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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE
THE
UNITED STATES
LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE
1915
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1916
GIFT Of
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE
THE
UNITED STATES
LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE
1915
\AX
-tauiX
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1916
11
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,
BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES,
Washington, December 1, 1915.
This pamphlet is published for the purpose of furnishing general
information regarding the organization and operation of the United
States Lighthouse Service, and to enable the Bureau to supply
data asked for in inquiries frequently received. It has been compiled
mainly by John S. Conway, Deputy Commissioner of Lighthouses.
GEORGE R. PUTNAM,
Commissioner.
2
CONTENTS.
Page.
1. Duties and organization 5
2. Jurisdiction 6
3. Cooperation 7
4. District limits and offices 7
5. Aids to navigation , 11
6. History and growth of the Lighthouse Service 14
7. Development of lighthouse work in Alaska 16
8. Types of construction of lighthouses 17
9. Lighting apparatus and illuminants 30
10. Distinct iveness and characteristics of lights 35
11. Visibility and candlepower of lights 36
12. Fog signals 40
13. Buoys 46
14. River lighting 53
15. Lighthouse depots 55
16. Light vessels 58
17. Lighthouse tenders 66
18. Personnel and civil-service systems 72
19. Light keepers' quarters 76
20. Saving of life and property 79
21. Lighting of bridges 79
22. Private aids to navigation 80
23. Laws for protection of aids ' 81
24. Publications 82
25. Engineering and fiscal matters 84
26. Exhibits of the Lighthouse Service 91
27. Past and present officers of the Service 93
3
THE UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
1. DUTIES AND ORGANIZATION.
The United States Lighthouse Service is charged with the estab-
lishment and maintenance of aids to navigation, and with all equip-
ment and work incident thereto, on the coasts of the United States.
The term "aids to navigation" comprises all land and sea marks
established or adapted for the purpose of aiding the navigation of
vessels, and includes light stations, light vessels, fog signals, buoys
of all kinds, minor lights, and day beacons.
There is an office in Washington, known as the Bureau of Light-
houses, which is the executive center of the Service, under the Com-
missioner of Lighthouses and the Deputy Commissioner. There are
in this office an engineering construction division, under the chief
constructing engineer; a naval construction division, under the
superintendent of naval construction; a hydrographic division, under
an assistant engineer; and the general office force, under the chief
clerk.
The Service outside of Washington is divided into 19 lighthouse
districts, each of which is under the charge of a lighthouse inspector.
In each district there is a central office at a location selected on
account of either its maritime importance or its geographical posi-
tion. Attached to each district office is a technical force for the
construction and upkeep of both land structures and floating equip-
ment, and also a clerical force, with a chief clerk and assistants, for
the work of the district. The principal technical assistant to the
inspector is the superintendent, and there are assistant superin-
tendents and aids as required by the size of the district. In the
field are construction and repair parties under foremen, and in a
number of districts there are mechanicians who attend to special
repairs and installations of apparatus. All of this force is composed
of civilians, except that in the three river districts officers of the
Corps of Engineers who are in charge of river improvements act also
as lighthouse inspectors.
One or more lighthouse depots are conveniently located in each
district for carrying on the work of the district in the matter of storing
and distributing supplies and apparatus. In addition to the various
district depots, there is in the third lighthouse district, on Staten
Island, New York Harbor, a general lighthouse depot, where many
of the supplies for the whole Service are purchased and stored and
5
6 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
sent out Tor dis-tributioa, a-.ul whore much of the special apparatus
of the Service is manufactured or repaired, and where also there is
carried on various technical work in the way of testing apparatus
and supplies and designing or improving apparatus.
Each district is provided with one or more lighthouse tenders for
the purpose of distributing supplies to the various stations and light
vessels and for transportation of materials for construction or repair,
for the placing and care of the buoyage system in the district, and for
transporting the inspector and other officers of the Service on official
inspections of stations and vessels and on other official duty.
2. JURISDICTION.
The jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Service extends over the Atlantic,
Gulf, Great Lakes, and Pacific coasts, the principal interior rivers,
Alaska, Porto Bico, and Hawaii, and all other territory under the
jurisdiction of the United States, with the exception of the Philippine
Islands and Panama. In the Philippine Islands the lighthouse service
is maintained by the insular government and supported entirely
out of the revenues of the islands. At Panama the canal government
has charge of the lighting of the canal and approaches under the
general appropriations for the canal.
All the work of establishing and maintaining the aids to navigation
under the jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Service is performed directly
by that service through district organizations, with the exception of a
few minor aids, which are maintained by contract, and the exception
of the American Samoan Islands, the island of Guam, and Guanta-
namo, Cuba, where the aids are maintained under the supervision of
the naval commandants under allotments made from the appropria-
tions for the Lighthouse Service. The Lighthouse Service also has
supervision over the establishment and maintenance of private aids
to navigation and the lighting of bridges over navigable waters of
the United States.
At the present time the United States assists in the maintenance of
but one lighthouse outside of its territory, this being at Cape Spartel,
Morocco. This light is maintained in accordance with the conven-
tion between Morocco and the United States, Austria, Belgium, Spain,
France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden, in
force since March 12, 1867. The lighthouse was constructed at the
expense of Morocco, but it is maintained by the other contracting
powers. The annual appropriation by the United States for this
purpose is $325, and it is not under the control of the Jjighthouse
Service.
The jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Service over rivers not included
in tidewater navigation is restricted to such as are specifically named
in the various acts of Congress. These now include practically all
the important navigable rivers and lakes of the country.
DISTRICT LIMITS AND OFFICES. 7
3. COOPERATION.
In performing its duties, the Lighthouse Service cooperates actively
with all other branches of the Government engaged in related work.
Notices to mariners are issued jointly with the Coast and Geodetic
Survey, and information affecting charts is supplied to that office for
publication. Similar information is furnished the Lake Survey and
other offices publishing charts. Cooperation is had with the Corps of
Engineers, War Department, in connection with river and harbor
improvements, as to special aids to navigation maintained for such
works, information of improvements that will affect aids to navigation,
the marking of river channels, lighting of wrecks, etc. Information
as to deficiencies in aids is received from the Hydrographic Office and
from naval vessels, and from other maritime services of the Govern-
ment. The Public Health Service aids in matters of sanitation
affecting lighthouse vessels and stations, the Bureau of Standards in
the design of radio apparatus and in special tests, the Forest Service
in the growing and management of timber on lighthouse reservations,
the Steamboat-Inspection Service in the inspection of steam plants of
vessels, etc. The Lighthouse Service supplies information respecting
aids to navigation to all branches of the Government having need for
this data and cooperates in the placing of buoys for special purposes.
Arrangements are in effect with the War Department for the assign-
ment of lighthouse tenders from time to time for mine-planting
practice, and in the event of necessity the Lighthouse Service is
prepared to turn over to the Navy Department, with the approval of
the President, such tenders as may be required in military operations.
In addition to the foregoing special effort is made to consult the
needs of merchant shipping as to aids to navigation. Applications
from maritime interests for establishing or improving aids are care-
fully considered, and all matters involving extensive changes are
taken up with such interests before action is decided upon.
Mariners and others interested are invited to give prompt infor-
mation to the district lighthouse inspectors, or by direct communi-
cation to the Commissioner of Lighthouses, of all cases of injury to
or unsatisfactory condition or incorrect position of any aid to navi-
gation, or of the necessity for additional aids, or of any existing aid
not needed, and of all cases where the lights are not exhibited punc-
tually at sunset and extinguished at sunrise.
4. DISTRICT LIMITS AND OFFICES.
The limits of the lighthouse districts are as follows :
First district. From the head of navigation on the St. Croix River,
Me., the northeastern boundary of the United States, to and includ-
ing Hampton Harbor, N. H. It embraces all aids to navigation on
8
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE; 1915.
DISTRICT LIMITS AND OFFICES. 9
the seacoast of Maine and New Hampshire, and on all tidal waters
between the limits named.
Second district. From Hampton Harbor, N. H., to Elisha Ledge,
off Warren Point, R. I., but not including either the harbor or the
ledge. It embraces all aids to navigation on the seacoast and tidal
waters of Massachusetts, except on the Taunton River and that part
of Mount Hope Bay lying within the State boundary.
Third district. From Elisha Ledge, off Warren Point, R. I., to
Cape May, on the coast of New Jersey, excepting Cape May Light-
house, and to a point on the coast opposite Rehoboth, Del., excepting
Cape Henlopen Lighthouse and Hen and Chickens Shoal. It em-
braces all aids to navigation on the coasts of Rhode Island, Connec-
ticut, New York, and New Jersey northward of Cape May, including
Northeast End, Five-Fathom Bank, and Overfalls light vessels,
and McCries Shoal, and on all tidal waters tributary to the sea or
Long Island Sound between the limits named, together with the aids
on Whitehall Narrows, and on the United States waters of Lakes
Champlain and Memphremagog.
Fourth district. From and including Cape May Light Station, on
the coast of New Jersey, to and including Fenwick Island Light
Station on the coast of Delaware. It embraces all aids to navigation
on the seacoast of New Jersey and Delaware between the points
named, the entrance to Delaware Bay, Delaware Bay and River, and
the waters tributary thereto, but does not include McCries Shoal,
Overfalls Light Vessel, and the aids to navigation seaward thereof,
nor the shoals seaward of Fenwick Island.
Fifth district. From (but not including) Fenwick Island Light
Station, on the coast of Delaware, to and including New River Inlet,
N. C. It embraces all aids to navigation off the seacoast of Dela-
ware seaward of Fenwick Island, on the seacoasts of Maryland, Vir-
ginia, and North Carolina between the limits named, all of Chesa-
peake Bay, the sounds of North Carolina, and tributary waters.
Sixth district. From (but does not include) New River Inlet, N. C.,
to and including Hillsboro Inlet Light Station, Fla. It embraces all
aids to navigation on the seacoasts, bays, sounds, harbors, rivers,
and other tidal waters of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
and Florida between the limits named.
Seventh district. From a point just south of Hillsboro Inlet Light
Station to and including Cedar Keys, Fla. It embraces all aids to
navigation on the sea and Gulf coasts of Florida, Florida Keys, and
on other waters tributary to the sea and Gulf between the limits
named.
Eighth district. From (but not including) Cedar Keys, Fla., to
the southern boundary of Texas. It embraces all aids to navigation
on the Gulf coast of the United States and tidal waters tributary to
10 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
the Gulf between the limits named, together with those on the
Mississippi River below and including New Orleans, and on Grand
Lake and Lake Chicot.
Ninth district. The island of Porto Rico and the adjacent islands
and other islands and stations ceded to the United States in the
West Indies.
Tenth district. From the mouth of the St. Regis River, St. Law-
rence River, N. Y., to the mouth of the Detroit River. It embraces
all aids to navigation on the United States shores and waters of
Lakes Ontario and Erie and the upper part of the St. Lawrence
River and the Niagara River, excepting aids to navigation at the
mouth of the Detroit River.
Eleventh district. From and including all aids to navigation at
the mouth of the Detroit River, Mich., to the western end of Lake
Superior. It embraces all aids to navigation on the United States
shores and waters of Lakes St. Clair, Huron, and Superior, the
Detroit River, including the mouth, the St. Clair and St. Marys
rivers, and that part of the Straits of Mackinac lying to the eastward
of a line drawn across the straits just to the eastward of Old Mackinac
Point Light Station, Mich.
Twelfth district. Includes all aids to navigation on Lake Michigan,
Green Bay, and tributary waters lying west of a line drawn across
the Straits of Mackinac just east of Old Mackinac Point Light Station,
Mich.
Thirteenth district. The Mississippi River from the head of naviga-
tion to the mouth of the Missouri River; the Minnesota River from
the head of navigation to its mouth; the Illinois River from the
head of navigation to its mouth; the Osage River from the head of
navigation to its mouth; the Gasconade River from the head of
navigation to its mouth ; the Missouri River from the head of naviga-
tion to its mouth; St. Croix River and Lake; Lake Traverse; and
includes all aids to navigation within these limits and navigable
rivers tributary thereto.
Fourteenth district. The Ohio River from Pittsburgh, Pa., to
Cairo, 111.; the Tennessee River from the head of navigation to its
mouth; the Kanawha River from the head of navigation to its
mouth; and embraces all aids to navigation within these limits and
navigable rivers tributary thereto.
Fifteenth district. The Mississippi River from and including the
mouth of the Missouri River to New Orleans, La.; the Red River
from the head of navigation to its mouth; and includes all aids to
navigation within these limits and navigable rivers tributary thereto.
Sixteenth district. From the boundary between Alaska and the
Dominion of Canada to the boundary between Alaska and Siberia.
It embraces all aids to navigation on the seacoast, bays, rivers, and
other tidal waters of Alaska.
AIDS TO NAVIGATION.
11
Seventeenth district. From the boundary between California and
Oregon to the northern boundary of the United States. It embraces
all aids to navigation on the seacoast of Oregon and Washington,
on the United States waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Wash-
ington Sound, and the Strait of Georgia, and on the tidal waters
tributary to the sea, straits, and sounds between the limits named.
Eighteenth district. From the boundary between California and
Mexico to the boundary between California and Oregon. It em-
braces all aids to navigation on the seacoast, bays, rivers, and other
tidal waters of California. .
Nineteenth district. Embraces the Hawaiian Islands, the Midway
Islands, the island of Guam, and the American Samoan Islands, and
includes all aids to navigation in the waters thereof.
The location of each district office, with the address of the light-
house inspector, is given in the following table :
District.
Address.
District.
Address.
1st
2d...
Portland. Me., Y. M. C. A. Building.
Boston. Mass.. Customhouse.
llth.
