for $50,000?

Mr. Fairchild. Yes, sir.

The Chairman. Was there any examination made, so far as you know, as to the cost, except this report of the Light-House Board or their statement?

Mr. Fairchild. That is the only statement so far as I know. I took the matter up with them and they told me that $30,000 would be insufficient, and therefore I reintroduced the bill and called for $50,000.

Mr. Stevens. Now, we have a bill to erect a light-house and fog-signal station at Rondout Creek, Hudson River, New York. Have you given any consideration to that bill?

Admiral Marix. I think we made a report on that.

Mr. Stevens. I can not find any report on that.

Admiral Marix. On February 12 the Assistant Secretary addressed a letter to Representative Mann in regard to this bill, and stated that the proposed light and fog signal would be a good adjunct to the navigation of the Hudson River. It is apparent from the locality that the construction of the dike at Rondout, extending about a quarter of a mile toward deep water, has diminished the usefulness of the main light at this point, and in fact the light will not now serve to mark the entrance, to indicate the channel. He then went on to state that the increasing importance of Rondout and the growing river trade have rendered it necessary, and recommends that an appropriation be made for the establishment of the main light to be established on Boon Point, immediately outside of the end of the present dike, and that it be provided with a fog bell. It is estimated that $50,000 mentioned in the bill will cover such a structure rather than $30,000.

Mr. Stafford. Why was $30,000 mentioned in that connection?

Admiral Marix. They thought they could build it where the present dike was, but these dikes extend out into the river and make a more expensive structure necessary.

Mr. Stafford. What is the reason for putting a fog bell there rather than a fog horn?

Colonel Craighill. The bell is sufficient up there. The river is narrow, you know; and the bell is cheaper, and it does not disturb the neighbors as much, either.

Mr. Stafford. I was thinking that it was more a convenience to the dwellers rather than an aid to navigation.

Admiral Marix. It is a secondary bell. A fog signal is much better, of course, but it is more expensive.

Lights Kept Burning in the Civil War

From National Almanac and Annual Record for the Year 1864:

NOTICE TO MARINERS.

All the lights on the coast of the United States from Cape Henry, Virginia (entrance to Chesapeake Bay), to the Rio Grande, Texas, except those at Naval Hospital (Norfolk), Craney Island Shoal, Cape Hatteras and Beacon, Ocracoke, Cape Lookout, N.W. Point, Royal Shoal, Roanoke Marshes, Brant Island Shoal Light-Vessel, Long Shoal Light-Vessel, Croatan Light-House, Wade’s Point Light-House, Martin’s Industry Light-Vessel, Carysfort Reef, Dry Bank, Sand Key, Key West, Dry Tortugas, Pensacola, Ship Island, Chandeleur Island, Merrill’s Shell Bank, Pleasanton’s Island, West Rigolets, Port Pontchartrain, New Canal, Pass à L’Outre, South Pass, Head of Passes, and Southwest Pass, have been extinguished or destroyed by lawless persons during the past year, but will be relighted as soon as practicable after being repossessed by the Government. The lights above named are now in operation.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
Office Light-House Board, Washington City,
July 1, 1863.

Illustration: Pensacola Light (FL) by Gerald C. Hill, from United States Lighthouses Illustrated Map & Guide.

Creating a Spectacle in the 1870s

Spectacle Reef Light, in northeastern Lake Huron near the Straits of Mackinac, was begun in 1870 and first lit in June 1874. The masonry tower is still considered a feat of engineering. How'd they do it?

Funny you should ask...

From “The Light Houses of the United States” by Charles Nordhoff* in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, March 1874.

The light-house on Spectacle Reef [illustration above], on the coast of Lake Huron, cost $300,000.... The following account of the difficulties encountered in preparing for its construction will give an idea of what natural obstacles have often to be overcome in this kind of building. The account is taken from the official report:

The site of the tower being determined, and the proper soundings and surveys made, a crib ninety-two feet square was built, having a central opening forty-eight feet square to receive the coffer-dam which was to form the pier of protection, as well as the landing-place for materials. This huge crib was floated to its place.

