Useful Links
There are many terrific lighthouse web pages to be found on the web. A few of them are listed below. This page will change, as necessary, so watch for updates.
U.S. Lighthouse Society Chapters
Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Restoration
Long Island Lighthouse Chapter
Educational links
National Lighthouse Center & Museum - Staten Island, NY
Tom Wade - Education Coordinator - Lighthouse Program designed for Schools, Libraries, Senior & Civic Groups and Museums - Email: tomaswade@yahoo.com
Governmental Lighthouse Links
Chief Petty Officers Association - North Bend Oregon - This Association is organized to "encourage fidelity, integrity to the Service, and better understanding and fellowship, and to advance the best interests of the enlisted personnel of the Coast Guard..."
The National Archives - Genealogists/Family Historians - This web page provides a brief introductory guide to researching lighthouse buildings and property and their operations and personnel.
Publicly Accessible Lighthouses - National Park Service
Inventory of Historic Lighthouses - National Park Service
U.S. Coast Guard - Historic Light Stations - expanded version of the National Park Service's Inventory of Historic Light Stations, incorporating all of the National Park Service's Inventory and also including every light station on file with the Coast Guard Historian's office
U.S. Coast Guard - Researching Lighthouses & Keepers - Researching the career of anyone who served with the Lighthouse Service or the Coast Guard entails accessing documentation available at a number of different locations. This site is a good start.
U.S. Lighthouse Organizations
Alabama Lighthouse Association - The mission of the Alabama Lighthouse Association is the historic preservation of lighthouses.
The American Lighthouse Coordinating Committee (ALCC) - Listing of all Classical Fresnel Lenses within the United States
The Florida Lighthouse Association - The Florida Lighthouse Association, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the State of Florida for the preservation of Florida's lighthouses and maritime heritage.
Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association - Dedicated to preserving our lighthouses and the history of the people who kept them by developing a new generation of preservationists.
Maine Lighthouse Museum - The Maine Lighthouse Museum (MLM) is the proud home of the largest collection of Fresnel lighthouse lenses and the most important landmark collection of lighthouse artifacts and Coast Guard memorabilia in the United States.
Maritime Exchange Museum - Dedicated to acquiring, restoring, and conserving artifacts related to the USLHS and the USLSS and interpreting them for public education and display.
Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy - Information about lighthouses and life saving stations located in Michigan.
New Jersey Lighthouse Society - Dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the history about and to support the preservation of lighthouses everywhere.
Outer Banks Lighthouse Society - Advocates for North Carolina's Lighthouses
Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Restoration - The City of Annapolis, The United States Lighthouse Society and its Chesapeake Chapter, the Annapolis Maritime Museum, and Anne Arundel County joined forces and are dedicated to maintaining and preserving the lighthouse, to restoring it for historic interpretation, and to operating it for public tours.
Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse - South Portland, ME
Washington Lightkeepers Association - Dedicated to the rehabilitation, restoration, preservation, and perpetuation of Washington’s lighthouses and lightships, as well as their history and lore.
International Lighthouse Organizations
Commissioners of Irish Lights - In Salutem Omnium is the motto of the Commissioners of Irish Lights. A loose translation is For The Safety of All. This website has been designed to inform the public of their work and why it matters.
Lighthouses of Australia - Lighthouses of Australia Inc. is a non-profit organization which aims to create a higher profile for Australian lighthouses within Australia and overseas and thereby preserve, protect and promote their place within our history.
Leading Lights Magazine - The Netherlands - Every issue of the new Leading Lights has eight large glossy full colour photographs of lighthouses from all over the world. Printed on rich glossy paper they can easily be collected in the binder, or used as decoration. The reverse side of each photo gives you details of the lighthouse, its position, elevation, character of the light and other data, as well as a short historical description and detail photos.
Lighthouses of New Zealand - Maritime New Zealand owns and maintains lighthouses and beacons outside harbour limits in New Zealand, they have 23 lighthouses and 74 lightbeacons.
Northern Lighthouse Board - The Northern Lighthouse Board's principal concern is with safety: the safety of the mariner at sea; the safety of our own people employed in or around some of the world's most dangerous coastlines; and the safety of environment in which we, and those who come after us, must live and work.
Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society - The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society is a non-profit society and was founded in 1993 to benefit all the 150 lighthouses in Nova Scotia.
Roter Sand Lighthouse - Germany - Link to a great lighthouse in Germany. The site is entirely in German.
The Swedish Lighthouse Society - Founded to promote and develop the interest for and the knowledge of Lighthouses, Lightstations, Lightvessels and and other Aids to Navigation.