12th. .
Detroit, Mich., Post Office Building.
Milwaukee, Wis., Federal Building.
3d
Tompkinsville, N. Y.
13th. .
Rock Island, 111., Federal Building.
4th
Philadelphia, Pa., Post Office Building.
14th. .
Cincinnati, Ohio, Customhouse.
5th...
Baltimore, Md., New Customhouse.
15th. .
St. Louis, Mo., Customhouse.
6th
Charleston, S. C., Old Post Office Build-
16th. .
Ketchikan, Alaska.
7th...
ing.
Key West, Fla.
17th. .
18th. .
Portland, Oreg., Customhouse.
San Francisco, Cal., Customhouse.
8th
New Orleans, La., Customhouse.
19th. .
Honolulu, Hawaii, McCandless Build-
9th
San Juan, P. R.
ing.
10th
Buffalo, N. Y., Federal Building.
5. AIDS TO NAVIGATION.
The table following gives a summary of the 14,544 aids to naviga-
tion, under each principal class, in commission on June 30, 1915:
Lighted aids:
Lights (other than minor lights) ........................... 1, 662
Minor lights ............................................. 2, 837
Light-vessel stations ...................................... 53
Gas buoys ............................................... 479
Float lights .............................................. 124
Total .................................................. 5, 155
Unlighted aids:
Fog signals
Submarine signals
Whistling buoys, unlighted
Bell buoys, unlighted
527
50
. ....................... 86
237
Other buoys ............................................. 6, 488
Day beacons ....... : ...................................... 2, 001
Total ................................................. -. 9, 389
Grand total 14, 544
12 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Grouped according to the fixed or floating character of the aids,
the following tabulation may be made:
Lighted fixed aids 4, 499
Unlighted fixed aids 2, 478
Total fixed aids. . . 6, 977
Lighted floating aids 656
Unlighted floating aids 6, 911
Total floating aids 7, 567
Grand total 14,544
The class described as " Lights (other than minor) ' ; includes major
lights classified under the Fresnel system of orders, which will be
described more fully in another place, range lenses, reflectors, and lens
lanterns. (See p. 31.) There are 744 stations with resident keepers,
provided with dwellings, and in many cases these keepers have charge
not only of the principal light but also such other lights in the vicinity
as may be conveniently cared for from the same station.
The number of keepers varies from one to five, according to circum-
stances, and the number of stations having more than one keeper
is shown in the following table :
Five-keeper stations 3
Four-keeper stations 28
Three-keeper stations 167
Two-keeper stations 238
Total stations with more than one keeper 436
The term " minor light" includes post lights and small lights
generally not attended as a rule by resident keepers. These lights
are usually cared for by persons living in the vicinity, who are not
obliged to devote their entire time to the work and who sometimes
have several lights, if conveniently located, in their charge. This
type of light is commonly used on inland rivers and particularly
on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
Light vessels are used as a rule to mark offshore dangers, or the
approaches to harbors or channels, where lighthouses would not be
feasible or economical. They are more fully described on page 58.
Gas buoys are used to mark important channels or shoals or as
general guides for navigation. Many improvements have been
made in this type of aid, and they are considered among the most
valuable of recent developments in modern coast lighting.
Float lights are usually small lights borne on a float or rsffj. They
are employed for less important places where more convenient or
economical than lighted buoys and where the expense of providing a
foundation for a fixed structure would not be warranted.
Fog signals include various types of aerial sound-producing appara-
tus for use in foggy or thick weather. They embrace various types of
AIDS TO NAVIGATION.
13
whistles, sirens, or horns, actuated by steam or compressed air, and
bells, operated by machinery of various types or by hand.
Submarine signals are auxiliary fog signals consisting of bells
operated under water. They are commonly a feature of light-vessel
equipment, but are employed also at some light stations or attached
to buoys.
Whistling and bell buoys, as the names imply, are buoys fitted
with sound-producing apparatus operated by the motion of the buoy
in the sea. Whistling buoys are more efficient in rough outside
waters and bell buoys are more . commonly used in harbors or inside
waters. Further information in regard to both types appears on
page 50.
Other buoys include cans, nuns, and spars of various types, and
are the most extensively used of all aids. They are more frequently
employed in channels and inside waters generally, and are described
more fully on page 49.
Day beacons include minor fixed structures not bearing a light.
They are of various types, the most common being a post or spindle
bearing a target or some other object of a distinctive shape and color.
The number of light stations, light vessels, and fog signals of the
world, as listed in the British Admiralty List of Lights for 1915, is
approximately as given in the table below. The statistics do not
include the Great Lakes of North America nor rivers above the limit
of seagoing navigation, and the lights are given in greater complete-
ness for some countries than for others.
Continents.
Light
stations.
Light
vessels.
Fog
signals.
Europe
7,335
192
779
North America
2,913
49
645
Asia
1 355
36
116
Australia and Oceania. . .
746
3
21
Africa
519
10
South America
358
10
15
Total . ..
13, 226
290
1,586
It is of interest to compare similar statistics of light stations for
about 1888 (The Modern Lighthouse Service, Johnson).
Continents.
Light
stations.
Continents.
Light
stations.
Europe
3 309
Africa
219
North A merica
1 435
South America
167
Asia
476
Oceania.
319
Total
5,925
The lists for 1915 show that the United States Lighthouse Service
has under its charge materiaUy more lights and fog signals than any
other organization, and this would be numerically increased if there
were included the lights on the lakes and rivers, and if aU aids to
navigation were counted, including buoys and unlighted beacons.
14 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
6. HISTORY AND GROWTH OF THE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE.
The history of lighthouses in the United States dates back to
1715-16, when the first lighthouse on this continent was built at the
entrance to Boston Harbor by the Province of Massachusetts. This
light was supported by light dues on all incoming and outgoing ves-
sels, except coasters. Several other lighthouses were built by the
colonies. Congress, by the act of August 7, 1789, authorized the
maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to navigation at the expense
of the United States. There were at that date eight lights in opera-
tion maintained by the colonies. These, together with others com-
pleted later, 13 in all, were ceded to the General Government by the
States. The Lighthouse Service of the United States is supported
entirely by appropriations out of the general revenues of the Gov-
ernment, and the United States lighthouses have been free to vessels
of all nations from 1789 to the present time. There is no system of
light dues, as is the case in a number of foreign maritime countries.
The maintenance of lighthouses, buoys, etc., was placed under the
Treasury Department, and up to 1820 was directed personally by
the Secretary of the Treasury, except for two intervals when super-
vision was assigned by him to the Commissioner of the Revenue.
In 1820 the superintendence of the lights devolved upon the Fifth
Auditor of the Treasury, who was popularly known as the General
Superintendent of Lights and who continued in charge thereof until
1852, when the United States Lighthouse Board, consisting of officers
of the Navy and Army and civilians, was organized, with the Secre-
tary of the Treasury as ex officio president of the board. The board
selected from its own number a member to act as chairman.
The Lighthouse Service was transferred to the Department of
Commerce on July 1, 1903. On July 1, 1910, the Lighthouse Board
was terminated and the present Bureau of Lighthouses established.
The eight colonial lights in the order of their establishment were:
Boston, on Little Brewster Island, Mass 1716
Brant Point, on Nantucket Island, Mass 1746
Beavertail, on Conanicut Island, R. I 1761
Sandy Hook, N. J., entrance to New York Bay 1764
Cape Henlopen, Del., entrance to Delaware Bay 1764
Charleston, on Morris Island, S. C 1767
Gurnet, near Plymouth, Mass 1769
Portsmouth, N. H., entrance to harbor 1789
All of these are still in existence, although with many improve-
ments; at Sandy Hook and Cape Henlopen, however, tl% original
towers are still in use.
The gradual increase in the number of aids to navigation from 1790
to 1910, by 10-year periods, and for each year since 1910, is shown in
the following table:
HISTOKY AND GROWTH OF THE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE.
15
Year.
Lighted aids.
Unlighted aids.
ft
B
3
9
1
S
i
?
J
s"
3
^
.
SI
*
Jq
2
s
fl
rf
'a
.>
'w
I
'
12
d
CQ
Ml
f|
2
E
&
Z3
W
|
1
1
S
1
si
si
II
<5
1790
12
12
23
42
60
153
264
332
472
560
1,523
2,450
3,163
3,992
4,211
4,516
4,739
5,004
5,155
(0) 2
2
3
12
26
49
111
117
194
254
393
457
506
510
520
519
527
(0)
77
117
156
350
800
1,034
1,738
2,446
3,115
4,143
4,749
5,783
5,821
5,992
6, 174
6,330
6,488
(a)
22
30
60
90
121
220
324
355
372
496
1,120
1,295
1,474
1,655
1,978
2,001
a
141
189
422
916
1.204
2,074
2,892
3,694
4,904
5,828
7,669
7,939
8,308
8,695
9,194
9,389
(0)
107
183
249
575
1,180
1,536
2,550
3,456
5,221
7,354
8,991
11,661
12,150
12,824
13, 434
14,198
14,544
1800....
1810....
1820. . . .
1830....
1840....
1850....
1860
23
42
59
137
234
297
425
i
16
30
35
47
9
9
9
75
120
178
189
205
216
233
237
1870. . . .
1880. . . .
1890....
1900....
1910....
1911....
1912....
1913....
1914....
1915....
528
661
833
,243
,397
,424
,475
,531
1,590
1,662
32
819
1,550
1,745
2,256
2,362
2,552
2,666
2,791
2,837
31
26
44
54
51
51
53
52
53
12
34
38
60
87
92
101
118
124
25
60
70
89
88
84
84
86
86
7
93
225
287
346
388
453
479
42
40
43
46
48
50
a No definite information on record.
NOTES. The information prior to 1850 should be considered approximate only, and the figures given
may be regarded generally as somewhat less than the actual numbers.
Minor lights and float lights originally covered only post lights on the Mississippi River and tributaries,
first reported in 1875 (280 minor, 21 float).
Lighted buoys first reported in 1884 (4 buoys).
Early records of fog signals compiled from light lists and other sources and are somewhat indefinite.
Whistles not regularly reported prior to 1872 (33 whistles); bells not prior to 1882 (115 bells).
Submarine bells first reported in 1906 (5 bells).
Whistling buoys first reported in 1876 (4 buoys).
Bell buoys first reported regularly in 1881 (11 buoys). Bell buoys were introduced about 1855 (9 buoys).
Bell boats, filling practically same purpose, were used at a much earlier date, although no definite records
appear.
Buoy boats, consisting of a decked scow about 20 feet long by 7 feet beam, carrying a light mast or perch,
were also in use in the early days.
The increase in the number of aids to navigation maintained by
the United States Lighthouse Service is shown graphically for the
last 15 years in the following diagram, as well as the range in general
appropriations for maintenance during the same period.
JUK
E3tiaeMBoiAr*rt&
based on fftfacfual results
14.000
13.000
6.000000 12m
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4.00QOOO B.OOO
f/XAL YAft IfOI /W2 M03 J1Q4 l<?05 /406 1407 HOB /<KW WO ff// W:
U.5. Lighthouse Service
Number. of Aids to Nayfgah'cn and Annual Appropriations
If 01 1417
M3 W4 Ntf W6
16 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
7. DEVELOPMENT OF LIGHTHOUSE WORK IN ALASKA.
The first aids to navigation of the Lighthouse Service in Alaska
were established in the spring of 1884 (14 iron buoys) and the first
light in June, 1895. The following table gives the total number of
aids to navigation at the end of the fiscal years named (June 30 in
each case) illustrating the progress of the Service in the Territory:
Aids.
1890
1895
1900
1905
1910
1915
Lights
1
1
15
37
112
Fog signals
s
9
10
Buoys .
27
57
57
68
84
167
Daymarks
15
26
25
30
30
49
Total
42
84
83
121
160
338
The 112 lights are of the following classes: 10 lighthouses with
resident keepers, 62 unattended flashing acetylene lights, 34 minor
lights, and 6 float lights, the use of the latter-named being confined
to narrow channels or harbors where a small light answers all require-
ments of navigation.
Special attention has been given to increasing and improving the
lights and buoys in Alaska, as shown by the table above, which indi-
cates an increase of 203 per cent in the number of lights and 111 per
cent in the total number of aids during the past five years.
There has been a considerable increase of shipping to this Territory
with the rapid development there of the mining and other industries.
The coast line, however, is of great extent in proportion to the amount
of shipping. It is a difficult coast to navigate because of a number
of causes in addition to the incompleteness of the system of aids to
navigation. All the southern and more frequented portions of the
Alaskan coast are subject, even in the summer months, to fog, rain,
and storms; the coast is precipitous and rocky and hidden dangers
are numerous; there is a great rise and fall of tide, resulting in strong
tidal currents; the traffic is new and mainly restricted to only a part
of the year, so that it is difficult for navigators to become thoroughly
familiar with the region and conditions; much of the coast has not
been completely surveyed and thorough surveys are rendered diffi-
cult by the nature of the bottom, and the coast is so abrupt and the
depths so great that convenient and safe anchorages are not always
available. On the other hand, southeastern Alaska has a remarkable
network of well-protected inside channels in large part sufficiently
wide and deep for any class of vessels, and has numerous small har-
bors. During the summer season, when traffic is heavif$t, there is
either daylight throughout the 24 hours or the time of darkness is
short, thus materially aiding navigation, but the reverse condition
exists in winter, because of the northern latitude. The immense coast
line in proportion to the population and the amount of shipping, and
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTHOUSES. 17
the uncertainty as to the permanency in routes of traffic, would not
warrant the Government at this stage of development of the Territory
in making the expenditures necessary to mark its coasts as elaborately
as similar coasts in older and more settled portions of the United
States.
