Arte y Pico Award Ceremony at Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse

My friend, Linda who is the very creative Blogger and talented writer of Are We There Yet, received the Arte y pico Award of Blogging creativity. Congratulations on receiving this treasured award in recognition of your talented Blogging skills, Linda!

Linda secretly set sail to Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse, the “Eiffel Tower of Long Island Sound” to illuminate my peaceful harbor and award me with her prestigious Arte y Pico Award! Gracias, Linda!

I have the honor to “Pay this Award Forward” to another talented and creative Blogger, Bobby Revell of Revellian Reflections who is always available to help Bloggers and he also writes amazing fictional adventures!

Lighthouse Background:

After the Revolutionary War, shipping in Long Island Sound increased during the early 1800’s and numerous ships were wrecked on the reefs surrounding the three-acre crescent shaped island located about 3.5-miles offshore from Guilford, Connecticut. In 1802, a 42-foot high octagonal sandstone Lighthouse was built and exhibited a Fixed White Light illuminated by 12 oil lamps to mark the dangerous island.

The second oldest Lighthouse in Connecticut was the reason a federal law was passed prohibiting the sale of liquor at American light stations. Lighthouse Keeper Eli Kimberley (1818-1851) built a bowling alley with a bar which was visited by up to a hundred patrons every day during the summer. Drinking at American Lighthouses ended soon after 20 men from New Haven became drunk at the Lighthouse Keeper’s Bar and destroyed the Keepers boat, lighthouse equipment, and the Kimberlys’ vegetable garden on the Fourth of July in 1829.

In 1856, the whale oil lamps were replaced by a Fourth-order Fresnel lens and currently, the active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation exhibits a Flashing White Light every 10-seconds illuminated by a modern solar powered VRB-25 optic 94-feet above sea level to a visible range of 13 nautical miles.

In 1978, the Lighthouse was automated after a fire destroyed the 1871 Keeper’s House on March 15, 1976. After Congress established the Connecticut Coastal McKinney National Wildlife Refuge in 1984, Faulkner’s Island and the Lighthouse was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1985 to research and protect the endangered Roseate Tern. The Coast Guard has an access easement to maintain the beacon.

After years of neglect, vandalism, and erosion slowly destroying the foundation of the Lighthouse, Joel Helander, a Lighthouse Preservationist, founded the Faulkner’s Light Brigade in 1991 to save the historic Lighthouse treasure.

In 1999, the International Chimney Corporation of Buffalo, New York, a renown Lighthouse moving company, restored the lighthouse for $250,000 to its 1871 appearance. In a effort to control erosion, a massive 20-foot high and 50-feet wide stone wall was erected along the east embankment in 2000.

During the summer, the island is closed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the nesting area of the Roseate Terns. Faulkner’s Light Brigade, who maintain the Lighthouse, opens the Lighthouse for tours in September. Their 2008 Open House has been scheduled for September 6-7 and September 13-14, weather permitting.

Map Location:
For a Map Location of the Lighthouse, please visit the Google Map of the Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse

Technorati Tags: lighthouse, Arte y Pico Award Ceremony at Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse, Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse, Guilford, Connecticut

Nubble Lighthouse FEMA Funding

The town of York is expecting to receive federal funding to repair picturesque Cape Neddick Lighthouse and the attached Keeper’s house, located on top of a small scenic island called the Nubble which is offshore from Sohier Park in York, Maine.

During the Patriots Day Storm of 2007, the Keeper’s house roof, stairs, boat ramp, boat house, tram between the Nubble and Sohier Park, and the island were damaged. Last year, FEMA provided $15,000 to stabilize the erosion with rip rap. Unfortunately, the erosion was not stabilized.

After negotiations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Sullivan hopes to receive $450,000 to repair the damages to the Nubble and perimeter of Sohier Park.

Lighthouse Background:

Nubble Lighthouse was First Lit on July 1, 1879 exhibiting a Fixed Red light illuminated by Fourth-order Fresnel Lens 88-feet above sea level visible to a range of 13 nautical miles. Currently, the Light blinks a Red Light for 6 seconds and winks for 6 seconds of darkness (Isophase Red 6-seconds).

Every year, the Nubble Lighthouse is decorated with white lights outlining the Tower and houses. A “Christmas in July” event is scheduled for Sunday July 27, 2008 from 8-9pm to celebrate York Days. The Annual Lighting of the Nubble occurs on the the first Saturday after Thanksgiving from 5-6pm (Nov 29, 2008 this year).

Nubble Lighthouse is best viewed from Sohier Park which provides excellent views for photographing the scenic seacoast Lighthouse and a gift shop at the Welcome Center.

Map Location:
For Map Directions, please visit the Google Map of Nubble Lighthouse.

For more Nubble Light history, please visit the Nubble Lighthouse Guide.

Related Past Posts:
Win a Lighthouse Vacation, July 26th, 2007
Nubble Rock and Lighthouse damage estimated at $1 million, June 28th, 2007

Related News Source:
York hopes for FEMA money to fix Nubble lighthouse

Technorati Tags: lighthouse, Nubble Lighthouse FEMA Funding, Cape Neddick Lighthouse, York, Maine, Vacation, Maine

Mayo’s Beach and Point Montara Lighthouse Mystery Solved

For years, local historians believed the 30-foot Lighthouse Tower at Mayo Beach in Wellfleet Harbor, Cape Cod was destroyed. Yet, recent research indicates the information from an archived photo revealed the Tower was stored in Coast Guard surplus and reused as the iron Tower of Point Montara Lighthouse in California.

