US Coast Guard Historical Lighthouse Documents

The US Coast Guard has a number of documents available via their historian's Office:

Lighthouses, Lightships, Tenders & Other Aids to Navigation Subjects

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Lighthouses & Light Stations:

Light Stations: Information & Historic Photography

A history of the Lighthouse Act of 1789, written by the U.S. Senate's Historical Office (pdf file)

U.S. Lighthouse Service Chronology, 1716-1939

Lighthouse Subject Files Held by the Historian's Office

Light Station Files Held by the Historian's Office (Alphabetical Listing): Word doc; pdf file

Light Station Files Held by the Historian's Office (Listed by State): Word doc; pdf file

Lighthouse Evolution & Typology

Lighthouses, Lightships, & Aids to Navigation Bibliography

Interesting Lighthouse Facts

U.S. Lighthouse Service Uniforms

Lighthouses Then & Now

Women Lighthouse Keepers

Lighthouses & Other Aids to Navigation in Alaskan History (pdf file)

Historically Famous Lighthouses, CG-232 (pdf)

Remaining Lighthouses: Provided by the U.S. Lighthouse Society

Teachers: a Guide to Teaching About Lighthouses, Kindergarten Through the Fourth Grade (pdf)

Teachers: A Gallery of Lighthouse Images (pdf)

Researching Lighthouses & Keepers?

So you'd like to buy a lighthouse or become a lighthouse keeper?

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Official U.S. Lighthouse Service Documents & Publications:

U.S. Lighthouse Service Uniform Regulations, 1893

U.S. Lighthouse Service Discharge Certificate, Lighthouse-Board Form 77, dated 1904

U.S. Lighthouse Service Tender Painting Regulations (only excerpt of relevant sections of the 1914 U.S. Lighthouse Service Regulations regarding the painting of tenders and lightships)

U. S. Lighthouse Service Uniform Regulations, 1920

U.S. Lighthouse Service Tender Painting Regulations (only excerpt of relevant sectionsof the 1927 U.S. Lighthouse Service Regulations regarding the painting of tenders and lightships)

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Lightships:

Lightship Index

Five lightship sailors describe what life was like on the Chesapeake Lightship during the 1930's.

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Long Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN):

LORAN Index

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Buoys & Buoy-Lighthouse Tenders:

Buoys & Tenders: A History; by Amy K. Marshall; based on her Master's Thesis (next entry)

"Frequently Close to the Point of Peril: A History of Buoys and Tenders in U.S. Coastal Waters, 1789-1939." A Master's Thesis by Amy K. Marshall (pdf).

"U.S. Coast Guard 133-Foot Buoy Tenders": The illustrated HAER Report for the National Park Service on the White-class buoy tenders; the report contains a detailed history of this class of tender, including historic photographs as well as a complete set of plans. (pdf file).

"U.S. Coast Guard 180-Foot Buoy Tenders": The HAER Report for the National Park Service on the 180-foot buoy tenders; the report contains a detailed history of this class of tender, including historic photographs as well as a complete set of plans. (pdf file)

"U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Fir (WLM-212): A Lighthouse Buoy Tender for the Pacific Northwest." The illustrated National Park Service HAER Report on this historic Coast Guard tender. (pdf file)

Sea Going & Coastal Buoy Tenders, A Historic Photo Gallery

Inland, River & Construction Tenders, A History Photo Gallery

- Found on the US Coast Guard website

US - Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse

Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, New York City, United States

The lighthouse was erected in 1880 as the North Hook Beacon at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where it stood until 1917. It was reconstructed in 1921 in its current location by the United States Bureau of Lighthouses as part of a project to improve Hudson River navigational aids, and was in operation until 1947.

The proposed dismantling of the lighthouse in 1951 resulted in a public outcry, largely from fans of Swift's book, leading to the preservation of the lighthouse by the City of New York/Parks & Recreation. The lighthouse is now a New York City landmark (New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are tours on an infrequent basis, especially on the Little Red Lighthouse Festival day in mid-September and Open House New York day in October. - Wikipedia

Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse - New York City




'The Little Red Lighthouse'


Here is the book that made this lighthouse famous:

The Jeffrey's Hook lighthouse, erected in 1880 and moved to its current site in 1921, has become widely known as the children's literary landmark, "The Little Red Lighthouse." The story of the lighthouse in Fort Washington Park was popularized by the children's book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, by Hildegarde H. Swift with illustrations by Lynd Ward, published in 1942. In this fictional account of Jeffrey's Hook lighthouse, the structure was presented as a symbol of the significance of a small thing in a big world. The lighthouse became a celebrated "child's landmark," representing importance and permanence, after the proposed removal of the lighthouse in 1951. The public outcry of children and their allies prompted the preservation of the structure through its transfer to the jurisdiction of the City of New York/Parks & Recreation. - New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

You could say that the book saved the lighthouse, and we are all better off for it!

Little Red Lighthouse - Wikipedia

Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, Fort Washington Park - NY Dept of Parks

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US - Execution Rocks Lighthouse

Execution Rocks Lighthouse, United States

I have sailed past this light many times both during the day and at night.

Possible Origin of the Name:

The name of this reef is reported to be due to a British practice during the Revolutionary War of killing prisoners on the reef by chaining them to the rocks and allowing the high tide to drown them (no one knows how true that may be). Prior to 1850, there had been lights on this reef, but none were official or reliable. The original structure was designed by architect Alexander Parris. This light is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. - Long Island Lighthouses

Execution Rocks Lighthouse is a large lighthouse in Long Island Sound, north of Sands Point. It stands 55 feet tall, with a flashing white light interval of 10 seconds. Built of granite, the tower is painted white with a brown band around its midsection. Beside it stands a stone keeper's house, no longer inhabited since the beacon became automated.

The lighthouse's site got its name before the American Revolutionary War. British colonial authorities executed people by chaining them to the rocks at low tide, allowing the rising water to drown them. - Wikipedia

Google Images: "Execution Rocks"

Execution Rocks Lighthouse - Wikipedia


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