The justice of the demands for additional aids to navigation in
Alaska is, however, fully recognized. To meet these real needs,
Alaska, which has formerly been under the charge of the district
office at Portland, Oreg., was on August 1, 1910, made a separate
lighthouse district, permitting the inspector in charge to give his
entire attention to this important territory. A district office and
depot have been established at Ketchikan and office and construc-
tion forces have been organized in the new district.
One of the largest tenders in the service, the Kukui, has been as-
signed to duty in Alaska, and a still larger vessel, the Cedar, is now
being built for the same purpose. The new tender Fern has been
constructed especially for work in the inside waters of southeastern
Alaska.
Appropriations for special works in Alaska made in recent years
include two appropriations of $60,000 each, made by the acts of
March 4, 1911, and August 1, 1914, for aids to navigation in Alaska;
$25,000 for rebuilding and improving Lincoln Rock Light and Fog
Signal (act Mar. 4, 1911) ; and $115,000 for establishing Cape St. Elias
Light and Fog Signal (act Oct. 22, 1913). In addition to these
special works, the average expenditures from general appropriations
for the support of the service in ordinary maintenance and better-
ments have averaged about $135,000 annually for the past two years.
8. TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTHOUSES.
The type of construction adopted in each case for lighthouse struc-
tures depends largely on the importance of the light and the foundation
conditions. Brief descriptions of the various types more commonly
employed are as follows:
Post lights are generally a single timber post, with a shelf or
bracket for the lantern. In some cases ladders are attached, and to
assist in identifying the aid by day, wooden wing boards for daymark
purposes are frequently added. For similar construction in water,
single piles, either timber or concrete, are used. A small service box
for the lantern and supplies is often added.
Where the light is of more importance, framed timber towers have
been used, generally built with four posts on proper foundations,
battered and provided with the necessary framing and bracing, with
a ladder and service box. Similar structures in water are generally
of three or more piles, driven on a batter and forming a cluster at
the top.
18247 16 2
18
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Recent improvements along this line include structural steel
skeleton towers, also similar towers of iron pipe. Standard plans
have been prepared for each of these types, both of which are useful
when quickness of construction is
desired. Each type is square in plan
and strongly braced, with due pro-
vision allowed for corrosion in pro-
portioning the sizes of the members.
For similar structures in water, con-
crete pile foundation structures con-
sisting of four, seven, or nine piles,
with suitable cast-iron struts and
structural bracing, have been devel-
oped and standard plans prepared
for each type.
In addition to the foregoing types,
which are principally adopted for
nonattended lights, mention should
be made of unlighted beacons, or
daymarks. Some of these may be
merely a pile or stake, -occasionally
with a pointer indicating the chan-
nel; others are timber structures of
various designs, carrying a target
or some other characteristic feature to attract attention; others are
iron or steel spindles with a barrel or some form of cage work at the
top, and some older types are monuments of stone. A type recently
developed is that of strongly braced
reinforced concrete tripods, to re-
place old wooden tripods destroyed
by the sea. In some localities, par-
ticularly on rivers in California,
where fog is prevalent part of the
year, echo boards are used. These
are rather long wall-like structures
with projecting wings, to permit
steamers obtaining an echo from
their whistles in passing. These
sometimes carry a post light on
top of the board.
In case of attended lights where
resident keepers are employed,
which may be considered as lighthouses proper, there are also many
types. A common form, frequently used for harbor or lake lights,
is a combined tower and dwelling of timber or brick construction.
Sand Shoal Inlet Light, Va.
Petaluma Creek LigMt, Cal.
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTHOUSES.
19
Larchmont Breakwater Light, N. Y.
Sometimes the tower only is of masonry, while the dwelling is frame.
For the more important lights, the tower is detached from the dwell-
ings and as a rule is of fireproof construction. Most of the older
towers of this type are built of brick
or stone masonry, with stairways,
lantern, and other appurtenances
of cast iron. Others of a more
recent type have a structural open
framework of wrought iron or steel,
usually with an inclosed stair well
in the center. In still more recent
years reinforced concrete towers
have been used and will probably
be more extensively adopted in
the future.
A completely equipped light sta-
tion on a land site usually consists
of the light tower, oil house, fog-signal building, keepers' dwellings,
workshop, water supply and drainage systems, landing wharf, boat-
house and ways, barn, and the usual outbuildings, roads, walks,
and fences; although, owing to
the restricted area of some sites,
several of these purposes may
be served by a single building.
On submarine sites the whole sta-
tion is frequently confined to one
structure.
Where not built on rock, the
foundation for towers on land sites
is usually a single block of concrete
resting upon the foundation soil,
which has been previously exca-
vated to the proper depth. Occa-
sionally these blocks are placed
upon a timber grillage supported
by piles for sites upon low or
marshy land, and in all cases the
block is extended so as to bring the
unit pressures within the bearing
power of the foundation material.
Many lighthouses at the entrances
to harbors are built on the ends
of breakwaters or pierheads, utilizing, as a rule, such structures as
the foundation. In such cases the problem is not essentially dif-
Fairport West Pier Light, Ohio.
20
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
ferent from ordinary shore construction, although the weight of the
superstructure must be considered carefully to avoid undue settle-
ment of the foundation, providing at the same time a large margin
of reserve strength to resist the impact of the waves and the vibra-
tions caused thereby. Also, in such cases the necessary restrictions
of available space require that the
lighthouse be as compact as pos-
sible.
In the case of lighthouses on
submerged sites the engineering
features are important and often
present great difficulties both in
design and construction. Where
the bottom is rocky or hard, the
lighthouse is either built directly
on the rock or on a pier. When
placed on a ledge of rock, the la Her
is usually leveled or stepped as far
as practicable and the structure
heavily rag bolted to the rock.
Berkeley Reef Beacon, Cal. Two important lighthouses On the
Great Lakes were built by constructing cofferdams, pumping out the
water and leveling off the bed rock on which the lighthouse was
built of cut stone, securely fastened. In other types, particularly on
Duck Rocks Tripod, Me.
the Great Lakes, cribs filled with stone are placed on the bottom
and capped with concrete or other masonry.
Important wave-swept lighthouses, most of 'which are masonry
structures founded on rocky ledges or hard bottom, include the fol-
lowing 20 stations:
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTHOUSES.
21
First district:
Saddleback Ledge, Me.
Halfway Rock, Me.
Ram Island Ledge, Me.
Whaleback, Me.
Second district:
The Graves, Mass.
Minots Ledge, Mass.
Bishop and Clerks, Mass.
Third district:
Race Rock, N. Y.
New London Ledge, Conn.
Stratford Shoal, N. Y.
Tenth district:
Toledo Harbor, Ohio.
Eleventh district:
Port Austin Reef, Mich.
Spectacle Reef, Mich.
Stannard Rock, Mich.
Rock of Ages, Mich.
Twelfth district:
White Shoal, Mich.
Racine Reef, Wis.
Seventeenth district:
Tillamook Rock, Oreg.
Eighteenth district:
St. George Reef, Cal.
Mile Rocks, Cal.
Buffalo Light Station, N. Y.
Other severely exposed stations which are not given in the fore-
going list include, in the seventh district, Fowey Rocks, Carysfort
Reef, Alligator Reef, Sombrero Key, American Shoal, and Rebecca
Shoal, Fla. ; and, in the eighth district, Ship Shoal, Southwest Reef,
and Sabine Bank, La. These stations appear in other lists on pages
25, 27, and 28.
22
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Other stations not named in any of these lists, but which are
noteworthy because of their unusual remoteness or isolation, include
in part the following 34 locations:
Eighth district Continued.
Matagorda, Tex.
Ninth district:
Mona Island, P. R.
Culebrita Island, P. R.
Muertos Island, P. 11.
Sixteenth district:
First district:
Libby Islands, Me.
Petit Manan, Me.
Great Duck Island, Me.
Mount Desert Rock, Me.
Matinicus Rock, Me.
Boon Island, Me.
Isles of Shoals, N. H.
Cape Sarichef, Alaska.
Minots Ledge Light Station. Mass.
Third district:
Falkner Island, Conn.
Fifth district:
Cape Hatteras, N. C.
Cape Lookout, N. C.
Sixth district:
Cape Remain, S. C.
Hunting Island, S. C.
Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Seventh district:
Dry Tortugas, Fla.
Eighth district:
Cape San Bias, Fla.
Sand Island, Ala.
Timbalier, La.
Scotch Cap, Alaska.
Cape Hinchinbrook, Alaska.
Lincoln Rock, Alaska.
Seventeenth district:
Cape Flattery, Wash.
Destruction Island. Wash.
Cape Blanco, Greg.
Eighteenth district:
Punta Gorda, Cal.
Farallon, Cal.
Point Sur, Cal.
Nineteenth district:
Makapuu Point, Hawaii :f
Molokai, Hawaii.
Kilauea Point. Hawaii.
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTHOUSES. 23
For submarine sites, where the bottom is sand, either a pile or cais-
son foundation is commonly employed. The screw pile, which was
frequently employed some years ago, consists of a pile with a broad
helicoidal flange on the foot, which is bored like an auger into the
bottom, thereby greatly increasing the bearing power of the pile as well
as anchoring it firmly. The caisson type usually consists of a cylinder
from 21 to 35 feet in diameter, built up of cast-iron plates, and sunk
by dredging or by the pneumatic process into the shoal until a firm
American Shoal Light Station, Fla.
bearing is attained, after which the interior is solidly filled with
concrete. A few caissons have been placed on rocks or ledges.
Both of these types are comparatively modern, the first screw-
pile structure in the United States being at Brandywine Shoal,
Delaware Bay, lighted in 1850, and the first pneumatic caisson
structure being at Fourteen Foot Bank, Delaware Bay, completed
in 1887. There are at the present time 76 attended lighthouses on
piles, most of which are in Chesapeake Bay and the Carolina Sounds,
24
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
and 46 on caisson foundations, principally on the north and middle
Atlantic coasts. The names and locations of such lighthouses are as
follows :
ATTENDED LIGHTHOUSES ON PILES.
Second district:
^Narrows, Mass.
Third district:
*Long Beach Bar, N. Y.
*Bridgeport Harbor. Conn.
Fifth district Continued.
Pages Rock, Va.
*Bells Rock, Va.
*Old Plantation Flats, Vz
*0herrystone, Va.
Croatan Light Station, N. C.
Fourth district:
Mahon River, Del.
Fifth district:
*Killick Shoal, Va.
*Craney Island, Va.
Nansemond River, Va.
White Shoal, Va.
Point of Shoals, Va.
York Spit, Va.
*Deep Water Shoals, Va.
*Tue Marshes, Va.
*Stingray Point, Va.
*Bowlers Rock, Va.
*Windmill Point, Va.
^Tangier Sound, Va.
* James Island, Md.
Somers Cove, Md.
*Great WLcomico River. Y
*Ragged Point, Md.
*Cobb Point Bar. Md.
Lower Cedar Point, Md.
*Mathias Point Shoal, Md.
* Indicates screw-pile structures (50).
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTHOUSES.
25
Fifth district Continued.
Upper Cedar Point, Md.
*Maryland Point, Md.
*Holland Island Bar, Md.
*Great Shoals, Md.
*Sharkfm Shoal, Md.
*Hooper Strait, Md.
*Drum Point, Md.
Chop tank River, Md.
*Thomas Point Shoal, Md.
*Greenbury Point Shoal, Md.
Love Point, Md.
Fifth district Continued.
*Harbor Island Bar, N. C.
*Brant Island Shoal, N. C.
*Pamlico Point, N. C.
*Neuse River, N. C.
Sixth district:
*Fort Ripley Shoal, S. C.
Seventh district:
Fowey Rocks, Fla.
Carysfort Reef, Fla.
Alligator Reef, Fla.
Sombrero Key, Fla.
Hog Island Shoal Light Station, R. I.
*Seven Foot Knoll, Md.
Hawkins Point, Md.
North River, N. C.
Wade Point, N. C.
*Laurel Point, N. C.
Roanoke River, N. C.
*Croatan, N. C.
Long Shoal, N. C.
*Hatteraa Inlet, N. C.
*Gull Shoal, N. C.
*Bluff Shoal, N.C.
^Southwest Point Royal Shoal, N.C.
* Indicates screw-
American Shoal, Fla.
*Sand Key, Fla.
Rebecca Shoal, Fla.
Eighth district:
Horn Island, Miss.
*Cat Island, Miss.
*Merrill Shell Bank, Miss.
*Lake Borgne, Miss.
*New Canal, La.
South Pass East Jetty, La.
Amite River, La.
*Ship Shoal, La.
pile structures (50).
26 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Kilauea Point Light Station, Kauai, Hawaii.
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTHOUSES.
27
Eighth district Continued.
*Southwest Reef, La.
Oyster Bayou, La.
Seventeenth district:
Desdemona Sands, Oreg.
Willamette River, Oreg.
Cape Hatteras Light Station, N. C.
*Galveston Harbor, Tex.
*Red Fish Bar Out, Tex.
*Half Moon Reef, Tex.
*Brazos Santiago, Tex.
Eighteenth district:
Oakland Harbor, Cal.
Southampton Shoal, Cal.
Roe Island, Cal.
Indicates screw-pile structures (50).
28
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
ATTENDED LIGHTHOUSES ON CAISSONS.
First district:
Lubec Channel, Me.
Crabtree Ledge, Me.
Goose Rocks, Me.
Spring Point Ledge, Me.
Second district:
Deer Island, Mass.
Duxbury Pier, Mass.
Butler Flats, Mass.
Third district:
Sakonnet, R. I.
Hog Island Shoal, K. I
Borden Flats, Mass.
Whale Rock, R. I.
