Beacons in the Night: Lighthouse Keepers, Legends and Lore

Aquinnah Lighthouse

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

(This is my personal photo)

I've always loved lighthouses and have been fortunate to visit a few here in New England and the Kilauea Lighthouse  on the island of Kauai. For many the position of lighthouse keeper carries a sense of romance and wonder with it but in fact, it was a dangerous and lonely life. Many lighthouse keepers were heroes as well, risking their lives to save others.

Men were not the only ones to tend the lighthouses, many women also took on the responsibility, at least here in the United States.
   

August 7 is National Lighthouse Day so I offer you some history, stories, curriculum and crafts to celebrate this special day, and to remember those who valiantly lit the way for sailors throughout the centuries.

LIGHTHOUSE FACTS

• The tallest lighthouse is Cape Hatteras, NC (196 ft. built in 1872).
• The most expensive lighthouse built in America is St. George Reef, off Crescent City, California.. It took ten years to construct (1882-1892) and cost $715,000.00.
• The Lighthouse Service was created in 1789 by the 9th Act of the first Congress.
• There were never more than 850 lighthouses in operation at once, although about 1,500 were constructed in this country over the years.
• The first fog signal in this country, a cannon, was at the Boston Lighthouse.  The 1st Order Fresnel lens was installed on Seguin Island, Maine in 1857. This extremely rare lens stands 12 feet tall and can be seen for 20+ nautical miles.
• Towers are given special (painted) patterns, diamond shapes, spirals, stripes, etc. or colors to distinguish them from each other.
• The most famous lighthouse in history is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, built on the island of Pharos in Hellenistic Egypt.
• The oldest existing lighthouse in the world is La Torrede Hercules located in La Coruña, in Galicia, Spain. They say this lighthouse dates back to ca. 20BC

The information above was gathered from the following resources: http://www.seathelights.com/index.html

http://www.spanish-teaching.com/2007/1/the-oldest-lighthouse-in-the-world http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1312

STORIES

Green Lantern – A Michigan Ghost Story
http://tinyurl.com/62ed64v

Mariner’s Museum – A valuable collection of resources outlining women’s experiences and contributions as sailors, lighthouse keepers, yachting, mermaid myths, etc., dating back to 1493. There is also an extensive bibliography. This site is full of information about women of the sea. It also includes three tales about three women who served in what was known then as a male occupation.

http://www.marinersmuseum.org/sites/micro/women/index.htm

The sites below offer snippets of stories and information that will help you research the tales to shed more light on the legends...pun intended.

Don’t Turn Off the Lights: Haunted Lighthouses  https://www.beachcombingmagazine.com/blogs/news/haunted-lighthouses

Legends and Hauntings of Oregon Coast Lighthouses – Historical background intertwined with short stories of ghostly specters.

https://beachconnection.net/news/lhou112606_01224.htm   

The Most Haunted Lighthouses of the Great Lakes Region
https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/the-most-haunted-lighthouses-of-the-great-lakes-region

 

CRAFTS

Build a Lighthouse
http://www.cheslights.org/cheskids/html/kidscraft.htm

Coloring Pages - Free to download.
http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/tags/lighthouses 

How To Make a Paper Lighthouse 
https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/crafts/paper-crafts/paper-lighthouses.htm

Puzzles, Mazes and Matchups 
http://www.cheslights.org/cheskids/pdf/lighthousekids.pd

CURRICULUM

Education World – Grades 3-5

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/00-1/lesson0075.shtml

Keeping the Lights for Kids by Elinor De Wire 
https://uslhs.org/sites/default/files/teaching_guides/abbie_burgess/Teaching%20Guide%2C%20Keep%20the%20Lights%20Burning%2C%20Abbie.pdf

Teacher’s Lighthouse Resources for grade K-4 – Offered by the United States Coast Guard offers a rich history of lighthouses from past to present. 
https://media.defense.gov/2017/Jul/01/2001772248/-1/-1/0/LIGHTHOUSECURRICULUM.PDF

United States Lighthouse Society – Curriculum materials for K-4, fun activities, crafts, and so much more.

https://uslhs.org/education/educational-materials   

Take a tour of lighthouses around the world.

30 Lighthouse You Have to Visit in Your Lifetime  
https://www.insider.com/beautiful-lighthouses-world-2017-8

Lighthouse of Australia  

https://lighthouses.org.au/nsw/  

Lighthouses of British Columbia 

https://www.lighthousefriends.com/pull-state.asp?state=BC

Lighthouse Directory - Information and links for more than 13,600 of the world's lighthouses. 
https://uslhs.org/resources/lighthouse-directories-organizations/directories 

Lighthouses of Greece 

http://www.faroi.com/

New England Lighthouses – A Virtual Guide – History, photos and more. 

http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/  

US Lighthouses 

https://www.us-lighthouses.com/    

ADDITIONAL READING

Barnes and Noble – A long list of children’s books and more focusing on lighthouses.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/LIGHTHOUSES/_/N-8qc   

Women Who Kept the Light by Mary Louise Gifford

https://tinyurl.com/xa5kbm6w 

 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2011 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.