U.S Lighthouse Society's 2023/2024 Lighthouse Preservation Grants Awarded
The U. S. Lighthouse Society has announced the 2023/2024 grant recipients:
- Preservation Virginia - Repairing the Keystone Arch at Old Cape Henry Lighthouse
- Presque Isle Light Station - Erie Land Lighthouse Masonry and Repair Project
- Calvert Marine Museum Society - Drum Point Lighthouse Exterior Preservation
- Door County Historical Society - Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Restoration
- Five Finger Lighthouse Society - Lantern Room Windows - replacement and resealing
- Project Gurnet & Bug Lights - Duxbury Pier Light (Bug Light)
For more info about each project please visit: https://uslhs.org/about/preservation-grants-program/recipients
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Wildfire triggers Split Rock (MN) Lighthouse evacuation
A popular North Shore historic site is back open for visitors after a wildfire triggered an evacuation Tuesday.
The Split Rock Lighthouse facebook page reported that a fire that kindled in a wooded area near the complex forced the evacuation of guests around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Fire crews from Silver Bay and the Minnesota DNR were able to put the flames down in about two hours time, and the Spilt Rock site reopened to visitors Wednesday.
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Click here to see more of Split Rock on the USLHS Research Catalog
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Historic Places: Old Field Point's (NY) Lighthouse Champion Rebecca Van Der Bogart
Nestled between Stony Brook and Port Jefferson lies the Incorporated Village of Old Field. For 156 years its lighthouse has overlooked Long Island Sound.
Recently, the Old Field Point Light Station was placed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places, as the only submission on Long Island to be granted that recognition in the 2023 application cycle.
Click here to see more of Old Field Point on the USLHS Research Catalog
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Callander lighthouse (Canada) set to shine even brighter
Plans are underway to further beautify Callander's lighthouse, it just needs more power.
The Callander Lighthouse has been operating since this past fall, guiding boats - and lately snowmobilers - to the docks at the end of Lansdowne Street. Now Ryan and Erin Farquhar have plans to further beautify the island, by adding ambient lighting to the lighthouse's exterior.
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Restored Conover Beacon (NJ) Lighthouse in Middletown Shines Again
Nature offered a picturesque backdrop across Sandy Hook Bay as a part of Middletown's history was brought back to life.
At s rededication ceremony Tuesday, March 12, May or Tony Perry and the township committee unveiled the newly restored 168-year-old Conover Beacon Lighthouse. Conover Beacon, located on Leonardo Beach, along with Chapel Hill Rear Range Lighthouse about a mile and half south (now on private property), served as the markers for Chapel Hill Channel for nearly a hundred years.
Click here to see more of Conover on the USLHS Research Catalog
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The vintage Port Burwell (Canada) lighthouse. A historic submarine. Not enough money for both
A Cold War-era submarine in a Southwestern Ontario village is sinking efforts, for now at least, to restore one of the oldest lighthouses on Lake Erie's north shore.
Port Burwell is home to both the HMCS Ojibwa, a museum-piece submarine tourists can visit, and to the historic lighthouse that dates back to 1840.
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Inside Gerard Butler thriller that reignited interest in 1900 Scottish lighthouse mystery
The unexplained disappearance of a trip of lighthouse keepers has been one of Scotland's biggest mysteries for more than a century. In December 1900, three men working on the Eilean Mor outpost to the west of the Outer Hebrides vanished without a trace.
A ship passing the Flannan Isles noticed that the light was out and called a relief crew after docking on the mainland. They came ashore and discovered that the maintenance workers were gone. However, nothing else appeared to be amiss, save for one solitary, upturned chair.
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Gay Head (MA) lighthouse undergoing beacon change
The rotating red-and-white pattern of the Gay Head Light in Aquinnah comes from a model of beacon so obsolete that it is used by only five other U.S. Coast Guard lighthouses. But the time has come for an upgrade.
The Carlisle & Finch company's "DCB-224 aerobeacon" lights were produced so that airports could signal to planes. But they also became common in lighthouses nationwide by the middle of the 20th century.
Click here to see more of Gay Head on the USLHS Research Catalog
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Life as a Great Lakes shoreline lighthouse keeper
According to the Michigan Lighthouse Guide, there are over 200 operating lighthouses lining the Great Lakes shorelines.
Research from Central Michigan University's Clarke Historical Library revealed Michigan's first lighthouse was constructed in 1825 as the Fort Gratiot Light near Port Huron. The 82-foot-high light is still in operation.
Click here to see more of Fort Gratiot on the USLHS Research Catalog
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New Point Loma (CA) Lighthouse in good standing for another century
La Playa Trail Association presents its next history lecture, "The Restoration of San Diego's Operational Lighthouse" by authors and twin sisters, Kim Fahlen and Karen Scanlon at Point Loma Assembly.
The leggy iron tower that has stood beckoning ships at the lower tip of Point Loma since 1891 underwent an extensive restoration completed in early 2020. Now the old rust bucket is in good standing for another century.
Click here to see more of New Point Loma on the USLHS Research Catalog
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Horton Point (NY) Lighthouse Nautical Museum Named Best on Long Island's North Fork
Southold Historical Museum, which operates the Nautical Museum at Horton Point Lighthouse announced that has been named "Best Family Attraction" in Long Island, NY's North Fork region by Dan's Papers.
In addition to its exhibits on the region's rich maritime heritage, including displays on shipwrecks, run running, whaling and merchant activities that are of interest to all visitors, the Museum has recently enhanced our exhibits to appeal to the next generation of lighthouse enthusiasts.
For more information email info@southoldhistorical.org
Click here to see more of Horton Point on the USLHS Research Catalog
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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