*Plum Beach, R. I.
Conimicut, R. I.
Latimer Reef, N. Y.
Orient Point, N. Y.
Saybrook Breakwater, Conn.
Southwest Ledge, Conn.
New Haven, Conn.
Pecks Ledge, Conn.
Greens Ledge, Conn.
Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y.
Stamford Harbor, Conn.
West Bank, N. Y.
Old Orchard Shoal, N. Y.
Third district Continued.
Romer Shoal, N. Y.
Great Beds, N. J.
Tarrytown, N. Y.
Rockland Lake, N. Y.
Fourth district:
Brandywine Shoal, Del.
*Fourteen Foot Bank, Del.
Miah Maull Shoal, N. J.
*Elbow of Cross Ledge, N. J.
Ship John Shoal, N. J.
Fifth district:
*Thimble Shoal, Va.
Newport News Middle Ground, Va.
*Wolf Trap, Va.
*Smith Point, Va.
*Solomons Lump, Md.
*Point No Point, Md.
*Hooper Island, Md.
Sharps Island, Md.
Bloody Point Bar, Md.
Sandy Point, Md.
^Baltimore, Md.
Craighill Channel Front, Md.
Eighth district:
*$abine Bank, La.
In designing lighthouse structures, particularly towers, it is cus-
tomary to assume the wind, wave, current, ice, and other external
pressures at the maximum in each instance, as lighthouses are
commonly exposed to severe action from the elements. The usual
procedure in determining the stability of a tower is to locate the
common center of effort of alt forces acting upon the structure to
overturn it, and to proportion the weights (with due regard for the
buoyancy of the water in the case of submarine work) so that the
resultant of the active forces and the net weight falls properly within
the outer edge of the base. In seeking this result the lateral resist-
ance of the soil is considered, when the structure penetrates it for
some distance, for the reason that it is often heavily compressed by
a large deposit of riprap and offers good support. The superstruc-
tures are calculated in the manner commonly employed for chimneys
and viaduct bents, with the exception that great stiffness and rigidity
must be provided, as excessive vibrations are detrimental to the
proper operation of the lamps and clocks of the illuminating appa-
ratus.
* Indicates caissons sunk by pneumatic process (11).
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTHOUSES.
29
Practically all the usual materials of construction are used in
building lighthouses, as indicated in the foregoing paragraphs, strchr
as stone masonry, brickwork, concrete (plain and reinforced), framed
timber, and structural cast iron, wrought iron, and steel in various
forms.
Cape Charles Light Station, Va.
The heights of towers vary according to the character of the shore
and the importance of the light. On the Atlantic coast, where the
beach as a rule is low and presents little relief, comparatively tall
towers are required for the principal coast lights, while on the Pacific
30
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
coast, which is generally bold and high, a low tower erected on a
prominent headland is generally sufficient. The tallest tower in the
service is in the fifth district, at Cape Hatteras, N. C., and is 200 feet
high. The names and locations of 20 towers with heights of 150
feet and over are as follows, in the order of height:
Dis-
trLt.
Station.
Height,
top of
lantern
above
base.
Dis-
trict.
Station.
Height,
t >p of
lantern
abwe
base.
5
Cape Hatteras N. C
Feet.
200
3
Barnegat,N. J
Feet.
161
5
Hog Island, Va
191
6
St. Augustine, Fla
161
5
Cape C harles. Va
191
3
Shinnecock Bay,X. Y
161
8
Pensacola Fla
171
5
Currituck Beach. N C
161
3
Absecon N J
170
5
Cape Lookout N.C
161
4
Cape May, N J
170
5
BDdie Island, >T.C
161
6
Mosquito Inlet Fla
168
6
Charleston S C
161
6
Cape Fear, N.C. .
166
6
Cape Romain, S. C
161
3
Fire Island, N. Y
163
7
Dry Tortu^as, Fla
157
5
Cape Henry Va
163
7
Sombrero Key Fla
153
9. LIGHTING APPARATUS AND ILLUMINANTS.
The earliest type of lighting apparatus consisted of an open coal or
wood fire, with other inflammahle materials, such as pitch, burned
in a brazier, on top of the tower. When Boston Light was estab-
lished, in 1716, the common oil burner of the period was used,
inclosed in a lantern consisting of a cylinder of heavy wooden frames,
holding small, thick panes of glass. The illuminant was fish or
whale oil, burned in spider lamps with solid wicks and suspended by
iron chains from the top of the lantern. Sperm oil was in general
use about 1812, and was burned in a lamp constructed on the Argand
principle, with a rough reflector and a so-called lens or magnifier.
This apparatus was inclosed in a heavy wrought-iroii lantern glazed
with panes about 12 inches square. Improvements were gradually
made in this apparatus, and by the year 1840 the useless bull's-eye
"magnifiers" had been entirely removed, and the reflectors were
made 011 correct optical principles, approaching the paraboloid in
form, heavily silvered and properly placed. The lanterns were also
improved by making the frames lighter, the panes larger, and by
providing more adequate ventilation. To provide illumination all
around the horizon, sets of from 8 to 20 lamps were used, placed side
by side around the circumference of a circle. This arrangement, in
its most complete form, is designated as the catoptric, or reflector
system, and its relative merits as compared with the lenticular system
originally devised by the French physicist Augustiii Fresnel about
1822, was the source of much controversy in the years preceding the
establishment of the Lighthouse Board in 1852. The first lens in the
LIGHTING APPARATUS AND ILLUM1NANTS.
31
United States .was installed at Navesink Light, N. J., in. 1841, and is
still preserved by the Service. (See p. 91.)
The Fresnel apparatus consists of a polyzonal lens inclosing the
lamp, which is placed at the central focus. The lens is built up of
glass prisms in panels, the central portions of which are dioptric or
refracting only, and the upper and lower portions are both reflecting
Point Reyes Light Station, Cal.
and refracting, described as ' ' catadioptric." The advantages of this
system lie in the greater brilliancy owing to the fact that a large pro-
portion of the light given out by the source is concentrated by the
prisms into beams useful to the mariner, and the consequent economy
in the consumption of oil or other illumiiiant employed. The prin-
cipal sizes of Fresnel lenses are classified according to their order,
this depending upon the inside radius or focal distance of the lens
32
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
that is, the distance from the center of the light to the inner surface
of the lens as given in the following table:
Order. Millimeters. Inches.
First 920 36. 2
Second 700 27. 6
Third 500 19.7
Three-and-a-half 375 14. 7
Fourth 250 9. 8
Fifth '. 187. 5
Sixth.. ....150 5.9
Pigeon Point Light Station, Cal.
One of the first steps taken by the Lighthouse Board in 1852 was
to install lenses generally throughout the Service in place of reflec-
tors, and this change was carried out as rapidly as possible, being
practically completed in 1859. Lenses are in use at the present time
at all important stations, with many subsequent improvements, how-
ever, in the design and arrangement of the panels. Improvements
were also made from time to time in the lantern inclosing the lens, and
the standard type now in use is of cast iron and bronze, with helical
bars bent to the curvature of the lantern supporting lozenge-shaped
panes of curved plate glass. These bars, crossing the beams of light
diagonally, offer the least possible obscuration to the beams toward
any point of the horizon. Suitable ventilators and flues to furnish
the requisite draft and to carry off the products of combustion are
LIGHTING APPARATUS AND ILLUMINANTS.
33
also provided, and the entire lantern is constructed in a number of
sizes corresponding to the order of the lens which it accommodates,
The largest lens in use in the Lighthouse Service at present is that
at Makapuu Point, Oahu, Hawaii, the landfall light for vessels bound
from the States to the Hawaiian Islands. This is of the hyper-
radiant order, a larger size than those regularly listed, and has a
focal distance of 1,330 millimeters, or 52.4 inches; the inside di-
ameter of the lens is therefore nearly 9 feet, and it is inclosed in a
specially designed lantern of 16 feet inside diameter. It is the only
one of its type in the Service. The number of other lenses, from the
first to the sixth orders, inclusive, in commission on June 30, 1915,
is as follows: 57 first order; 29 second order; 68 third order; 21
three-and-a-half order; 350 fourth
order; 155 fifth order; and 86 sixth
order; total, 766.
Reflectors are also in use, partic-
ularly for range lights, which are
frequently employed to mark the
axis or center line of a channel.
For ranges two lights are necessary,
and are placed a proper distance
apart, usually with the rear light
higher than the front, so that both
lights show in line in the same
vertical plane when the observer
is in the center of the channel.
Such reflectors are either silvered
surfaces of metal in the form
of a paraboloid, similar to head
lights for locomotives or automo-
biles, or in improved forms of glass lenses with prismatic glass
reflectors back of the light source. The latter are known as range
lenses. On June 30, 1915, there were 100 reflectors and 41 range
lenses in use in the Lighthouse Service.
During the transition period of lighthouse apparatus from reflec-
tors to lenses sperm oil remained as the leading illuminant, but with
the yearly diminution of the whale catch it gradually increased in
price until its use became prohibitive. Colza oil was used in small
quantities about 1862 and succeeding years, but during the period
1864-1867 lard oil was adopted as the standard illuminant, and was
generally employed to 1878, when kerosene came into use. Its use
was gradually extended, and by 1884 kerosene became the principal
illuminant and so remains at the present time. The lamps used
were also improved, passing through various styles to a special form
of concentric wick, using five wicks for the largest sizes. The incan-
18247 16 3
Incandescent oil-vapor lamp, 55-millimeter man-
tle, with single tank.
34
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
descent oil-vapor lamp, which is now generally employed for important
lights, burns vaporized kerosene under an incandescent mantle,
giving a much more powerful light with little or no increase in oil
consumption. The kerosene is stored in a convenient size tank and
is forced by compressed air, produced by operating a hand pump
attached to either the oil tank or a separate air tank, into the
vaporizer of the lamp. The air pressure varies from about 40 to
60 pounds per square inch and decreases so slowly during the opera-
tion of the light that a few strokes of the pump once or twice a night
serves to maintain the required pressure. The kerosene is con-
verted into vapor by a preheating torch when starting the lamp and
subsequently by the heat of the mantle itself. The vapor issues
from a minute nozzle, mixes with a proper supply of air, and ignites
as a blue flame in a Bunsen burner
under the mantle, which is thereby
brought to a brilliant incandes-
cence.
Various other illuminants are
now in use; oil gas is extensively
used, particularly for lighted buoys ;
acetylene gas is used for lighted
buoys and unattended lighted
beacons; electric arc and incan-
descent lights and coal-gas lights
are also used in special instances.
Electric lights with distant con-
trol are employed in a number of
cases where a reliable source of
current may be obtained. Such
lights may be on pierheads or structures built in the water, and
can be easily operated by a switch on shore connected to the light by
cable. A flashing characteristic may be arranged by means of an
automatic make and break apparatus consisting of a small motor
driving a clockwork and wheel with cams. The principal details as
to illuminants used in the Service on June 30. 1915, are given in the
following table:
Lights.
Incandescent oil vapor 288
Kerosene wick 2, 067
Acetylene 516
Oil gas 418
Coal gas 4
Electric incandescent 56
Electric arc... 6
Incandescent oil-va
cent oil-vapor lamp,
mantle, with double
35-millimeter
tanks.
DISTINCTIVENESS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHTS. 35
This table includes lighted buoys, but does not include the minor
lights in the three river districts, of which there are 1,801, with
kerosene wick lanterns.
All lights on the seacoast, with a few exceptions, are exhibited
throughout the year, between sunset and sunrise. On the northern
lakes and rivers lights are exhibited from sunset to sunrise at all
seasons when vessels can enter the ports or are navigating in their
vicinity. Some of these lights, notably on Lake Michigan, are
maintained throughout the year. The closed time varies with the
seasons, generally embracing a part of December, January, Feb-
ruary, and a part or all of March. Gas buoys and light vessels in
these localities are replaced by unlighted buoys in the fall when
endangered by ice conditions, and again placed on their stations as
early as practicable in the spring.
10. DISTINCTIVENESS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHTS.
In order to avoid the likelihood of confusion between lights,
endeavor is made to give the lights distinct characteristics. As much
of the coast was lighted before the introduction of modern lighthouse
apparatus, the original lights were as a rule fixed, but at the more
important of these stations apparatus has now been installed to
make the lights flashing or occulting. This effect is produced in the
case of flashing lights by revolving all or a part of the lens, which is
specially constructed with panels of prisms for concentrating the
rays into beams; and in the case of occulting lights by some form of
traveling screen or shutter which obscures the light at intervals. In
either case the motion is regulated by a clockwork generally actuated
by weights wound over a drum and provided with the necessary
governing mechanism so that the light and dark periods may occur
in accurate sequence and produce the proper characteristic. The
usual phases so attained are as follows: Fixed, showing a continuous
steady light; flashing, showing a single flash at regular intervals;
fixed and flashing, showing a fixed light varied at regular intervals
by a single flash of greater brilliancy; group flashing, showing at regu-
lar intervals groups of flashes; occulting, showing a steady light
suddenly and totally eclipsed at regular intervals; and group occult-
ing, showing a steady light suddenly and totally eclipsed by a group
of two or more eclipses at regular intervals. The foregoing refers
only to lights which do not change color, commonly white, but further
diversification is obtained by the use of red screens, changing the
color from white to red in various combinations, such lights being
known as alternating. In the case of gas or electric lights, the supply
of gas or current is cut off at intervals by specially designed mechan-
isms whereby the characteristic may be adjusted as desired.