Local historians were surprised by the new historical discovery. Briefly, they believed the lighthouse was erected in Wellfleet, Massachusetts in 1881, deactivated in 1922, sold at auction to a private party in 1923, and the lighthouse was razed in 1939.

According to Bob Shanklin whose family began researching a 1927 photograph of the Lighthouse on Yerba Buena Island last summer, “Everyone in California thought the lighthouse was built at Yerba Buena and everyone on Cape Cod thought it was destroyed.”

Colleen MacNeney, the daughter of Bob and Sandra Shanklin who are also known as the “The Lighthouse People” online, was digitally archiving historic photographs from the U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s office when she found a photograph of a lighthouse tower in Yerba Buena, Calif., dated 1927 with the inscription on the back: “This tower formerly used at Mayo Beach, 2d District.”

After extensive research at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., Colleen found documents which proved the lighthouse had been moved 3,000-miles from Wellfleet to Yerba Buena Island and eventually to Point Montara in 1928.

U.S. Coast Guard Chief Historian Robert Browning stated, “The facts kind of got lost in history. It’s just one of those things. Knowing the federal government and the Lighthouse Bureau, they were pretty frugal institutions and I’m guessing they saved the lighthouse because they knew they’d find use for it again somewhere.”

The Coast Guard summary of Lighthouses states that Mayo’s Beach lighthouse was destroyed and Coast Guard assistant historian Scott Price stated, “We have it down as being razed. We need to fix that, then.”

For more information about Mayo Beach Lighthouse, please click HERE.

Map Location:
For a Map Location of the Lighthouse, please visit the Google Map of Mayo’s Beach Lighthouse

Currently, the Keeper’s House at Point Montara Lighthouse is a 50-bed American youth hostel and Point Montara Lighthouse is a U.S. Coast Guard Active Aid to Navigation.

For more information about Point Montara Lighthouse, please click HERE.

Map Location:
For a Map Location of the Lighthouse, please visit the Google Map of Point Montara Lighthouse

Related News Source:
Cape lighthouse mystery solved, June 04, 2008

Technorati Tags: lighthouse, Mayo’s Beach and Point Montara Lighthouse Mystery Solved, Mayo Beach Lighthouse, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, Point Montara Lighthouse, Montara, California

Lighthouse Restoration Initiative Election

JELD-WEN windows and doors has selected twelve lighthouses from a field of 49 nominees as the final candidates to be voted for in electing one(?) lighthouse to win new JELD-WEN windows and doors.

Please review the following twelve Lighthouse candidates and vote for one lighthouse on or before September 7, 2008.
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• Baltimore Lighthouse, Maryland ~ 1908 ~ Map
• Bodie Island Lighthouse, NC ~ October 1, 1872 ~ Map ~ Post
• Cedar Island Lighthouse, New York ~1868 ~ Map
• Grand Traverse Lighthouse, Michigan ~ 1858 ~ Map
• Grays Harbor Lightstation, WA ~ June 30, 1898 ~ Map
• New Canal Lighthouse, Louisiana ~ June 2, 1890 ~ Map
• New Dungeness Light, WA ~ Dec 14, 1857 ~ Map ~ Post
• Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine ~ 1835 ~ Map ~ Post
• Plum Island Station, Wisconsin ~ Map
• Point Arena Light Station, California ~ May 1, 1870 ~ Map
• Rose Island Lighthouse, RI ~ Jan 20, 1870 ~ Map ~ Post
• Toledo Harbor Lighthouse, Ohio ~ May 23, 1904 ~ Map

To view Lighthouse photos and to Vote, click HERE!

After voting for your favorite lighthouse, please click HERE to enjoy the Lighthouse Laughter of Captain Speedcat 😀

Related past post:
Lighthouse Restoration Initiative Nominations

Technorati Tags: lighthouse, Lighthouse Restoration Initiative Election, Lighthouse Preservation

Scituate Lighthouse Keeper Job Opening

The Scituate Historical Society is looking for a new Lighthouse Keeper for their Scituate Lighthouse, currently a private aid located at Cedar Point to guide mariners into the entrance of picturesque Scituate Harbor.

The current Lighthouse Keeper is leaving her post this fall after 22-years of service. For an Application or more information, please visit the Little Red Schoolhouse at 43 Cudworth Road between 10 and 4 pm weekdays.
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Lighthouse Background:

Scituate Lighthouse is home to one of the most unusual Lighthouse Legends on the east coast. The “Lighthouse Army of Two” legend is a famous children’s story about two sisters who extinguished the Light in the Lighthouse and played Yankee Doodle on their fife and drum to a British landing party from a warship anchored nearby during the War of 1812. The British allegedly assumed the town’s militia was approaching upon hearing the military marching tune and retreated from entering the unprotected town.

The British Navy eventually blockaded the ports on the Atlantic coast in 1814. British forces plundered and burned 10 ships in Scituate Harbor on June 11, 1814. Rebecca and Abigail Bates, daughters of the first Light-keeper, Simeon Bates, were allegedly terrified to see a British warship anchored offshore on September 1, 1814.

Despite the numerous conflicting accounts of their story, many seem to believe the legend is true. Many Scituate residents doubted their story in 1814 and later, Rebecca Bates sold affidavits to claim her story was true.

For more information about their Lighthouse Legend and the history of the Lighthouse, please click on the photo of this post.

Map Location:
For a Map Location of the Lighthouse, please visit the Google Map of Scituate Lighthouse

Related News Source:
Historical society seeks lighthouse keeper

Technorati Tags: lighthouse, Scituate Lighthouse Keeper Job Opening, Scituate Lighthouse, Scituate, Massachusetts