The Lighthouse Lowdown

Can't think of anything fun to do next month? Pack up the kids and head to New Jersey! The third weekend of October is the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey, where anyone can drive the state shoreline to collect lighthouse, museums, and life saving stations!

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References:

1. Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey (lighthousechallengenj.com)
2. 2023 Lighthouse Challenge of NJ Sites - Google My Maps
3. 28837 Daboll Fog Alarm Patent.pdf (uslhs.org)

Man, can Vince and I talk!

In this lengthy episode, we chat about our trip to Cape Cod from beginning to end. If you're considering visiting the Cape, or just want to hear more about our adventure, listen in!

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Also known as lightvessels, lightships are lighthouse's little brothers, guarding areas where lighthouses are not easily built. While there are only around 15 lightships remaining in the US today, the history of these ships stretch back hundreds of years!

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References:

1. Lightships | National Park Service
2. Lightship | Wikipedia
3. History of Lightships | Nantucket Historical Association
4. First Lightship | Guinness World Records
5. A History of Lightships | US Coast Guard Lightship Sailors Association International

20 miles into Lake Michigan from Mackinac Bridge, White Shoal Lighthouse is the only red-and-white barber shop tower in the US. As the tallest lighthouse on the Great Lakes, it has seen its fair share of action in its relatively short history. However, most of the history is in the making as White Shoal Light undergoes restoration to be unique lodging for adventure-seekers!

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References:

1. What type of paint is used on your lighthouses? | Trinity House
2. Preserving America's Lighthouse Legacy | Tnemec
3. Lighthouse Preservation, Masonry | National Park Service
4. White Shoal Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends
5. Visiting White Shoal
6. Seeing The Light
7. White Shoal MI | USLHS
8. WSLHPS Facebook

Hereford Inlet Lighthouse was built in 1874 in the "stick" architectural style, sporting a red light characteristic until changing to a fixed white, then flashing white-red, to the flashing white we have today. While its gardens are considered one of the top 10 things to see in New Jersey, the lighthouse itself is beautiful to see and flush with exciting history!

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References:

1. - Hereford Inlet Lighthouse (herefordlighthouse.org)
2. Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, New Jersey at Lighthousefriends.com
3. Hereford Inlet Lighthouse – North Wildwood, New Jersey
4. North Wildwood changes lock on lighthouse, sparking public feud - WHYY
5. Things You Didn't Know About the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse | Galloway, NJ Patch

Now that we covered the first lighthouse in the US to display a Fresnel lens, it's time to "shed light" on the first lighthouse in the world to have one! Cordouan Lighthouse is a beautiful renaissance-style tower over four miles out in the Bay of Biscay. The 221 foot tall light is now a World Heritage Site and became a monument historique at the same time as Notre-Dame de Paris.

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References:

1. Cordouan Light Website
2. Cordouan Lighthouse | Wikipedia
3. Cordouan Lighthouse | UNESCO
4. Cordouan Lighthouse | Gironde Tourisme
5. Phare de Cordouan
6. Gardiens Cordouan | Facebook
7. Cordouan Youtube

We are covering a mini lighthouse for our mini episode! Deemed the "smallest working light tower in the world", North Queensferry Light still has it's original Argand lamp, lit today by visitors with vegetable oil!

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References:

1. Forth Bridges Lighthouse Museum and Piers
2. North Queensferry Lighthouse | Lighthouse Accommodation
3. North Queensberry Harbour Light | Visit Scotland
4. Tower History | NQHT
5. Interactive Map
6. Inside the world's smallest working 'lighthouse' in the Forth which can shine for three miles and is powered by vegetable oil | The Scotsman

There's a first for everything, and Navesink Lighthouse was there for a lot of them! When it became the first station to have a Fresnel lens in the Unites States, Navesink secured it's position as the guinea pig for a lot of the country's new innovations and technology. Listen in for the story of a lighthouse so powerful, that chickens stopped laying eggs.

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References:

1. International Code of Signals 1969
2. Twin Lights Historical Society
3. Navesink Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends
4. The Fresnel Affair: Manufacturing, Technology Transfer, Republicanism, and the Adoption of the Fresnel Lighthouse Lens in the United States, 1819 - 1852
5. Fresnel Lens Development Chronology

Okay, we thought we were special having a lighthouse logo with a blue daymark. Absecon Lighthouse is stealing our thunder! This Atlantic City lighthouse has had seven changes to its daymark since it was built in 1856. Listen in to hear about the lighthouse that wasn't deemed necessary in the first place.

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References:

1. https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=379
2. The Atlantic City Free Public Library - History of Atlantic City (acfpl.org)
3. Absecon Lighthouse – Watch Lessons
4. https://photos.tmahlmann.com/Places/North-America/United-States/New-Jersey/Lighthouses/Absecon-Lighthouse
5. Adobe Stock Photos

Ever wondered what it might have been like to be sequestered on an island during covid? Desiree Heveroh can tell you! Listen in for the story of how she volunteered to keep the light station company during the pandemic and what it was like to be there without power for two months straight.

Note: East Brother Lighthouse was covered in Episode 20 of this podcast if you would like to learn more!

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