36 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
The terms " flashing" and " occulting? refer to the relative dura-
tions of light and darkness, a flash being an interval shorter than the
duration of an eclipse, and an occultation being shorter than, or
equal to, the duration of light. In approaching a light of varying
intensity, such as fixed varied by flashes, or alternating red and white,
due allowance must be made for the inferior brightness of the less
powerful part of the light, which at a distance may show flashes only
or white only, in the respective instances cited. Flashing lights may
show a faint continuous light, due to reflection from the lantern, in
clear weather and at short distances. White lights may have a
reddish hue in some conditions of the atmosphere, and where lights
change from white to red, by sectors or otherwise, there is a small
amount of uncertain color on each side of the line of demarcation.
Red sectors are produced by screens of colored glass; they are often
employed to mark outlying dangers near the light, or the limits of
channels, and are usually arranged so that the light shows white while
a passing vessel is clear of such dangers, changing to red as the shoal
or other obstruction is approached. Also, at the edge of a sector of
visibility, the light is not cut off sharply, but gradually fades away.
To assist identification in daylight, towers are frequently dis-
tinguished by characteristic painting, in addition to peculiarities of
form or outline. The effect of several colors, when combined in
bold patterns of spirals, bands, or blocks, is quite striking in a number
of important lighthouses.
The principal details of characteristics of lights in commission on
June 30, 1915, are given in the following table:
Lights.
Fixed white 1, 316
Fixed red 864
Flashing or occulting 1, 050
Fixed and flashing 69
The above table includes lighted buoys but does not include the
53 light vessels nor the 1,801 post lights on the Mississippi River and
its tributaries, all of which are fixed. Of the light vessels, 29 have
fixed white lights, 5 fixed red, 6 fixed white and red, and 13 flashing
or occulting.
11. VISIBILITY AND CANDLEPOWER OF LIGHTS.
Under normal atmospheric conditions the visibility of a light
depends upon its height and intensity ; the distance due to the former
being known as the geographic range, and to the latter as the luminous
range. As a rule, for the principal lights the luminous range is
greater than the geographic, and the distance from which the principal
lights are visible is limited by the horizon only, and under some con-
ditions of atmospheric refraction, the glare or loom of the light and
occasionally the light itself may be visible far beyond the computed
VISIBILITY AND CANDLEPOWER OF LIGHTS.
37
geographic range of the light. On the other hand, and unfortunately
more frequently the case, these distances may be greatly lessened by
unfavorable weather conditions due to fog, rain, snow, haze, or
smoke. Weak and colored lights are more easily obscured by such
conditions. The distances of visibility in nautical miles for objects
of various elevations in feet above sea level are given in the following
table, which is employed in calculating the geographic range:
*V^s . ' V x
%; 1*1 ^.^T"\
General lighting of Atlantic coast at entrances to Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.
Height, in
feet.
Distance, in
nautical miles.
Height, in
feet.
Distance, in '
nautical miles.
Height, in
feet.
Distance, in
nautical miles.
5
2.55
60
8.85
130
13.03
10
3.61
65 9.21
140
13.52
15
4.43
70
9.56
150
14.00
20
5.11
75
9.90
200
16. 1G
25
5.71
80
10.22
250
18.07
30
6.26
85
10.54
300
19.80
35
6.76
90
10.84
350
21.38
40
7.23
95
11.14
400
22.86
45
7.67
100
11.43
450
24.24
50
8.08
110
11.99
500
25. 56 !
55
8.48
120
12. 52 *
38
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Distances corresponding to heights not included in the above table
may be found approximately by the formula D = fVH, in which
H = the elevation, or height, in feet, of the object above sea level,
and D = the corresponding distance of visibility, in nautical miles.
The formula is based on the mean curvature of the earth and is cor-
rected for ordinary atmospheric refraction, and should be used only
for moderate distances and elevations.
To make use of the above table in a practical way, it is necessary to
add the distance corresponding to the height of the observer's eye
above sea level, as illustrated in the following example :
A light 130 feet high is seen just at the horizon; what, under
ordinary atmospheric conditions, is its distance from the observer?
Nautical
miles.
From table, distance corresponding to 130 feet height 13. 03
Add distance corresponding to height of eye above sea level, say
15 feet. . 4. 43
Distance of light , 17. Hi
The highest light in the Service is at Cape Mendocino, Cal., the focal
plane (or center of the light) of which is 422 feet above mean high
water, thus giving it a geographic range of about 28 miles, under
normal atmospheric conditions and with the observer's eye at a
height of 15 feet. The following list gives the names and locations
of 23 lights with focal plane heights of 200 feet and over, arranged
in the order of height:
Height
Height
of focal
of focal
Dis-
trict
Station.
plane
above
Dis-
trict
Station.
plane
above
mean
mean
high
high
water.
water.
Fed.
Feet.
18
Cape Mendocino, Cal
422
17
Cape Disappointment, Wash. .
233
19
Makapuu Point, Hawaii.
420
9
Mona Island, P. R
231
18
Faralfon Cal
358
3
Staten Island, N. Y
231
9
Culebrita Island.?. 11
305
3
Chapel Hill, N. J
221
9
Muertos Island, P. R
297
17
Cape Meares, Oreg
220
18
Point Reyes Cal
294
19
Kilauea Point, Hawau
216
18
Point Sur, Cal
270
18
Alcatraz, Cal
214
9
Cape San Juan, P. R
260
19
Molokai, Hawaii
213
17
Cape Blanco Ore a
252
11
Grand Island Mich
205
19
Aunuu Island, Samoa
2">0
17
Heceta Head, Oreg
204
3
Navesink, N. J
246
3
Block Island Southeast, R. I
201
16
Cape Hinchinbrook, Alaska
235
The intensities of lights were formerly indicated merely by the
order of the optical apparatus. So long as the lenses were similar in
arrangement and the same type of lamp was used this gave a con-
venient basis of comparison, but with the introduction of more
modern apparatus, with flash panels of great power and illuminating
VISIBILITY AND CANDLEPOWER OF LIGHTS.
39
apparatus of increased intensity, such distinctions became uncertain
so far as indicating the relative brightness of lights. The statement,
of orders has now been generally superseded by a statement of the
approximate candlepower in English candles. The actual deter-
mination of such candlepowers for large lenses is difficult, and
it is in most cases estimated on the basis of accurate photometric
measurements of small lights, pro-
portioning the results so obtained
to suit the elements of the lens
under study, taking into account
the intrinsic power of the light
source, the horizontal and ver-
tical angles of the various panels,
the divergence of the rays at the
source, the absorption or reflec-
tion of a percentage of the light
by the prisms themselves, and
such other factors as enter into
consideration. Although only ap-
proximate, the final figures are,
however, reasonably consistent,
and from them the observer may
judge of the relative brilliancy and
power of the various lights.
The brightest light in the Serv-
ice, and considered by some au-
thorities as one of the brightest in
the world, is at Navesink, N. J., on
the highlands at the entrance to
New York Bay, the candlepower of
which is estimated at 25,000,000.
The geographic range of this light
is 22 miles, but its glare has been
seen at a distance of 70 miles at sea
under unusual conditions of the atmosphere. This great intensity is
produced by a powerful electric arc inclosed in a modern lens of high
magnification. The cost of maintenance is relatively large as com-
pared with other stations, but is justified by the amount of commerce
entering New York. The names and locations of 42 lights in the
Service having candlepowers of 100,000 or greater are given in the
following list in the order of brightness :
Lens and diagram of Prisms, Kilauea Point.
40
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Dis-
trict.
Station.
Intensity
of brightest
part of
light, in
approxi-
mate Eng-
lish can-
dles.
Dis-
trict.
Station.
Intensity
of brightest
part of
light, in
approxi-
mate Eng-
lish can-
dles.
3
19
2
4
6
2
7
12
3
18
5
8
11
3
19
18
11
17
11
1
10
Navesink, N . J
25,000,000
620,000
580,000
420,000
420,000
380,000
370.000
30.000
300,000
280,000
280,000
280,000
270,000
260,000
240,000
230,000
220,000
220.000
200,000
180,000
180,000
3
6
6
6
17
1
8
3
4
5
7
8
1
6
8
11
11
16
18
2
11
Fire Island, N. Y..
170,000
170.000
170,000
170,000
170,000
160,000
160,000
130, 000
130,000
130,000
no, ooo
120,000
110,000
110,000
110,000
110,000
110,000
110,000
110,000
100,000
100,000
Molokai, Hawaii
Cape Cod, Mas?
Cape Romain, S C
Cape Canaveral Fla
Listens Range Rear, Del
Hillsboro lulet, Fia..
Jupiter Inlet, Fla
Heceta Head, Oreg
The Graves Mass
Monhe^an Island We
Dry Tortugas, Fla
Ship Shoal, La
White Shoal, ,M ich
Alontauk Point N Y
Staten Island, N Y
Cape May N J
Farallon, Cal
Cape Charles, V a
Carvsfort Reef Fla
Hoe; Island, Va.
Ponsacola Fla
Matagorda, Tex
Moose Peak, Me
Whiteflsh Point, Mich
Shinnocock Bay, N. Y
St \ugustine Fla
Kilauea Point, Hawaii
Cape San Bias, Fla
Stannard Rock, Mich
Point Arena, Cal
Split Rock, Minn
Outer Island Wis
Grays Harbor, Wash
Cape Hinchinbrook, Alaska...
Point Cabrillo, Cal
Rook of Ages, Mich
Petit Manan, Me
Boston Mass
BiuTalo N Y
12. FOG SIGNALS.
The first fog signal in the United States was a cannon, installed
at Boston Light in 1719, which was fired when necessary to answer
the signals of ships in thick weather. Guns of various types were
used at other lighthouses but have now been generally abandoned.
Bells were introduced at a comparatively early date, and at first
were usually small and rung by hand to answer vessels. Larger
bells were developed and striking machinery, governed by clockwork,
devised for ringing a regular code or characteristic. Many bells
are now in use, ranging from small hand bells up to 4,000 pounds in
weight, and are of value for inside waters, harbors, etc., but are not
sufficiently powerful for use on the seacoast.
Trumpets were the next improvement, and were first introduced
about 1855. The original device consisted of a steel reed or tongue
inclosed in a box with a large trumpet or resonator; the apparatus
was sounded by means of compressed air produced by horsepower
operating through suitable machinery. Although the sound was
more penetrating than that of bells, the expense and inconvenience
of the maintenance of a horse prevented its extended use. A modi-
fication was made, using an Ericsson hot-air engine instead of the
horse as the motive power, and trumpets so equipped were established
at a number of stations. A somewhat similar device, known now as
a reed horn, is in use at a number of inside stations and is generally
operated by compressed air, the compressors being driven by internal-
combustion kerosene or gasoline engines. The sound is of moderate
volume only and is not sufficiently loud for rough outside stations.
FOG SIGNALS. 41
Steam whistles were investigated first in 1855, and an installation
of a 5-inch whistle was made at Beavertail, R. I., in the fall of 1857,-
which was subsequently replaced about 1866 by a hot-air engine. The
first station regularly equipped was at Cape Elizabeth, Me., where the
installation was placed in commission on June 15, 1869. This
consisted of a boiler and fittings with a 10-inch locomotive- type
whistle, giving an 8-second blast every minute. This was the most
powerful apparatus devised up to that time, and in point of volume
and carrying power of the sound is still considered a very efficient
aid. The rapid deterioration of the boilers, the expense of providing
fresh water and fuel, the possibility of confusion with the whistle
Detroit River Light Station, Mich., showing fog signal.
of a passing vessel, and, above all, the time required to place the
signal in operation in the event of sudden fog, are factors which have
tended toward the nonuse or abandonment of this type of signal in
practically all foreign lighthouse services, though it is still exten-
sively employed in this country with whistles up to 12 inches in
diameter.
Experiments with sirens were first made in 1867, and the first
service installation was at Sandy Hook East Beacon on March 31,
1868. Originally this instrument consisted of a fixed disk, with a
number of radial slits, back of which was a revolving plate with the
same arrangement of slits, and a trumpet at the outer end. Steam
at about 70 pounds pressure was driven through the apparatus,
42 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 191A
and the escape and interruption of the jets through the openings
in the disk and rotating plate produced the note. The apparatus
has been modified and improved, and in its present form the revolv-
ing plate has been superseded by a cylinder with peripheral slots,
known as the rotor, which is inclosed in a casing also with slots,
leading to a horn or trumpet. The rotor is in some types driven
by a separate auxiliary mechanism and in others automatically
by the main supply of steam or air, this latter type being known
as the automatic siren. Compressed air is generally employed
as the sounding medium, though steam is used at a few places.
The compressors are driven by internal-combustion engines. The
principal advantages of the compressed-air siren are distinctiveness
Fog signal at Cape Henry Light Station, Va.
of note, which is entirely unlike the ordinary whistle, and quickness
of starting, rarely over 10 minutes being required in any case, while
some of the more recent installations may be sounded almost instan-
taneously.
A number of other signals have also been introduced, such as
air whistles, in which the same type of plant as for an air siren is
employed, except in regard to the sound-producing apparatus; also
electrically operated bells and gongs, which do not differ essentially
from those operated by clockwork.
Distant control is often used for electric fog signals, particularly
when placed on the ends of jetties or breakwaters and other inac-
cessible places. The striking mechanism is usually driven by a
motor incased in a storm-proof box or casing, with all gears running
FOG SIGNALS. 43
in a bath of oil. A generally heavy and safe construction is adopted,
and the striker is connected by submarine cable, if necessary^to
the starting box, located on shore, where it is necessary only to throw
a switch to start the apparatus.
Other types are the "sireno," an electrically driven blower siren,
and the ''diaphone," an instrument similar to the siren but having
a reciprocating piston instead of a rotor. The diaphone is used
quite extensively in the Canadian lighthouse service and a few
installations have recently been made in this country. An experi-
mental installation has also been made of an acetylene fog gun,
which consists of an apparatus for firing an explosive mixture of
air and acetylene gas by means of an electric spark.
