Sabine Pass Lighthouse, LA

Out of the marshlands in the extreme southwest corner of the “L”-shaped state of Louisiana, an abandoned brick tower points skyward. Eight buttresses flare out from the bottom of the structure, like the fins on a missile. As it rises, the octagonal tower gradually tapers to a conical dome, which completes the image of a rocket poised for liftoff. The proximity of Houston’s Space Center might add further to the credibility of the picture, but closer examination reveals that this monolith is fortunate to be standing, let alone flying. During its life span of roughly a century and a half, the Sabine Pass Lighthouse has survived Civil War battles, innumerable storms, surging floodwaters, a marsh fire, vandalism, and long periods of neglect and indifference. Cameron Preservation Alliance – Sabine Pass Lighthouse, Inc. was formed in 1999 to rescue the lighthouse. The group will hopefully succeed with their ambitious project, permitting individuals to experience this unique lighthouse firsthand, rather than through one-dimensional words and photographs. Work on the eighty-foot brick tower and adjacent wooden dwelling began in the latter part of 1855, and the lighthouse went into service sometime in the late spring or early summer of 1857. As the tower was built on soft marshland, closely spaced wooden pilings were driven into the ground to provide a foundation, and eight buttresses were extended from the base of the tower to distribute its weight over a larger area. Four of the buttresses extended to a radius of ten feet, while the other four protruded an additional eight feet. A third-order Fresnel lens was employed in the lantern room, and the tower and dwelling were painted white. The lighthouse was only in operation for a little over four years, when it fell dark on August 16, 1861, and remained so for the duration of the Civil War. While Southern forces were constructing Fort Griffin on the west bank of the Sabine River, Union soldiers, who were part of the naval blockade of the Sabine River, spied on the progress of the defense works from the top of the Sabine Pass Lighthouse. Five months later, the Battle of Sabine Pass was fought practically in the shadow of the tower. Still, the lighthouse managed to survive the war remarkably well, and on December 23, 1865, it was returned to service after having been reunited with its lens that had earlier been shipped to New York by Union forces. The decision was made to keep the lighthouse active, and in 1932 two ten-foot-wide, black horizontal bands were painted on the tower to make it more visible on hazy days. By 1952, modern technology had further diminished the need for the Sabine Pass Lighthouse, and it was abandoned. In 1953, the federal government turned the property over to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission that planned to use the buildings as a field station for its game wardens. However, the station was underutilized and was eventually returned to the General Services Administration. In 1971, the property was given to Lamar State College of Technology at Beaumont. The college intended to use the site as a research and teaching complex, but the expense of accessing the station thwarted their plans, and they returned the property to the federal government after four years. A four mile road has been built to the lighthouse, making the lighthouse approachable by land for the first time. This improvement should aide in the restoration effort. To help with their fundraising efforts, the preservation alliance has hosted an annual hayride to the lighthouse. With continued vision and persistence and a healthy grant or two, the project just might take off. References: Lighthouses of Texas, T. Lindsay Baker, 2001. Lighthouses, Lightships, and the Gulf of Mexico, David Cipra, 1997. Cameron Preservation Alliance Historical Book, 2000.

Holiday Blessings From My Home to Yours

May you have a safe and joyous Holiday Season

Olcott Light, NY

In the 1870s, piers were constructed on either side of Eighteen Mile Creek, so named because of its location eighteen miles east of the Niagara River, to form a protected Harbor at Olcott. Each pier extended over 800 feet into Lake Ontario, and the end of the western pier was marked in 1873 with a square, pyramidal tower built of wood.

Olcott was a port of entry, and ships from Canada would regularly offload grain there to be shipped to Rochester and Oswego. The port was staffed with a custom inspector, and a lighthouse keeper. R.M. Mathews served as a keeper for several years and was known for always wearing his uniform while on duty. Around 1930, the lighthouse, no longer needed, was relocated to a local yacht club. The tower slowly deteriorated over the years until about 1963 when the club decided the tower could not be restored and dismantled it.

