A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as "wickies" because of their job trimming the wicks.
Video Lighthouse keeper
Duties and functions
Lighthouse keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning lenses and windows. Electrification and other automated improvements such as remote monitoring and automatic bulb changing made paid keepers resident at the lights unnecessary. The earliest record of a named individual in a formal capacity as a lighthouse keeper was William, a member of the now famous Knott family, who was appointed to the South Foreland lighthouse near Dover, England in 1730. In the US, periodic maintenance of the lights is now performed by visiting Coast Guard Aids to Navigation teams.
Maps Lighthouse keeper
Current status
The Lighthouse at the End of the World George Worthylake served as the first lighthouse keeper in the United States. He served at Boston Harbor Lighthouse from 1716 until his death in 1718. In 1776, Hannah Thomas became the first female lighthouse keeper in the United States when she became keeper of Plymouth (Gurnet) Lighthouse in Massachusetts following the death of her husband, John Thomas. Both Hannah and her husband received $200 per year for their service.
The last manned lighthouse in Australia was Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, where the last keeper left in 2006.
According to the Canadian Lightkeepers Association, there are 37 staffed lighthouses in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, though the Canadian Coast Guard has plans to automate these installations. Machias Seal Island, in New Brunswick, has a lighthouse manned by the Canadian Coast Guard. It is kept manned for sovereignty purposes due to the disputed status of the island with the US.[1]
The last manned lighthouse in Finland was deserted in 1987.
Most French lighthouses are automated, though a few are still manned.
The last lighthouse keeper in Iceland was terminated in 2010.
Baily Lighthouse was the last Irish lighthouse to be unmanned, in 1997.
As of 2011, there were 62 manned lighthouses in Italy
In 2006 Meshima Lighthouse became the last lighthouse in Japan to become automated.
As of 2011, there are two manned lighthouses in the Netherlands, one at Schiermonnikoog and the other at Terschelling.
All lighthouses in New Zealand have been automated since 1990.
The last Norwegian lighthouse keeper moved out of Runde Lighthouse in 2002.
The last manned lighthouse in the United Kingdom, the North Foreland Lighthouse, was automated in 1998.
The last civilian keeper in the United States, Frank Schubert, died in 2003. The last officially manned lighthouse, Boston Light, was manned by the Coast Guard until 1998. It now has volunteer "keepers" whose primary role is to serve as interpretive tour guides for visitors.
Recognition
To recognize the role of Lighthouse keepers in the nation's maritime safety, the US Coast Guard named a class of 175-foot (53 m) USCG Coastal Buoy Tenders after famous US Lighthouse Keepers. Fourteen ships in the "Keeper" class were built between 1996 and 2000 and are used to maintain aids to navigation, including lighthouses. The following 175-foot (53 m) WLMs are in service as of 2006:
- USCGC Ida Lewis (WLM-551); Newport, Rhode Island
- USCGC Katherine Walker (WLM-552); Bayonne, New Jersey
- USCGC Abbie Burgess (WLM-553); Rockland, Maine
- USCGC Marcus Hanna (WLM-554); South Portland, Maine
- USCGC James Rankin (WLM-555); Baltimore, Maryland
- USCGC Joshua Appleby (WLM-556); St. Petersburg, Florida
- USCGC Frank Drew (WLM-557); Portsmouth, Virginia
- USCGC Anthony Petit (WLM-558);Ketchikan, Alaska
- USCGC Barbara Mabrity (WLM-559); Mobile, Alabama
- USCGC William Tate (WLM-560); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- USCGC Harry Claiborne (WLM-561); Galveston, Texas
- USCGC Maria Bray (WLM-562); Atlantic Beach, Florida
- USCGC Henry Blake (WLM-563); Everett, Washington
- USCGC George Cobb (WLM-564); San Pedro, California
See also
- Ladies of the Lights
- The Lighthouse at the End of the World (Jules Verne novel)
- The Light at the Edge of the World (film adaptation of the above)
- The Lighthouse Keepers (film)
- The Lighthouse Keepers (novel)
- The Lighthouse-Keeper's Daughter
- The Light Between Oceans/The Light Between Oceans (film)
- Lighthouse Keeping Loonies
References
Further reading
External links
- Association of Lighthouse Keepers
- Bibliography on lighthouse keepers.
- Bibliography on Michigan and other lighthouses.
- Ode to the lighthouse keeper by Andrew Tremaine.
- Life as a Lighthouse Keeper - United States Lighthouses
- Scott T. Price. "U. S. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation: A Historical Bibliography". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
- Wagner, John L. "Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
- Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes". Archived from the original on 2008-01-30.
- "Lighthouses in the United Kingdom | US Lighthouse Society". uslhs.org.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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