Prospect Harbor Lighthouse_Storm

"Proceed No Further" -

Prospect Harbor Light in peaceful Gouldsboro Maine, was originally a rubble granite stone tower built in 1850 after approved appropriations came from Congress in 1847. Designed and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers it is located at Prospect Harbor Point and meant to help guide vessels of the growing local commercial fishing fleet. Lobster and groundfish (cod, flounder, halibut) were common. However in 1859, it was deactivated due to the harbor being re-classified by the U.S. Lighthouse Board as a non-essential harbor of refuge for marine traffic during reoccurring Atlantic storms. In the following decade the fishing fleet grew larger and the operational activity of the Light tower was reactivated in 1870 with a fifth order Fresnel lens and other improvements to fix its deteriorated condition.

In 1891 the current Keeper’s Quarters and the Light tower were rebuilt but this time as a conical shaped wood framed structure sided with wooden shingles painted bright white as a daymark with black painted lantern housing which is how it still remains today. The 38 foot high tower (and 42 feet above High Mean Tide) has a ten-sided glass lantern room with an iron polygonal top. The tower was automated in 1934 and upgraded with an electrical optical light beam. In 1951 even more efficient high-energy modern optics with battery back-ups were installed. The station underwent major restoration in the early 2000’s due to water infiltration and deteriorating materials. The quarters have been dubbed the "Gull Cottage" by the Coast Guardsmen assigned the task of guarding the tower operations as well as the satellite station itself.

Prior to October 1, 2024 reservations could be made for overnight stays by all active duty and retired military personnel but not by the general public as is customary with other Light stations. In June 2022, one military family of 5 that stayed here were awakened in the night by fire/smoke alarms. Multiple local fire departments answered the call, and fought gallantly to save the Light tower structure since it was all wood, however, the house became a casualty to the fire burning through most of the second floor and roof. The cause was reported to have been an electrical short in a bathroom vent fan and deemed accidental. That same year a restoration project was under way to renovate the Keeper's Quarters that had so badly been damaged by the smoke and fire. The property had been, up to October 1, 2024 a high security navigational satellite operations station for the U.S Navy (NAVCOM) and operated and guarded by the U.S  Coast Guard.

After October 1, 2024 the entire property including the lighthouse quarters and tower were no longer under the control of the U.S. Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC) for military satellite operations (since 1962) but rather under the authority of the U.S. Space Force as a separate entity. This U.S. Space Force station is now known as the 10th SOPS (Space Operations Squadron) Detachment ALFA, a component of Delta 8 located at Point Mugu CA, responsible for military satellite telemetry, communications and guidance coordination. Other stations are located throughout the United States (Colorado, Florida, California)  and other parts of the world like on Finegayan Island, Guam.

Personal Note: Currently, due to the increased security over the fact the station is now part of the U.S. Space Force SOPS, there appears from online photos to be an added security point of entry with a guard house and ID station. The fencing is higher and now topped with barb-wire. The fencing and security around the radome covered satellite installations is separate from the lighthouse station with it's own fencing but entry to the Lighthouse grounds is still restricted to authorized personnel only.

However, in 2014 when this photo was taken and the facility was only a NAVSOC satellite operations facility, security was perhaps a little more relaxed. But it did not seem that way to me at the time. At only two other operationally active lighthouse locations in the country had I ever witnessed this kind of scrutinized security. Most U.S. active operational lighthouses are secured under the auspices of The Department of Homeland Security with enforcement by the U.S. Coast Guard. As I approached the fence line, I could quickly see that there was a special interest given me by the U.S. Coast Guardsmen patrolling the fence line in their all dark blue operational dress uniforms. They slowly approached me as I walked down the fence line to the waters edge, I told myself my camera had better not stray towards the satellite installations, to the left of me in this photo. All I wanted after all was just a photo of the lighthouse. Once I reached the water's edge, I slowly but surely snapped several photos of the lighthouse. The inflatable pontoons you see in the foreground float into the water during higher tide and were added restrictions for those who might consider wading into the water to get closer. I was not interested in doing that. As they approached me, both were armed with guns drawn and at a "MLR" or Modified Lower Ready position. One had what looked like a M249 SAW 5.56mm machine gun with a shoulder strap and the other with a semi-automatic 9mm pistol. One yelled loudly and firmly at me "PROCEED NO FURTHER" and then added, "take no photos of the installations to your left nor photos of us. Back-up to a point further up the beach. Do it now."

I said thank you and was very willing to abide by his commands. 

Old Fairport Harbor Lighthouse_Lake Erie Old Fairport Harbor Light

Rusted and Abandoned -

With the increase in ship traffic on Lake Erie beginning in the early 1800's, the town of Fairport Ohio was in desperate need of a lighthouse to guide mariners into the town's developing harbor. 

In 1825, the original Fairport Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters were built. 
That 30 foot high brick tower was eventually found to be sorely inadequate and not up to the task for which it was constructed.
The tower was sinking and the tower crumbling. The concrete foundation had only been two feet deep, not able to support such weight. By 1869 it was in a deteriorating condition, unsafe for occupancy let alone staying tenacious, formidable and stalwart in all conditions, warning mariners of the perils to the harbor entrance. The old Light was demolished in 1871 and by 1872 a new 60 foot high brick tower  replaced the old one but this time with a 12 foot deep concrete foundation. Both the brick Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters remained in the same location on the Hill, still overlooking the old Fairport Harbor.