Olcott, once a popular lakeside resort, is experiencing a rebirth, and the lighthouse was not the only historic icon to return to the city in 2003. A separate group had spent thee years raising funds to purchase and refurbish a 1928 Herschell-Spillman carousel to replace one that was part of the former Olcott Amusement Park. Besides the carousel, vintage rocket-ship, boat, car, and fighter-plane rides were also operational in 2004 as part of the children’s Olcott Beach Carousel Park. Rides on the carousel are only a quarter and are enjoyed both by children and the young at heart.

References:
http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=910

Old Fort Niagara Lighthouse, Ontario

Fort Niagara was established in 1726, on the northeastern shore of the Niagara River, facing Lake Ontario. "The French Castle", as the fort was nicknamed, was constructed in a region of growing importance to French fur traders. The fort was used as a day mark for the traders. The British captured Fort Niagara in 1759, during the French and Indian War. The British established a light on the roof of the castle in 1781. This light remained in service until 1796, when it was discontinued by the Americans.

The tower was dismantled in approximately 1803. A new beacon was established in 1823. A wooden tower was built on the roof of the castle. The Erie Canal (1825) and Welland Canal (1829), which bypassed the area, greatly reduced commercial traffic past the fort. In particular, the Welland Canal bypassed the Niagara River entirely, opening up direct travel between Lakes Erie and Ontario. (Previously, vessels would have needed to bypass Niagara Falls.)

In 1872, the light was replaced by the current structure, an octagonal gray stone tower outside the fort. The tower was originally 50 feet high. In 1900, the tower height was increased by 11 feet (above the protruding ring of arches on the present tower). The new space below the lantern room served as a keeper's watchroom, and the light was visible for 25 miles. The Coast Guard discontinued the light on May 13, 1993.

The lighthouse is currently leased to the Old Fort Niagara Association, which maintains the light as a museum and gift shop.

more info:
Fort Niagara Light - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Support Fort Niagara Lighthouse:
Old Fort Niagara :: Support Fort Niagara

Umpqua River Lighthouse, OR

During the summer of 1849, the Coast Survey, headed by Alexander D. Bache, set out along the unmarked West Coast to determine the most beneficial locations for lighthouses. The Umpqua River mouth was selected as one of only six sites in the Oregon territory, which included the modern day states of Oregon and Washington.

Many thought the Umpqua River area would become a major shipping center due to its abundance of "green gold," the pristine timber rapidly being harvested. The turbulent force with which the river collided with the ocean created a great hazard for ships, and a beacon marking the spot was greatly needed. In 1888, $50,000 was appropriated for the construction of the second Umpqua River lighthouse. This time, with lesson learned, it was built further inland on a headland above the mouth of the river. The site is the furthest away from a river or ocean of all the lighthouses along the Oregon coast. Construction lasted from 1891 to 1894. The new lighthouse, a sibling to Heceta Head, is a 65-foot tower which stands 165 feet above sea level. The tower, brick overlaid with cement plaster, is five feet thick at the base and tapers to 21 inches thick at the parapet.

Today the Fresnel light is still shining. The lighthouse is part of the Umpqua River State Park and is managed by Douglas County Parks, who host a museum in a nearby historic Coast Guard building and conduct tours of the tower during the summer months. In 2007, Senator Gordon Smith introduced a provision as part of the Coast Guard Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 that would facilitate alternative housing arrangements for Coast Guard personnel allowing the area surrounding the Umpqua River Lighthouse to be converted into a county park.

The following was submitted by Ryan J. Cunningham:

UMPQUA RIVER LIGHTHOUSE
It was the beginning of a prosperous time,
On the Umpqua River in 1849.
Long ago in days of old,
The timber industry began, known as “Green Gold.”
A lighthouse was needed to light the way,
Along the river, into the bay.
In the year of 1856, construction began.
But it was being built on the Indians hunting land.
So they stole the workers tools each day,
Causing their progress to be delayed.
A blast of dynamite scared the Indians away,
And soon all the tools were found.
Finally finishing the Cape Cod style duplex,
a task which proved to be complex.
The Lighthouse Keeper’s family moved into the place,
And the Keeper climbed the spiral staircase.
With its brilliant, red glow shining bright,
Leading ships out of the darkness, into the light.