Tests have been made with various shapes of resonators or trumpets
for the most efficient propagation of the sound waves. A vertical
mushroom trumpet has been found to give good results where an
even distribution of the sound is desired at all points of the compass,
as, for instance, in the case of light vessels. In other cases, par-
ticularly light stations marking important places, horizontal double-
mouth horns have been found to give satisfactory results by effecting
a wider and more even distribution of the sound.
Practically all fog signals as now installed are provided with a
governing device for timing the strokes or blasts; this usually con-
sists of a clockwork whereby the cycle is repeated every minute
in order to facilitate identification.
Fog signals, though of the greatest value to the mariner, are
subject to a number of aberrations, so that they can not be relied
upon implicitly. Every endeavor is made to start fog signals as
soon as signs of fog have been observed at the station, but such
signals should be regarded by mariners as auxiliary aids only and
soundings should be taken in all conditions of doubt. A fog often
creeps imperceptibly toward the land and a vessel may have been in
it some time before it is observed at the signal. Sound is con-
veyed irregularly through the atmosphere and mariners can not
place dependence on judging their distance from the fog signal
by the power of the sound. Under certain conditions of the atmos-
phere the sound may be lost a short distance from the signal, as
there may be silent areas or zones; or the sound may carry much
farther in one direction than in another, and these conditions may
vary in the same locality within short intervals of time.
It is often observed that in any given direction from a fog signal,
and near its limit of audibility, the sound may become extremely
faint, and at a greater distance it may again become quite distinct.
It should never therefore be assumed that fog signals are not in.
operation because the sound is not heard, even when in close prox-
imity. Frequently noises in the ship may interfere with the hearing
44 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
from the deck or bridge, especially with the engines running. In such
cases it is well to stop the ship and listen in a quiet position. Whis-
tling and bell buoys are sounded only by the action of the sea; there-
fore in calm weather they are less effective or may not sound.
However, by due caution in navigation and the prudent use of the
lead, sufficient warning of danger is generally obtained. In order to
guard against the possibility of breakdowns, all modern fog-signal
installations are in duplicate, so the second signal may be started at
once in event of accident to the first. Care is taken to give each
signal an equal amount of use, as far as practicable. These pre-
cautions are taken owing to the difficulty of making quick repairs at
the station.
Submarine signals, which have been introduced in recent years,
have as a rule a more effective and constant range of audibility than
signals sounded in air. Such a signal consists essentially of a specially
designed bell, submerged sufficiently to avoid wave disturbance, with
some form of striking mechanism. On light vessels the bell is usually
swung over the ship's side on a chain attached to a davit, and the
striking device is operated pneumatically to ring a certain set of
blows at prescribed intervals. At light stations the bell is usually
supported on a tripod, placed on the sea bottom, a short distance
away from the light, and the striking mechanism operated electrically
through a cable, with characteristic number of blows at regular
intervals. When attached to buoys a swinging vane is provided,
which is forced up and down as the buoy surges in the sea. The
motion of the vane causes a spring to stretch, which is released at a
sufficien b tension, striking a blow on the bell: The blows are of equal
intensity, being due to the elongation of the spring, although the
interval between them varies with the condition of the sea, and no
regular code of blows is therefore practicable.
In order to obtain the best results with submarine bells, a receiv-
ing apparatus, somewhat similar to a telephone, has been devised
for attachment to a vessel. This is apparently more effective in ves-
sels of deep draft, and a ship so equipped may determine the approxi-
mate bearing of the signal. The sound may be heard also on ves-
sels not equipped with receiving apparatus, by observers below the
water line, and particularly in iron or steel ships, but the bearing of
the signal can not then be readily determined.
There is sometimes an unfortunate conflict of interest between
the need of a loud and distinctive sound to aid the mariner in a fog
and the quiet and comfort of residents in the vicinity of the signal.
The numbers and types of the 578 fog signals in use on June 30,
1915 (not including sounding buoys), are shown in the following
table:
FOG SIGNALS.
45
Steam (112) :
Whistle 108
Siren 4
Air (150):
Whistle 13
Siren 82
Diaphone 3
Sireno (electric) 6
Reed horn 46
Bell (261):
Clockwork 231
Electric 13
Engine 1
Hand 16
Horn (4): Hand 4
Gun (1) : Acetylene : 1
Submarine bells (50) :
On light vessels, operated by compressed air 38
On bottom, operated by electricity 3
On buoys, operated by the sea 9
Total 578
Since 1885 systematic records have been kept of the number of
hours of fog or thick weather observed per year at each fog-signal
station These figures present interesting statistics, and are of
some value in approximating the prevalence of fog at various locali-
ties when proposed new signals are under consideration. A sum-
mary of the principal results is given in the subjoined table.
Dis-
trict.a
Num-
ber
of sta-
tions.
Mean
hours
per
year
for dis-
trict.
Maximum observed .
Highest annual average.
Station.
Hours.
Year.
Station.
Aver-
age.
Years.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
11
12
16
17
18
56
36
100
12
85
7
1
16
15
47
54
10
29
40
874
680
463
363
218
135
112
281
228
310
359
278
439
606
Seguin
2,734
1,727
1,809
912
902
320
128
819
1,224
1,085
2,269
1,144
1,770
2,145
1907
1907
1885
1887
1904
1898
1913
1907
1915
1909
1913
1915
1912
1915
Petit Manan
1,691
1,175
831
525
426
183
112
562
524
541
1,196
555
1,203
1,337
31
14
31
30
7
8
3
10
22
11
9
5
9
31
Great Round Shoal
Light Vessel.
New London Harbor...
Delaware Breakwater..
Cape Henrv
Pollock Rip Slue Light
Vessel.
Block Island SE
Delaware Breakwater.
Baltimore
Martins Industry Light
Vessel.
Egmont Key
Brunswick Light Ves-
sel.
Egmont Key
Cubits Gap
Cubits Gap
Cleveland Breakwater..
Thunder Bay Island. . .
Calumet Harbor
Buffalo Breakwater...
Middle Island
Calumet Harbor
Cape Hinchinbrook . . .
Swiftsure Bank Light
Vessel.
Point Reyes
Scotch Cap
Swiftsure Bank Light
Vessel.
San Francisco Light
Vessel.
a No fog-signal stations in the ninth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and nineteenth districts.
The absolute maximum record is that at Seguin, Me., 2,734 hours
in 1907, equivalent to about 30 per cent of the entire year (8,760
hours). The maximum observed on the Great Lakes was at Calumet
46
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Harbor, near Chicago, HI., where 2,269 hours of fog occurred in 1913,
amounting to about 26 per cent of the year. This and other stations
near large cities are affected somewhat by smoke in the vicinity.
The highest Pacific coast record was observed in 1915 on San Francisco
Light Vessel, Cal., being 2,145 hours, or about 24 per cent of the year.
Fog is more generally prevalent throughout the first district than
any other, as shown by the f ollowing table, from which it will be seen
that out of 29 stations in the entire service averaging over 1 ,000 hours
of fog per year 14, or practically one-half, are in that locality:
Dis-
trict.
Station.
Average
hours of
fog per
year.
Years of
record.
Percent-
age of fog
based on
entire
period.
1
1
1
1
18
1
1
17
12
2
18
1
18
18
2
1
2
18
18
18
2
18
2
Petit Manan, Me...
,691
,544
.536
,399
,384
,372
,356
,341
,337
,331
.304
,219
,208
,203
,196
,175
.143
,116
,076
,065
,064
,063
,061
,045
,037
.027
,005
,004
,002
31
31
31
31
25
31
3
11
31
31
24
10
23
9
9
14
11
31
31
10
23
10
31
7
7
25
23
18
4
19
18
17
16
16
16
15
15
15
15
15
14
14
14
14
13
13
13
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
11
11
11
Whitehead Me
Lihby Islands Me
Matinious Rock, Me
Great Duck Island, Me
West Quoddv Head Me
Moose Peak, Me
Egw Rock, Me
Point Reves Cal
Seguin, Me
Mount Desert Me
Little River Me
The Cuckolds, Me
Swiftsure Bank Li^ht Vessel, Wash
Calumet Harbor, 111
Pollock Rip Slue Light Vessel, Mass
Bonita Point Cal
Manana Island, Me
Point Arena, Cal
Blunts Reef Light Vessel Cal
Great Round Shoal Light Vessel, Mass
Nash Island Me
Pollock Rip Light Vessel Mass
Point Cabrillo, Cal
Humboldt Cal
San Luis Obispo, Cal
Nantucket Shoals Light Vessel, Mass. ... .
San Francisco Light Vessel, Cal
Gloucester Breakwater Mass
13. BUOYS.
Buoys are, as & rule, employed to mark shoals or other obstructions,
to indicate the approaches to and limits of channels or the fairway pas-
sage through a channel, and in some cases to define anchorage grounds.
There were some buoys in service at the time of the transfer of the
lighthouses to the Federal Government in 1789. Buoys originally
were either solid wooden spars or built up in various shapes of wooden
staves, like barrels. Wooden spars are still extensively used, particu-
larly in inside waters ; but built-up buoys are now constructed of iron
or steel plates.
In order to give the proper distinctiveness, buoys are given certain
characteristic colors and numbers ; and following the uniform practice
of maritime nations generally, Congress by the act of September 28,
1850, prescribed that all buoys along the coast or in bays, harbors,
BUOYS. 47
sounds, or channels shall be colored and numbered so that passing up
the coast or sound or entering the bay, harbor, or channel, red buoys,
with even numbers shall be passed on the starboard or right hand;
black buoys with odd numbers on the port or left hand ; buoys with
red and black horizontal stripes without numbers shall be passed on
either hand, and indicate rocks, shoals, or other obstructions, with
channels on either side of them; and buoys in channel ways shall be
colored with black and white perpendicular stripes, without numbers,
and may be passed close-to, indicating mid-channels. Buoys to mark
abrupt turning points in channels or obstructions requiring unusual
prominence, are fitted with perches or staves surmounted by balls,
cages, or other distinctive marks.
Buoys marking light-vessel stations are placed in close proximity
to the light vessel, are colored in a similar manner, and bear the letters
LV with the initials of the station they mark. Buoys denning an-
chorage grounds are painted white, except those used for such pur-
poses at a quarantine station, in which case they are painted yellow.
To assist further in distinguishing buoys, the ordinary unlighted
types are made in two principal shapes in the portion showing above
the water line: Nun buoys, conical in pattern with pointed tops, and
can buoys, cylinder shaped with flat tops. When placed on the sides
of channels, nun buoys, properly colored and numbered, are placed
on the starboard or right-hand side going in from sea, and can buoys
on the port or left-hand side. The numbers and letters placed on all
buoys are formed by standard stencils, to insure uniformity, and the
largest size practicable is used so that these may show as prominently
as possible. White characters are painted on black buoys and black
characters on red buoys.
Buoys are anchored in their positions by various types of moorings,
depending on the character of the bottom and the size and importance
of the buoy. They are placed in position and cared for by the light-
house tenders, which are provided with specially designed derricks
and lifting gear for handling them. It is customary to relieve all
buoys at least once a year for overhauling, repairing, cleaning, and
painting, and oftener when circumstances render it necessary.
Although among the most useful of aids to navigation, buoys are
liable to be carried away, dragged, capsized, or sunk, as a result of
ice or storm action, collision, and other accidents, and therefore may
not be regarded as absolutely reliable at all times. Great effort is
made, however, by the Service to maintain them on station in an
efficient condition, which frequently requires strenuous and hazardous
exertions on the part of the vessels charged with this duty. It is
necessary to keep an ample supply of spare or relief buoys, with the
necessary appendages, always on hand to provide for emergencies,
and the systematic relieving of buoys on station.
48
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
BUOYS. 49
Buoys may be divided broadly into two general classes, lighted
and unlighted, of which the .latter are in the great majority.
Unlighted buoys comprise spars, both wooden and iron, can, nun,
bell, and whistling buoys, with a few other types for special purposes.
Lighted buoys are provided with some form of gas apparatus and a
lantern; frequently a bell or whistle is also attached, in which case
they are known as combination buoys. A brief description of each
kind follows.
Wooden spar buoys are usually cedar, juniper, or spruce logs,
trimmed, shaped, and provided with an iron strap and band at the
lower end for attaching the mooring, which is as a rule a heavy stone
or concrete block, or iron sinker, sometimes shackled directly to the
buoy, or to a short piece of chain, as required by the depth. Such
buoys are among the most economical and generally used of all aids,
and are particularly employed in rivers and harbors. They are,
however, easily damaged by ice or collision, and in some waters
suffer greatly from the attacks of the teredo and other marine borers,
although this may be reduced by special paints or other protective
treatment when not unduly expensive. Four sizes or classes are in
use, varying in length from 50 to 20 feet over all, to conform properly
to the depth of water at the position of the buoy. The weights of
such buoys vary from 1,500 to 350 pounds each.
Iron spar buoys are built up of iron or steel plates in the form of
wooden spars, and are particularly valuable where severe ice condi-
tions exist, or where the teredo is unusually active. They are nat-
urally more expensive and heavier to handle, thus restricting their
use to special localities. They are made in three classes, in lengths of
from 50 to 30 feet over all, weighing from 4,000 to 2,000 pounds,
respectively.