In order to get accurate soundings to guide in shaping the bottom of the crib, and to fix with a degree of certainty the position of these soundings and that to be occupied by the crib, four temporary cribs, each fifteen feet by twenty-five feet, of round timber, were placed in from eight to ten feet of water, in a line corresponding with the proposed eastern face of the pier of protection, and filled to the level of the water with ballast stone. These four cribs were then decked over and connected together. Upon the pier thus formed about seventy cords of ballast stone were placed, ready at the proper time to be thrown into the crib forming the pier of protection.

The lower two complete courses of the pier of protection having been fastened together by screw-bolts, forming a raft, constituting a ground-plan of the pier of protection, were then towed from the harbor where framed to the reef, and moored directly over the position to be occupied by the finished pier. Its position was marked upon the temporary pier referred to above, and soundings taken at intervals of two feet along each timber in the raft, thus obtaining accurate contours of the surface of the reef within the limits of these timbers. The raft was then towed back to the harbor, hauled out upon ways, and by means of wedges of timber the bottom was made to conform to the surface of the reef. The raft, now become the bottom of the pier of protection, was then launched, and additional courses of timber built upon it, until its draught of water was just sufficient to permit its being floated into position on the reef, at which time it was estimated that the top of the pier would be one foot out of water.

The depth of water on the reef at the points to be occupied by the four corners of the pier of protection was found to be as follows: At northeast corner, ten feet six inches; at northwest corner, thirteen feet; at southwest corner, fourteen feet six inches; and at southeast corner, nine feet six inches—the position to he occupied by the pier of protection having been so chosen that the sides would correspond to the cardinal points of the compass. Meanwhile five barges at the harbor had been loaded with ballast stone, making, together with those on the temporary pier at the reef, 290 cords (about 1800 tons) at command, with which to load the pier of protection and secure it to the reef as soon as it should be placed in position.

On the evening of the 18th of July, 1871, every thing being in readiness, and the wind, which had been blowing freshly from the northwest for three days previously, having somewhat moderated, at 8 P.m. the tugs Champion (screw-propeller) and Magnet (side-wheel) took hold of the immense crib and started to tow it to the reef, fifteen miles distant, followed by the Warrington (screw-propeller), having in tow the schooner Belle, the two having on board a working force of 140 men, the tug Stranger (screw-propeller), with barges Ritchie and Emerald, and the tug Hand, with two scows of the Light-house Establishment. The barge Table Rock, with fifty cords of stone on board, was left in reserve at the harbor. The construction scow, with tools, etc., on board, was towed with the crib. At 2 A.M. next morning, six hours after starting, the fleet hove to off the reef, awaiting daylight and the abatement of the wind, which had again freshened up. At 6½ A.M., it having moderated, the pier, with considerable difficulty, was placed in position, and after being secured to the temporary pier and the moorings previously set for the purpose, all hands went to work throwing the ballast stone into the compartments, and by 4 P.M. succeeded in getting into it about 200 cords, or 1200 tons. By this time the wind was blowing freshly, and the sea running so high as to make it necessary to stop work for the time, but early next morning all the reserve stone was put into the compartments.

After the pier was in position the schooner Belle was moored on the reef to serve as quarters for the working force, which proceeded to build up the pier to the required height above water (twelve feet). On the 12th of September the pier had been built up to its full height, and by the 20th of September quarters for the workmen had been completed upon it, which were at once occupied, and the Belle returned to the harbor.