Cape Byron Lighthouse, Byron Bay, Australia

Standing on a bald rocky headland with a precipitious cliff on the east side, and a sheer drop of approximately 100 metres, Cape Byron Lighthouse is the most easterly light in Australia, and one of the most powerful. The tower is constructed from concrete blocks made on the ground, lifted and cemented into position and finally cement rendered inside and out. This technique saved erecting framework. The eight ton optical lens was made by the French company, Societe des Establishment, Henry Lepante, Paris.

It is a dioptric first-order bivalve double flashing lens and contains 760 pieces of highly polished prismatic glass. The lens revolves on a bath of 7cwt mercury. The original illuminant was a concentric six-wick kerosene burner. This was replaced in 1922 by a vaporised kerosene mantle burner, which increased the intensity from 145,000 cp to 500,000 cp. In 1956, the light was converted to mains electricity increasing the intensity to 2,200,000 cd. The original lens weight driven mechanism, which works on a similar principle as that of a grandfather clock, was also replaced with an electric drive motor when the light was converted to electric operation. An auxiliary fixed red light is exhibited from the tower to cover Julian Rocks to the north.

The Event

The installation of the lighthouse was regarded as a great event in the district of Byron Bay. A banquet was arranged and special trains carried visitors from Lismore and Murwillumbah for the opening. The Premier of the day, the Hon. John See (later Sir John See), was accompanied by a number of his colleagues who left Sydney in the Government steamer 'Victoria'. However, bad weather prevented the vessel from arriving on time, and when the party should have been banqueting the steamer was some thirty miles away. She arrived in the bay just before midnight on 30 November 1901, but again, the weather made it impossible for the party to land until dawn.

The Lighthouse Opened

After landing, the party was informed that the banquet had taken place on the previous evening, and the necessary toast had been heartily drunk in the absence of the Premier and his party. Mr See, after making an acrobatic performance in landing, was cordially cheered, and later formally welcomed at the Great Northern Hotel. Interestingly, the lighthouse was christened with a rich and sumptuous vintage burgundy - not dashed against the tower to waste, but sipped by the ladies and legislators to compensate for having missed all the good things of the banquet held the night before.

Visit Cape Byron Headland Reserve page for more information.

Lighthouse Vandalism

Such disturbing news that lighthouses in various of locations are being vandalized. How sad is this? More so, who would do such a thing?
And what can we do about it?

Some are covered with graffiti of swear words and vulgarity. That alone is terrible.
But to place names of the conspiritor, that's just plain stupidity. Did they want everyone to know who did it? What could anyone get out of this? One could never know. Lighthouses of guidance for the open shores and beauty for the lovers of light and enthusiasts, look on with wonder and amazement and hopes that somehow we all can help stop this uncivilized manner.

I am sure the Lights are being renovated and cleaned up. At least I hope. If I could do anything in my power to help and prevent from something like this to happen again, I know I would without a second thought. Should the Coastguard be more alert? Should any other organization be for that matter?
There is a Preservation Act. There are other organizations and groups. There are local authorities. And there are admired individuals like We, who look up to these amazing Lights and love them.



From Lighthouse News:

Lighthouse Vandalism: Ongoing Problem In NSW Australia
More Vandalism At Tacking Point
Police Arrest Lighthouse Vandals
Port Elizabeth Lighthouse Broken Into
Lighthouse Keeper’s Home On The Market
Hope For Vandalized Crookhaven Lighthouse
Mexican Lighthouse Vandalism Thwarted
Theft at Toledo Harbor Lighthouse
Holland Harbor Lighthouse Vandalized

Wisdom Guides

Rock of Salvation

Thomas Kinkade Portraits


Love is the one treasure that multiplies by division.
You can give it away, throw it away,
empty your pockets, shake the basket,
turn the glass upside down,
and tomorrow you will have more than ever.

