Early Years of Federal Responsibility to Lighthouses

The new Congress of the United States established Federal authority over lighthouses on August 7, 1789, through the ninth law enacted by the new body and established the principles that aids to navigation would be supported from general revenues and could be used by all vessels free of any charges. Congress gave authority over lighthouses to the Treasury Department, which retained control until 1903, when jurisdiction went to the Commerce Department.

Detroit River Light - Michigan

The light was first exhibited on August 20, 1885. The conical tower is built of cast iron plate, surmounted by a round watchroom and a 10 sided cast iron lantern with an inscribed diameter of 7 feet, 4 inches. The tower is 49 feet high, 22 feet in diameter at the base, and 18 feet in diameter at the parapet.

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Au Sable Point Light - Michigan

Construction began in July, 1873, and the structure was finished in August, 1874. The concial brick tower at this station is 16 feet in diameter at the base and stands 87 feet tall, creating a lens focal plane 107 feet above Lake Superior. The attached brick lightkeeper's house was originally a single-story building, but was raised to two stories in 1909, when a second keeper's house was added to the station. The complex also includes a fog signal building.

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Minots Ledge Light - Massachusetts

In 1855, work began on the new Minots Ledge Lighthouse. The workmen removed the stumps of the old tower and cut away the ledge to prepare a foundation for the stone base of the tower. The solid granite foundation rose up to forty feet and an addition forty feet comprised the living, working, and storage space of the lighthouse. The new lantern and lens were installed and test lighted on August 22, 1860.

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Ocracoke Light - North Carolina

Completed and lighted in 1803 about the same time as the Cape Hatteras Light, this beacon remained in use until August 16, 1818, when lightning destroyed both the tower and the keeper's dwelling. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1823 on the banks near the village of Ocracoke.

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Cape Charles Light - Virginia

Construction began in 1893 and the first-order lens in the new tower blinked on August 15, 1895. The light, 180 feet above water, was visible twenty miles.

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St. Joseph Point Light - Florida

The board obtained the land in 1901 and on August 2, 1902, the keeper lighted the third-order lens in the new lighthouse. It served for 58 years until a steel skeleton tower replaced it.

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Sanibel Island Light - Florida

Work proceeded pretty much on schedule and the keeper displayed the Sanibel Island Light on August 20, 1884. The light of this skeleton iron tower was ninety-eight feet above sea level.

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South Pass Light - Louisiana

Situated 100 feet southeast of the old tower, the new South Pass tower held a first-order lens. The light, 105 feet above ground, was displayed August 25, 1881. The tower was painted white in 1900 so that navigators could better distinguish it from the Southwest Pass tower.

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