Ultimately, by 1925 there were two lighthouses serving Fairport, the aforementioned 1872 version and another at the west pierhead at the harbor entrance itself. Because of the pierhead Light, the 1872 Light on the Hill as seen in the top photo became obsolete and was decommissioned. However, town's people were not so quick to let it go and refused to let it be demolished. Many years of governmental appeals, public meetings, protests and grassroots efforts, resulted in the old 1872 tower being saved from the wrecking ball. Even organizations such as The Daughters of the American Revolution participated by sending protest letters of appeal. The government finally conceded and with much jubilation from the town, ownership of the lighthouse itself was finally turned over to the Village of Fairport in 1953. Together with the Keeper's Quarters, established as a Maritime Museum in 1945, the Lighthouse on the Hill became known as the Old Fairport Lighthouse and Museum. The maritime museum became the first of its kind in the country. The old brick lighthouse can be seen at the top of the grass knoll in the photo behind the red brick museum. The semi-round one-story windowed addition to the old red brick Keeper's Quarters building is a command deck or pilothouse, salvaged from the bulk cargo carrier the Frontenac. This historic ship, renovated in 1973 and still operating on the St. Lawrence Waterway today for a Canadian shipping company, was involved in the November 1975 Lake Superior search for the sunken Edmund Fitzgerald cargo carrier that claimed the lives of 29 men. 

The rusted steel frame tower shown in the forefront of the bottom photo and currently residing at the bottom of the Hill of the old lighthouse is the temporary 1912 Fairport Harbor West Pierhead Light, removed and abandoned years ago. It is scheduled for restoration in the near future.

Point Bolivar Light_Texas

A Matter of Life and Death -

Rebuilt in 1872, the Point Bolivar Lighthouse in Texas is about 21 miles east from Galveston and just a half-mile or so from the ferry that crosses Galveston Bay along the coastline between the intercoastal waterway and the Gulf of America. It towers some 117 feet in a tapered cone shape made of bricks clad with cast iron bolted panels that have a dark brown patina due to 154 years of weathering in rain, sun and salt water mist. The first Light built on this site was in 1852 but was totally dismantled by the Confederacy during the Civil War to hamper the Union Forces from using it as a navigational marker. The original Light was also clad in cast iron panels over brick. There was an effort to locate those original dismantled cast iron panels before construction of the post-war tower began but to no avail. Speculation is that the Confederates used those metal panels to either retrofit their warships with protective armor or they were melted down to produce armament for the war. 

With the great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Lighthouse tower provide safe haven for 125 desperate people seeking shelter and safety from the 135mph wind, rain and surging Gulf. For days on end the survivors sat two by two on the tapered stair treads of the tower stairwell. Huddled together, they survived on rainwater and the light keepers rations. The surging tide water raised to 6 feet inside the base of the tower mostly due to the tower door blowing open. When the water had receded, they discovered a dozen or so people in the vicinity of the tower that had tried to reach the tower for safety but were overcome. The hurricane inundated Galveston and killed some 8000 residents according to official records. It is considered the deadliest natural disaster in American history. The Point Bolivar Lighthouse made the difference of Life and Death for 125 people.

A similar hurricane condition in 1915 also led 60 people to seek shelter in the safety of the Light tower. The assistant light keeper at the time was James Brooks who attempted for a while to tend the light lantern at the top of the tower. His report of the day, stated the top of the tower "swayed like a reed in the wind" during the height of the 120 mph storm. 

Other hurricanes that caused more recent damage occurred in 2008 with Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

The critically acclaimed 1970 film "My Sweet Charlie", starring Patti Duke and Al Freeman, Jr. was filmed at the Lighthouse and surrounding Keeper's Quarters. 

The Great Depression played a role in the decommissioning of the Light in 1933.

Sandvigodden Light

Two for the Price -

At the southeastern side of Hisøya Island near Sandviga in southern Norway stand two light towers of which only one is an actual lighthouse. Collectively, these two light towers are the Sandvigodden Lights. Only the taller tower facing the water is currently operational. They mark the west side narrow entrance to Galtesundet Strait which leads to the thriving harbor of Arendal Norway. 

When I photographed this lighthouse, the location was more elusive than most I have searched for and if it were not for my first cousin who knew of this Light and lived on Hisøya Island in Arendal I may not have found it. The location was difficult to find even for him as it was nestled tightly into a small residential area with only a one lane loop road with tight turns and no signage as to its location. In order to get this photo, I had to carefully wade through several low lying pools at the base of the rock bank and at the water's edge to access the angle at which the photo was taken. I do not regret it. It was taken with a Nikon S8200, f/6.6 at a shutter speed of 1/500.

The original square tower, the one to the back side in this photo, was built in 1844 out of masonry and has a two and a half story lightkeepers residence attached. With the commercial activity in Arendal harbor growing at a fast pace in 1844, there was much demand from mariners and local ship builders for this Light to be built. Local ship builders greatly contributed to the funding to get it built. It towers 56 feet above sea level and was manned 24/7 by a resident light keeper. It was decommissioned in 1934 to make way for a new tower built right in front of the old one. The newer tower is further outward to the water and more visible, and is automated rather than manned by a light keeper. The newest technology at the time also allowed the light to emit colors of red, green or white depending on the direction in which it was viewed. This led to greater navigational safety for ships moving through the narrow Strait entrance. The existing Light and keeper's residence were sold after the construction of the new tower and is now a private home. The new tower was government funded and is about 62 feet above sea level and can be seen 5.9 nautical miles out to sea. Both towers were painted white with a painted red top. As is typical for most Norwegian Lights though not exclusively, the lantern room glass is angled outward to reduce distortion and improve clarity of the light beam over a wider area as seen by mariners.

It should be noted that like in the U.S., each Lighthouse is registered by the government and has a registry number. In Norway, the registry number is identified on a plaque somewhere high on the tower. The number for the 1934 tower can be seen in the photo, though it is smaller in scale. It is located just under the lantern room glass facing the water side:  #061700. 

In Norwegian, the Light towers are referred to as the "Sandvigodden Fyrstasjon".