Shades of Light

The Lighthouse Keeper Wonders
Edgar Guest


The light I have tended for 40 years
is now to be run by a set of gears.
The Keeper said, And it isn’t nice
to be put ashore by a mere device.

Now, fair or foul the wind that blow
or smooth or rough the sea below,
It is all the same. The ships at night
will run to an automatic light.

The clock and gear which truly turn
are timed and set so the light shall burn.
But did ever an automatic thing
set plants about in early Spring?

And did ever a bit of wire and gear
a cry for help in darkness hear?
Or welcome callers and show them through
the lighthouse rooms as I used to do?

‘Tis not in malice these things I say
All men must bow to the newer way.
But it’s strange for a lighthouse man like me
after forty years on shore to be.

And I wonder now - will the grass stay green?
Will the brass stay bright and the windows clean?
And will ever that automatic thing
plant marigolds in early Spring?

Shades of Light

Lightships

From 1898 to 1971, lightships were important elements in the system of navigation aids along Washington’s coast. On May 22, 1898, Light Vessel No. 67 became the first on Washington’s coast. She arrived at Umatilla Reef, 11 miles south of Cape Flattery. In 1909, Light Vessel No. 93 became Washington’s second lightship by taking station on Swiftsure Bank, 14 miles northwest of Cape Flattery. Thus, Washington had two of the Pacific Coast’s five lightships. Today lightships survive only as museum exhibits.

From Cape Mendecino to Cape Flattery

Maritime traffic bound for or departing Washington’s Columbia River ports also made use of Oregon’s only lightship, which was stationed off the Columbia River Bar. This made the Columbia Bar in one sense a "Washington" station because Columbia Bar lightships frequently served as relief vessels at Umatilla Reef and Swiftsure Bank.

The United States Lighthouse Service, which operated the lightships, placed the remaining two Pacific Coast light vessels at the San Francisco Bar and at Blunt’s Reef north of San Francisco. The lightships in California, Oregon, and Washington complemented the service’s lighthouses on the Pacific Coast. In Washington, these were at Cape Disappointment, North Head, Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor, Destruction Island, and Cape Flattery. They completed a chain of coastal beacons that stretched from California’s Cape Mendocino to Washington’s Cape Flattery. The arcs of the principal lights overlapped except for three short intervals.

Origin and Purpose of Lightships

The first world’s lightship went into operation in 1732 at the Nore, a sandbank in the estuary of England’s Thames River. Thereafter, in locations needing navigation aids but where lighthouse construction proved impossible or exorbitantly expensive, authorities, often reluctantly, substituted lightships. Officials responsible for navigation aids soon learned to prefer lighthouses to the floating beacons. Lightships, they learned, cost more to operate and maintain, and storms could drive them off station.

Lightship locations were usually approaches to ports or bays, or the outer limits of off-lying dangers such as reefs. In addition to their adaptability to localities inappropriate for lighthouses, lightships had the advantage of providing light and fog signals for which vessels could steer directly without fear of running aground. Early United States Coast Pilots even encouraged ships to run close aboard lightships. But following this advice had its hazards. In United States waters, ships have rammed lightships more than 100 times. In five instances, the lightships sank.

The first lightship in American waters began operation on Chesapeake Bay in 1820. Between 1820 and 1983, when the Coast Guard decommissioned the last American lightship, 179 of the vessels entered American service. At the peak of the lightship era in 1909, 56 lightships were in United States service.

Characteristics and Capabilities

American experience with lightships by the end of the nineteenth century led to a uniform design. Standard features included a length of about 135 feet, flat bottoms, rounded bows, bilge keels intended to reduce rolling, mushroom anchors weighing up to 7,800 pounds, and decks designed to allow water runoff. Lantern galleries with primary and standby lights on double masts permitted the ships’ beacons to be constantly illuminated. Radios became standard equipment for offshore lightships after 1901.