By means of a submarine diver the bedrock within the opening of the pier was then cleared off, and the work of constructing the coffer-dam was taken in hand. The coffer-dam itself consisted of a hollow cylinder, forty-one feet in diameter, composed of wooden staves, each four inches by six, and fifteen feet long. The cylinder was braced and trussed internally, and hooped with iron externally, so as to give it the requisite strength. It was put together at the surface of the water, and when complete was lowered into position on the bed-rock by means of iron screws.
As soon as it rested on the rock (which was quite irregular in contour), each stave was driven down so as to fit as closely as it would admit, and a diver filled all openings between its lower end and the rock with Portland cement. A loosely twisted rope of oakum was then pressed close down into the exterior angle between the coffer-dam and rock, and outside of this a larger rope made of hay. The pumping machinery having meanwhile been placed in readiness, the coffer-dam was pumped dry, and on the same day (14th October) a force of stone-cutters descended to the bottom and commenced the work of leveling off the bed-rock, and preparing it to receive the first course of masonry.

The bed-rock was found to consist of dolomitic limestone, confirming the previous examinations, highest on the western side, toward the deepest water, and sloping gradually toward the eastern. In order to make a level bed for the first course of masonry it was necessary to cut down about two feet on the highest side, involving a large amount of hard labor, rendered more difficult by the water forcing its way up through seams in the rock. But the work was finally accomplished, the bed being as carefully cut and leveled as any of the courses of masonry.

The first course of masonry was then set, completing it on the 27th of October. While setting this course much trouble was caused by the water, already referred to as forcing its way up through seams in the rock, which attacked the mortar-bed. For this reason water was let into the dam every evening, and pumped out next morning, to give the mortar time to harden during the night. This mortar was composed of equal parts of Portland cement and screened siliceous sand. Specimens of it obtained the following spring, after being in place under water for seven months, were quite as hard or harder than either the bed-rock or the stone used in building the tower.
The weather having now become very boisterous, with frequent snow-squalls, often interrupting the work, and the setting of any additional stone requiring the removal of a portion of the most important of the interior braces of the coffer-dam, it was deemed prudent to close the work for the season. This, too, would give ample time for the hardening of the mortar used in bedding the stone, and the concrete used for filling cavities in the bed-rock, as well as the space between the outside of the first course and the coffer-dam, which was solidly filled with concrete to the top of the first course. Therefore the coffer-dam was allowed to fill with water, the process being hastened by boring holes through it to admit the water, and it was secured to prevent its being lifted by the ice during the winter.

The machinery was laid up, and on the last of October all the working force, except two men, was removed. These two men were left to attend to the fourth-order light which had been established on the top of the men's quarters, and the fog-signal, consisting of a whistle attached to one of the steam-boilers. At the close of navigation they were taken off the pier by the lighthouse tender Haze.

The degree of success of this novel coffer-dam may be inferred from the fact that although prepared with pumps of an aggregate capacity of five thousand gallons per minute, not more than a capacity of seven hundred gallons was used, except when emptying the coffer-dam, and then only to expedite the work. Once emptied, a small proportion of this capacity was ample to keep the coffer-dam free from water; and this at a depth of twelve feet of water, on rock, at a distance of nearly eleven miles from the nearest land. Every person connected with the work may well feel a just pride in its success. All the stone which had been delivered at the harbor, consisting of the first five courses (each course two feet thick), having been cut by this time, the work there was also closed.

The season opened a month later in 1872 than in 1871, consequently work was not resumed at the harbor until the 3d of May, and upon the reef until the 20th of the same month. On the 13th of May the ice in the coffer-dam was still a compact mass, of some feet in thickness. Masses of ice still lay on top of the pier itself. As soon as any thing could be done, the ice still remaining was cleared out of the coffer-dam, the machinery put in order, the braces removed from the interior of the coffer-dam, and then the work of setting additional courses began.

The work upon the tower was carried on at such a rate that one entire course of masonry was set, drilled, and bolted complete every three days.

The Spectacle Reef tower was founded upon a rock the highest part of which was ten feet under water.

Photo of Spectacle Reef Light from LighthouseFriends.com.

*German-born American journalist. Per Wikipedia: Ojai, CA was named after him until WWI anti-German sentiment caused it to be changed.