Cans and nuns, as already noted, are built of iron or steel plates,
the former showing a cylindrical and the latter a conical top, and
are the most extensively used of metal buoys. The interior of the
buoy is divided into two or more compartments, by bulkheads or
diaphragms, to prevent sinking when damaged. Each kind is built
in three classes or sizes, and in addition two general types are in use,
the ordinary type and the tall type, or channel buoys; the latter being
a modern development of a larger and more prominent buoy for
use in deeper water. These buoys weigh from 8,300 to 700 pounds
each, according to size, and are generally moored by means of a stone
or concrete block, or a specially designed hemispherical cast iron
sinker, shackled on a length of chain about two or three times the
depth of water in which the buoy is placed. The ordinary type
buoys commonly require a cast-iron ballast ball attached directly
below the buoy, the mooring chain being shackled in turn to the
18247 16 4
50 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
lower end of the ballast ball; this is necessary to assist the buoy in
maintaining an upright position, regardless of tidal or other currents.
The ballast ball is not needed with the tall type buoy, which has
more stability, due to its greater draft and to a fixed counterweight
of cast iron bolted on its lower end. To prevent kinking or twisting
of the chain, a swivel is occasionally placed in the mooring chain for
all types.
Bell buoys have a hemispherical-shaped hull, built of steel plates,
with flat deck, and carry a structural-steel superstructure which sup-
ports a bronze bell and usually four iron clappers. The motion of the
buoy in the sea causes these clappers to strike the bell, so that the ac-
tion is entirely automatic. Although the buoy is quite sensitive and
responds to even a very slight motion of the waves, the sound may
be faint or absent in unusual calms. This type of buoy is especially
efficient in harbors or inside waters for marking points where a sound
signal is desired. Bell buoys weigh about 6,900 pounds each, com-
plete, and are moored by means of a bridle of chain attached to lugs
on the opposite sides of the hull near the water line, the main mooring
being shackled to the middle and lowermost part of the bridle and
extending in the customary scope of chain with a swivel to a heavy
cast-iron sinker on the bottom. A large-sized ballast ball is shackled
to a mooring eye at the bottom of the buoy, and the whole effect of
this arrangement is to assist in the pendular motion necessary for
ringing the bell.
Whistling buoys are built of steel plates, and consist of a pear-
shaped body with the smaller end uppermost, with a long open tube
on the lower end. This tube extends throughout the length of the
buoy, and is closed at the upper end by a headplate on which is
mounted a check valve and a whistle on the superstructure of the
buoy. The sound is produced by the air in the upper portion of the
tube being compressed by the falling of the buoy in the waves, its
means of escape being through the whistle. A fresh supply of air is
drawn through the check valve as the buoy rises again. Like the bell
buoy, the sound is automatic, depending solely on the motion of the
waves, and therefore the whistle may be silent when the sea is very
smooth. The whistling buoy is most efficient in rough outside waters,
where a ground swell exists, and is employed for import ant points where
a sound signal is considered desirable. It is generally moored with
a single chain of the proper scope and a heavy iron sinker. The
weight of the buoy is about 6,500 pounds. For great depths, where
the necessary quantity of chain impedes the flotation of the ordinary
size of this buoy, a special and larger size is in use similar to the
regular size in design and operation but weighing about 11,000
pounds.
BUOYS.
51
Lighted buoys are a modern invention, having come into use
within about the last 30 years, and are considered by mariners gen-
erally as among the most valuable of recent developments in coast
lighting. The first buoy of this kind was a gas buoy established
experimentally by its manufacturers in 1881 near Scotland Lightship,
entrance to New York Bay; it was officially taken over by the Light-
house Service in April, 1884. Electric buoys, operated by a cable
from shore, were established in Gedney Channel, New York Bay, in
November, 1888, and were discontinued in 1903, after many mishaps,
due chiefly to breaking of the cable. The operating expense was
high, and in the final year of service these buoys were extinguished
through accident on 120 nights.
All of the lighted buoys now in service use compressed gas, either
oil gas or acetylene. Various
types of self-generating acetylene
buoys have been in use, operating
on the carbide-to-water and water-
to-carbide principles, but have
been abandoned on account of | ifrMff I I'll . -m
uncertainty of length of run diffi-
culty of cleaning, and danger of
explosion.
In the types now in use the gas,
at a pressure of about 12 atmos-
pheres, is contained either directly
in the body of the buoy or in tanks
fitted into compartments of the
body, and is piped to the lantern
at the top of the superstructure. Testing pressure in gas buoy ' New York Bay "
If the light is flashing, as is commonly the case, a small pilot light
burns continuously and ignites the main burner as gas is admitted
from the flashing chamber, which is a regulating compartment in the
base of the lantern provided with a flexible diaphragm and valves
for cutting off and opening the flow of gas at intervals, the opera-
tion being due to the pressure of the gas in the reservoirs. The
length of the light and dark periods may be adjusted to produce the
desired characteristic, such as five seconds light, five seconds dark,
etc. Some types burn the gas as an ordinary flat flame, while others
make use of an incandescent mantle, which is, however, not wholly
satisfactory in rough water on account of breakage.
Gas buoys are made in a number of different sizes, weighing from
2,800 to 34,500 pounds each, depending on the importance of the
location, and burn continuously by night and day for intervals of a
month to a year without recharging. The apparatus is patented by
52
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
the various makers and has been brought by them to a considerable
degree of perfection, so that considering the rough usage to which
such buoys are subjected by the elements, gas buoys are generally
satisfactory within the limits of reliability to be expected from such
aids. They should not, however, be relied upon implicitly, as they may
become extinguished or dragged
from their proper positions, or
the apparatus may be out of order
and some time may elapse before
the buoy can be reached to repair
or relight it. Gas buoys furnish
valuable marks for approaching
entrances, defining channels, and
marking dangers, and at times may
obviate the necessity for light ves-
sels or lighthouses on submerged
sites, either of which would be
many times more expensive.
There is a constant demand among
mariners for more gas buoys and
for buoys with more brilliant lights.
Many gas buoys are provided
with some automatic form of
sound-producing device, such as a
bell or whistle, and in a few cases
have both a whistle and a sub-
marine bell. These operate in the
manner heretofore described (see
pp. 44 and 50), and are of especial value in fog or thick weather, or
in case of accidental extinguishment of the light.
The numbers and types of the 7,290 buoys in the Lighthouse Service
in commission on June 30, 1915, were as follows:
Unlighted buoys (6,811):
Wooden spars 4, 516
Iron spars, cans, and nuns 1, 972
Bell buoys
Whistling buoys 86
Lighted buoys (479):
Gas buoys 335
Gas and bell buoys -
Gas and whistling buoys 55
Gas, whistling, and submarine bell buoys
Total.. - 7,290
Gas and whistling buoy, entrance to New
York Bay.
RIVER LIGHTING. 53
14. RIVER LIGHTING.
The lighting of nontidal rivers is limited to those which have been"
specifically authorized by law; these, however, now embrace nearly
all the important streams of the country. In the Lighthouse Service
three districts, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth, are engaged
entirely in the lighting of the Mississippi River and its principal
tributaries. The lighting of these streams began in 1874 and has since
been continued. The problem presented by these districts differs
considerably from that found in the coast and lake districts. As
noted in a previous chapter (p. 5), the inspectors in charge of these
districts are officers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army
and are usually those in charge at the same time of the river improve-
ment work of the War Department proceeding in the vicinity.
The lights used are simple in character and are generally known as
post lights. In some cases these consist of an ordinary 14-inch hand
lantern, inclosed in a square or triangular tin case with plain glazed
sides; and in other types a specially designed post lantern, with a
1-inch flat wick and pressed glass lens about 8 inches in diameter, is
used inside a small triangular case, with glass on two or three sides
as the location requires. A wire screen is fitted to the top of the
lantern to prevent the entrance of insects. These lights burn kero-
sene and as a rule are fixed white in character, although some are
fitted with red globes or shades.
The channel cf tiiese rivers generally follows the concave banks,
with crossings where the concavity shifts from one side of the river
to the other, and the lights are located so as to show the general
shapes of the bends and the positions of the crossings. Tne lights
are usually placed on the banks of the river and the crossings marked
by two range lights, one ahead, the other astern. Where the crossing
is crooked it is sometimes necessary to have a series of range lights
and during low water some of the lights are placed on sand bars or
on small floats or rafts, these latter being known as float lights.
The most complete type of structure on which post lights are
placed consists of a post with braces and steps, with the lantern on
top. Wings are attached to make a better daymark, and are set in
oblique positions with a view to catching the sunlight in various
directions and thus assist the pilots in locating it. The wings are
perforated to diminish wind action, and the stations are further
designated by numbers placed conspicuously above them. It is
necessary to shift the position of many of these lights from time to
time, on account of changes in the channel, caving banks, and other
reasons. For this reason some of these structures are of a more
temporary character than the type just described; in emergencies
the light may even be attached to a tree.
54
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Where the channel is narrow or crooked, or the ends of wing dams
are to be marked, buoys have been found desirable, and a special
type has been developed. It was found that the buoy best adapted
to fulfill the conditions peculiar to these waters is one having but a
slight reserve buoyancy, in order that drift and other floating objects
coming in contact with it will pass over the buoy, submerging but
not displacing it. One type in use is a built-up spar consisting of a
central barrel-shaped section fitted with galvanized sheet-iron cones
or hoods at each end. A slide for a hand 'lantern is provided at the
upper end, and the buoy is moored by a light wire cable attached to
the lower end, with an iron weight for a sinker. Another type is
composed of two galvanized sheet-iron cones placed base to base;
ippi River Post Light.
the upper cone is a right cone, but the lower is oblique in order that
the buoy may not spin in the current and untwist the light wire
anchor cable.
The river lights are attended by persons living in the vicinity,
known as laborers in charge, and in some cases a group of several
lights may be in charge of the same person when they may be con-
veniently cared for in that manner. These laborers are not required
to devote their entire time to the Service, as in the case of regularly
appointed keepers. The supplies for the lights are delivered by the
lighthouse tender or Engineer Department vessels, and such vessels
also patrol the river and make the changes in location as required.
Captains and pilots of river steamers are supplied with franked postal
cards on which they are requested to report to the inspector's office
whenever a light is found not burning properly.
LIGHTHOUSE DEPOTS.
55
Of the 2,961 aids in commission on June 30, 1915, classed as minor
lights and float lights, 1,801, or about 61 per cent, were in the three
river districts. In the remaining districts the systems of river light-
ing are naturally not so extensive, although the aggregate number
of such lights in rivers like the Connecticut, Hudson, Delaware, and
St. Johns on the Atlantic coast, and the Columbia and Willamette on
the Pacific coast, together with many other shorter streams, con-
stitutes no small part of the activities of many districts. A specially
designed post lantern is manufactured by the Lighthouse Service for
this work in the coast districts. It is constructed of brass, with an
outside protecting cage, and contains a pressed glass lens of 200
millimeters (approximately 8 inches) diameter, with a burner of two
1-inch flat wicks, using kerosene. Great pains were taken to make
the lantern wind proof, and at the same time to provide proper ven-
tilation and a reasonably bright light. . The type now in use has
been found satisfactory, even in gales of considerable violence. The
lights are carried on various types of simple structures, ranging from
single posts on shore to pile clusters for use in the water. They are
attended by laborers, as in the case of the river districts, or some-
times by the keepers of some adjacent light station.
15. LIGHTHOUSE DEPOTS.
An important feature of lighthouse work consists of the lighthouse
depot, which is used as a base of supplies and repairs and a base
station for vessels. There are 44 such depots in the various districts,
as given in the following list. The principal depot of the district is
indicated by the larger type.
First district:
Bear Island, Me.
LITTLE DIAMOND ISLAND, ME.
Second district:
LOVELLS ISLAND, BOSTON, MASS.
Woods Hole, Mass.
Third district:
Goat Island, R. I.
Juniper Island, Vt.
New London, Conn.
TOMPKINSVILLE, STATEN ISLAND,
N. Y.
Tucker Beach, N. J.
Fourth district:
EDGEMOOR, DEL.
Lewes, Del.
Fifth district:
Annapolis, Md.
Chincoteague, Va.
Lazaretto Point, Md.
Point Lookout, Md.
Fifth district Continued.
PORTSMOUTH, VA.
Washington Wharf, D. C.
Washington, North Carolina.
Sixth district:
CASTLE PINCKNEY, CHARLESTO]
S. C.
Seventh district:
Egmont Key, Fla.
KEY W T EST, FLA.
Eighth district:
Fort San Jacinto, Galveston, Tex.
Mobile, Ala.
PORT EADS, LA.
Ninth district:
Culebrita Island, P. R.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
SAN JUAN, P. R.
Tenth district:
BUFFALO, N. Y.
Erie, Pa.
56 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
Tenth district Continued.
Maumee Bay, Ohio.
Rock Island, N. Y.
Sandusky Bay (Cedar Point), Ohio.
Eleventh district:
DETROIT, MICH.
Minnesota Point, Minn.
St. Marys River, Mich.
Twelfth district:
Charlevoix, Mich.
MILWAUKEE, Wis.
Twelfth district Continued.
St. Joseph, Mich.
Sixteenth district:
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA.
Seventeenth district:
Ediz Hook, Wash.
TONGUE POINT. OREG.
Eighteenth district:
GOAT ISLAND, CAL.
Nineteenth district:
HONOLULU, HAWAII.
To be of the greatest efficiency depots should be central in location
with reference to the district, adjacent to important mercantile cen-
ters for facilitating purchases, and easily accessible by teams, rail, and
water. Many of the depots in the service were originally intended
only for the storage cf relief or spare buoys, and were often located on
islands or other remote places; hence not fulfilling the ideal condi-
tions just outlined. Constant effort is made, however, to improve
such conditions as available funds permit, and, as an instance, the
case of the sixth district may be cited, in which a new depot on the
mainland, on the Ashley River side of Charleston, S. C., is being made
ready in place of the old depot on an island in the harbor.