In 1912 the Light House Service assigned to its lightships visual call signs based on the International Code of Signals. These call signals, displayed through signal flags, added to the ways in which mariners could identify particular lightships. Until the 1920s, daymarks or distinctive round hoops mounted to one or both mastheads further identified each lightship.

Radios permitted not only ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship communication. They also enabled lightships to ask immediately for help for themselves or other craft, transmit critical weather bulletins, and report if blown off station. The U.S. Navy first assigned two-letter radio call signs for lightships. Three- and four-letter call signs developed by the U.S. Bureau of Standards soon replaced them. After 1921, lightships began to broadcast radio beacons that mariners could use to plot their location relative to the lightship.

When the Coast Guard took over the duties of the Light House Service in 1939-1940, it assigned new visual and radio call signs to lightships. The same radio call and flag hoist identified each lightship station with a separate call sign and hoist used by light vessels when they were off station. No. 113’s radio and visual call sign from 1940 to 1968 at Swiftsure Bank was, for example, NMJA. Submarine bells went into regular use in 1906. Suspended beneath some light vessel to a depth of 25 to 35 feet and operated by compressed air, the bells exhibited distinctive tones audible to distances of 10 miles or more to ships equipped with appropriate listening devices. In 1891, the U.S. Light House Service introduced its first self-propelled lightships. Prior to 1923, steam engines were universal. After 1923, diesel and diesel-electric power gradually replaced steam plants.

Lightships usually had straw-colored or red hulls. Either side of the hull bore the station’s name painted in large letters. After 1940, the U.S. Coast Guard standardized its lightships’ paint schemes. Red hulls featured six-and-one-half-foot white letters announcing the light station’s name. White paint distinguished deckhouses and boats, and mast and trim were buff. The ships became known by the names of their stations.

On November 28, 1899, gale force winds broke the heavy chains linking No. 50 to her anchors and drove the helpless ship onto Cape Disappointment on the Washington side of the Columbia River entrance. Six months’ effort at hauling her off the beach came to naught. In June 1900, three contractors suggested moving No. 50 overland to Baker’s Bay. This cove on the north shore of the Columbia, just inside the river entrance, lay about 700 yards from the grounding site. After laying No. 50 up at Astoria in 1909, the Light House Service had her surveyed and condemned in 1915. The service then sold her at public auction for $1,667.99 on April 27, 1915. Subsequent owners used her as a freighter in Alaskan waters under the name of San Cosmo and Margaret until 1935.

Umatilla Reef Station

Umatilla Reef Lightship Station was located offshore from the small Indian village of Ozette, 11 miles south of Cape Flattery. About four miles seaward from Cape Alva, and 2.5 miles south of Umatilla Reef, the station aided mariners transiting the coast or making landfall after transoceanic voyages. In Washington, No. 83 (later WLV 508) found a final resting place as a museum ship at Seattle’s Northwest Seaport. She had spent time at all five Pacific Coast light stations between 1905 and 1960, when she concluded her career as a relief ship for the Thirteenth Coast Guard District in Seattle.

The end of the lightship era in America began when a 1957 study estimated the annual cost of a lightship station at $1.32 million and determined that each station required 1.32 vessels. Seeking to cut costs, the U.S. Coast Guard began to replace the lightships with either offshore light structures similar to oil platforms or the new Large Navigation Buoys (LNBs). The steel 60-ton LNBs with 35-foot tower masts topped with 35-foot radio beacon antenna replaced deepwater lightship stations. Radio circuits provided remote control of navigation aids on the buoys. These included lights, sound signals, and radio beacons.

Sources:

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/h_lightships.html

http://www.uscglightshipsailors.org

http://www.randomb.com/orelighthouse/lightship2.htm