Eldred Rock is at the north end of Alaska’s Lynn Canal, 55 miles north of the port of Juneau and about 35 miles south of Skagway. Eldred Rock Lighthouse was first lighted on June 1, 1906, as one of four lighthouses in the Lynn Canal. It’s the only remaining example of the wood-frame lighthouses that were built in the state between 1902 and 1906.

The light station was automated and destaffed in 1973. The Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association was organized to restore, maintain, and preserve the light station. The organization entered into a lease agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard on April 1, 2020.

Sue York is the organization’s executive director. After graduating from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1995, Sue served as Operations Officer aboard the Coast Guard buoy tender Papaw, followed by a tour as Operations Officer at Vessel Traffic Service Houston/Galveston. She then enjoyed 14 years as an educator after moving to Juneau, Alaska, with her husband Matt and three daughters in 2003. Apart from three years in Valdez, Alaska, serving as Coast Guard Ombudsman, Sue has made Juneau her home.

In 2016, combining her love for outdoor athletics and her interest in southeast Alaska history, Sue became a pedicab tour guide, providing service to cruise ship visitors along the docks and streets of historic downtown Juneau.