Trinity House - Trinity Houses connection with seamarks dates to the Seamarks Act of 1566 which gave them the powers to set up "So many beacons, marks and signs for the sea…whereby the dangers may be avoided and escaped and ships the better come into their ports without peril.". The first lighthouse built by Trinity House was at Lowestoft in 1609, which was part of a series of lights to help guide vessels through a maze of sandbanks between Happisburgh and Lowestoft. The next two hundred years saw a proliferation of lighthouses and in 1836 legislation was passed for all private lights in England, Wales and the Channel Islands to be compulsory purchased and placed under the management of Trinity House.
World Lighthouse Society - An International meeting place for all who are concerned with raising public awareness of this important part of worldwide maritime heritage.
Lightship Links
Historic Naval Ships Association - Thirty-seven years ago, a group of individuals representing a number of former naval vessels established the Historic Naval Ships Association (HNSA). Its purpose is to facilitate the exchange of information and provide mutual support. The types of vessels arrayed within these pages include aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, PT boats, tall ships, tugboats, and deep-diving research submarines.
Lightship Overfalls LV118 - aka Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation; In September of 1999 a small group of dedicated people got together for the seemingly impossible task of saving one of the last seventeen lightships remaining in the United States, currently berthed in Lewes, Delaware.
U.S. Coast Guard - Lightships of the United States Government - This material was originally compiled and written by Willard Flint and published by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1989 as Lightships and Lightship Stations of the United States Government: Reference Notes. Mr. Joseph Kiebish scanned and edited the section of Flint's book regarding the individual lightships for this office and we gratefully acknowledge his assistance.
National Park Service - The Maritime Hertiage Program - The Maritime Heritage of the United States National Historic Landmark Theme Study - Part One: Large Preserved Historic Vessels: Lightships
Other Interesting Links
The Coast Guard Heritage Museum - An all volunteer noprofit museum and organization staffed by former Coast Guardsmen and women. Located in Barnstable Village, MA, visit and hear the actual stories and history as lived by the men and women who guide you through the museum.
Don & Diana Carter's Lighthouse Page - They have chronicled every lighthouse expedition they have taken – now 42, with hyperlinks for each lighthouse. Over 475 lighthouses are featured.
Gulf Coast Lighthouses - This site is to allow a look at the lighthouses of the United States coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Including some information about the lighthouses and also directions for getting to where you can see the lights.
Happisburgh Lighthouse - Happisburgh Lighthouse is the oldest working light in East Anglia, and the only independently run lighthouse in Great Britain.
Lighthouse E-Clips – This web site is dedicated to Lighthouse enthusiasts who enjoy anything and everything connected with the nostalgia of lighthouses in times past. Concentrating on English and Welsh lighthouses and soon to be adding Scotland.
The Lighthouse Directory – provides information and links for more than 6500 of the world's lighthouses.
Lighthouse Friends - A great site that includes photographs, descriptions, travel directions and GPS coordinates for lighthouses in the United States.
Lighthouse Getaway - Bill Britten has been photographing lighthouses seriously for close to 15 years. He strives to capture in these prints, the timelessness and beauty of the natural setting, the integrity of the light that stays on no matter the conditions for a hundred years and the symbolic representation of human goodness.
Lighthouses of New York State - The goal of the site, now encompassing all of New York State, is to help people learn more about the lighthouses and how to enjoy them and help preserve them.
The Lighthouse People - Bob & Sandra Shanklin's Web site
Lighthouses of the Western Great Lakes - Terry Pepper's terrific web site devoted to lighthouses on Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan.
Navy Photo Lab - Richard Retin's photographic site is intended to be a resource for websites that supports naval organizations, such as ship reunion associations.
Pete's Lantern Room - Inside you will find about 350 original images of Lighthouses from all over the World
Storm Heroes – Storm Heroes is a web site containing the writing and artistic work of Bob and Ann-Marie Trapani, who have been avid lighthouse and lifesaving admirers since 1994 and have worked full-time over the last six years in the field of historic lighthouse and lifesaving preservation.
U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association - The U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association was founded at the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1995 by maritime historians, authors, museum directors, National Park Service professionals and caring people. Its goal is to preserve the stations, history, boats, and equipment of the US Life-Saving Service and US Coast Guard.
U.S. Lifesaving Service Living History Association - The purpose of the Living History Association is to educate the general public on the critical and historical role the "U.S. Lifesaving Service" had in protecting mariners along the shores of these United States.