The principal features of a depot are a dock and a storehouse; to
these other structures, such as isolated oil houses for inflammable
articles, lamp, machine, carpenter and blacksmith's shops, cement
houses, buoy, lumber, and coal sheds, offices, keepers' dwellings, der-
ricks and other lifting gear, tramways, and similar appurtenances,
are added as may be required by the extent and character of the
work in the respective districts.
The principal work at a lighthouse depot consists in caring for the
articles in stock and the filling of approved requisitions for the use of
such articles in the work of the Service, also in the. cleaning, painting,
and overhauling of the buoys and appendages. Tools and equipment
for working parties on stations and vessels are also stored at the
depots when not in active use; damaged and worn-out articles are
brought to the depot from the vessels arid stations for repair or survey
and condemnation, as their condition warrants. The depots are
headquarters for the vessels of the Lighthouse Service, both for the
routine work of the tenders and for examination and sometimes
repair of tenders and light vessels.
The general depot at Tompkinsville, N. Y., which is much larger
than the customary district depot, has already been mentioned on
page 5. This depot fills the double purpose of being headquarters
for the third district as well as a central supply station, repair shop,
and purchasing agency for the entire Service. Proposals for annual
supplies are issued from this depot for articles to be delivered on
LIGHTHOUSE DEPOTS.
57
58 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
contract; these are then issued to other districts on the basis of
requisitions made by the inspectors and approved by the Commis-
sioner. The various shops at this depot are employed chiefly in the
manufacture and repair of special apparatus used by the Service,
much of which can not be obtained from regular dealers at an econom-
ical price; and a considerable amount of repair work to vessels is also
performed. A small laboratory is also maintained for the analysis
and testing of articles used in the Service; and a large amount of
experimental work is done on various light and sound producing
devices, either submitted by the makers for test or designed by the
technical force of the Service. About 210 persons are engaged at this
depot; this number including also those who are directly concerned
in the work of the third district.
16. LIGHT VESSELS.
The Lighthouse Service maintains light vessels on 53 stations, and
has for this purpose 66 light vessels, of which 13 are relief vessels; all,
figures being those of June 30, 1915. They are generally employed
for marking dangers at sea, approaches or entrances to harbors, or
important points in the courses of vessr-ls, where a lighthouse would
not be feasible or economical, and are of particular value in providing
both a light and a fog signal which may be approached close- to, thus
enabling mariners to fix their position at sea with reasonable cer-
tainty. In this respect light vessels are superior to lighthouses, as in
the case of the latter, in the majority of instances, due allowance must
be made for a safe distance in passing. A valuable secondary advan-
tage is the fact that light vessels may be shifted to meet varying
conditions of traffic, such as changes in shoals or channels, use of
deeper draft vessels, and similar contingencies.
The first light vessel established in this Service was in the summer
of 1820, at Willoughby Spit, Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay, Va.,
but proved too small for the station and was moved to Craney Island,
Elizabeth River, Va. A larger vessel was stationed on Willoughby
Spit in 1821. The first outside vessel was placed 7 miles off Sandy
Hook, N. J., in 1823. The idea of lightboats, as they were then
called, became popular, and by 1839 there were 30 in service, most of
them being small craft in inside waters. The largest vessel was that
on the Sandy Hook station, which had a tonnage oi 230.
By the year 1852, when the Lighthouse Board was established,
there were 38 light vessels in service, of which number 26 were in bays
or sounds. The maximum number of men employed on each was 10
for the most exposed stations, varying down to 4 for those least
exposed. The type of vessel used at that time was evidently not
wholly suitable for the purpose, as there were often complaints that
the vessels were frequently blown from their moorings, and that the
LIGHT VESSELS.
59
expense of maintenance and repair was excessive, considering also
the comparative feebleness of the lights.
The early activities of the board were directed toward the replace-
ment of many inside light vessels by lighthouses, screw-pile founda-
tions being used extensively for the latter ; and more careful attention
was given to the design of vessels suitable for exposed outside stations.
Wooden construction was the rule up to the year 1882, when the first
iron light vessel, No. 44 > was built, for station on the seacoast of
New Jersey. About the same time several vessels of the composite
type, with steel frames and wooden sheathing, were constructed; but
the modern tendency has been toward all-steel construction. Another
practical feature of design which has greatly increased the efficiency
San Francisco Light Vessel No. 70, Cal.
of light vessels is the use of propelling machinery, thus enabling them
to proceed to and from their stations under their own power and to
assist them in maintaining their positions in heavy weather. The
first light vessels in this Service so equipped were Nos. 55, 56, and 57,
built in 1891 for service on the Great Lakes.
The question of the proper form of the hull of a light vessel pre-
sents many interesting and complex problems in naval architecture.
Steadiness and ease of motion are the chief requirements for the
general efficiency of the light, as well as for the comfort of those on
board. In order to obtain this desired result recent practice is to
design the hull so that the wedges of immersion and emersion in
transverse rolling are approximately equal, thus avoiding the usual
impulse of excess buoyancy, while the metacentric height has been
reduced to a minimum of 12 inches. The lines are quite full fore
60 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
and aft, thereby increasing the displacement rapidly as the vessel
pitches into a sea, while bilge keels and ballast are both employed
when necessary to insure steadiness; the whole idea being to make
use of all elements tending to control both rolling and pitching. The
scantling throughout is much heavier than ordinarily required in
vessels of similar size, for the double purpose of providing great
excess strength as well as guarding against the injurious effects of
corrosion. An ample number of water-tight bulkheads is provided
below the main deck, to increase the st ifl'ness and safety of the vessel,
and especial care is taken in the design of the mooring gear, which
consists essentially of a large central hawse pipe, protected by a
water-tight breakwater, with chain compressors, springs, and a
powerful double windlass, usually operated by steam. The main
mooring chain is, as a rule, composed of links made of the best double-
refined wrought iron, If inches in diameter, with cast-iron studs,
in accordance with rigid specifications, and tested to a proof strain
of over 80,000 pounds. The chain is carefully inspected during all
stages of manufacture, and is made up into cables of suitable lengths,
with the necessary shackles and swivels. Such chain weighs approxi-
mately 160 pounds per fathom (6 feet >. so that the entire weight of a
standard 120 fathom cable is about 9 tons. Specially designed cast-
steel mushroom anchors, in weights up to 7,000 pounds, are used for
mooring to the bottom, and in the case of vessels in severely exposed
positions in deep water a spherical mooring buoy strongly braced to
resist collapsing pressures, is shackled into the submerged portion of
the chain, tending to carry a portion of the weight, and forming a
double catenary which is of value in avoiding injurious strains on the
vessel as it surges in rough weather.
The standard type of propelling machinery HOW in use consists of
one vertical, inverted, direct-acting, surface-condensing, fore-and-aft
compound engine of a size suitable to the dimensions and duty of the
"vessel, driving a cast-iron propeller and supplied with steam from
two Scotch boilers; the engine and boiler space being located amid-
ships. Some of the more recent vessels are provided with internal-
combustion kerosene engines, which it is believed will be more
economical than steam, particularly in avoiding the expense and
difficulty due to keeping light vessels supplied with coal and fresh
water, as w/i ...^ avoiding the deterioration of boilers.
Much ri ogress has been made in the interior arrangements of light
vessels, particularly in the way of accommodations for the crew.
The early lightships were single-deck vessels, with the quarters
generally below the water line. A forecastle head was then added,
which was gradually extended in height and length, until an entire
spar deck had been developed. The latest vessels are flush-decked
LIGHT VESSELS.
61
throughout, with all quarters on the main deck well above the water
line, thereby also conducing greatly to the stability and safety of the-
vessel when seas are shipped in heavy weather. The details of the
interior of the present types of light vessels are also worked out with
care; comfortable staterooms and berths are provided, the vessels
are steam heated throughout, sanitary plumbing systems with baths,
toilets and drainage attachments are fitted, and in some cases electric
lights are also installed.
The complement of a first-class light vessel is generally 4 officers
and 10 men, which is varied in the case of smaller and less exposed
vessels as conditions justify, down to a minimum of 3 men all told,
Buffalo Light Vessel No. 98, N. Y.
for the smallest size of inside lightships. Liberal provision is made
for shore liberty, as will be taken up in greater detail in another
chapter. (See p. 73.)
The illuminating and fog-signal apparatus on board light vessels
has undergone many improvements. Ordinary ship's lanterns
served for lights on the early vessels, while the fog signal was a hand
bell or horn. When reflector lights were introduced, each light was
composed of eight lamps with reflectors 12 inches in diameter, set
upon a ring which encircled the mast, the. whole apparatus being in-
closed in a lantern with large panes of glass to protect the light from
the wind. When not in use the lanterns were kept in a small house
62 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
with a hinged roof at the base of the mast, and were lighted and hoisted
to the masthead at night. This arrangement is still in use on some
of the older vessels. Sometimes such lights are shown on two masts.
White lights are commonly employed, red being used occasionally
when necessary to give distinctiveness.
The next development was the substitution of a group of three-
lens lanterns instead of the reflectors, placed in gimbals on a ring
around the mast and operated similarly to the reflector lanterns.
In recent years a tubular steel mast, of diameter sufficient to con-
tain a ladder, has been installed. This is surmounted by a helical
bar lantern of the type used in lighthouses on shore, containing a
regular lighthouse lens. Access to the lantern is through the inte-
rior of the mast, and the lantern is surrounded by a gallery reached
from the interior to permit cleaning the glass, and serving also as a
distinguishing daymark. Any illuminant may be employed in such
a lantern, such as electric light, incandescent oil vapor, acetylene, or
oil gas, as desired.
Corresponding improvements have also been made in fog signals
on board light vessels, but these installations are essentially the
same as have already been described. (See p. 40.) The 12-inch
steam whistle is still used on many light vessels as the main signal,
and a pneumatically operated submarine bell is frequently added as
an auxiliary.
Four of the most important light vessels on the Atlantic and Gulf
coasts, those on Nan tucket Shoals, Diamond Shoal (Cape Hatteras),
and Frying Pan Shoals, and the relief vessels for these stations, also the
vessel on Heald Bank, are equipped with radio, at present operated
by the Navy Department in connection with their coast radio sys-
tem. These installations have been found of considerable value, and
it is expected that the number will be increased.
Light vessels are distinguishable in the daytime by their unusual
shape and rig, including generally some form of cagework as a day-
mark at the mastheads, and by their characteristic painting and
lettering. The hull is often painted red or straw color, although
many other colors or combinations of color are employed to make
adjacent vessels as different as possible, and a short station name is
painted on the sides of the vessel in the largest size letters practica-
ble. From 1867 to 1913 light vessels also exhibited a number, painted
at first on the stern, and afterwards on each bow and quarter. These
numbers were solely for identification of the ship, regardless of the
station occupied, and hence formed a possible source of confusion
when vessels were transferred. The numbers are still retained as
part of the official designation of the vessel for service purposes, but
are no longer prominently displayed. Light vessels on seacoast sta-
tions are also assigned international code-signal letter flags, identify-
LIGHT VESSELS.
63
ing the geographical locality, which they display to passing vessels
when it is necessary to warn them.
Light vessels are brought in from station at regular intervals for
docking, overhauling, and repair, and during the interim a relief
light vessel is placed on the station. Care is taken when practicable
to have the relief ships so equipped that they can show the identical
light of the station ship at night, and during fog the identical fog
signal; also sounding the same code number on the submarine bell,
and displaying the international signal flags described above of the
vessel relieved. Relief vessels are commonly painted red, with the
middle third of the hull white, bearing thereon the word "Relief"
Relief Light Vessel No. 92, seventeenth district.
in large black letters. They also exhibit an oval daymark on the
spring stay, midway between the two masts, when two are provided.
To avoid confusion when light vessels are off their stations while pro-
ceeding to or from port, or during stress of weather, they fly under
such circumstances the signal letters QE, a square yellow flag over a
triangular flag with vertical bands of red, white, and blue, meaning
in the international code "Lightship is not at anchor on her station."
The average life of a light vessel is estimated at 30 years, and in
order to maintain the present number of light vessels it is necessary
to build on an average two new light vessels annually.
The principal facts relating to light vessels in commission during
the fiscal year 1915 are shown in the table on the following page:
64
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
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UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
17. LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS.
The work of these vessels is to attend to the buoyage, to supply the
light vessels and isolated light stations both with the ordinary articles
for maintenance and materials for construction or repair, and also for
inspection purposes when necessary. The 47 vessels which were in
commission during the year ended June 30, 1915, steamed a total of
about 469,000 nautical miles in the performance of their duties.
The original tenders were sailing vessels and the first in use was the
former revenue cutter Rush, transferred to the Lighthouse Service in
May, 1840, and thereafter used in New York Bay and vicinity; prior
to that time and for a considerable period thereafter much of the buoy
work and other duty now devolving on tenders was performed by
contract. The first steam tender was the Shubrick, built at the navy
Lighthouse tender "Lilac," third district.
yard in Philadelphia in 1857 and first used on the Pacific coast in
1858. In 1865 six small steamers, used in the war, were transferred
to the Lighthouse Service from the Navy Department for service on
the Atlantic coast, and these formed the nucleus of the present fleet,
although none of the original vessels are now in the Service. The
early steam tenders, like other steamers of that period, were side-
wheelers, and frequently carried sail as well.
The first propeller ship used as a lighthouse tender on the seacoast
of this country was the former Fern, built in 1871, and turned over to
the Navy Department in 1891. With a few exceptions, all of the
tenders now in service are screw vessels. The old sailing tenders were
disposed of as rapidly as replacement could be made, and by 1882
only two remained, the Pharos and the Mignonette, both schooners.
The latter was lost in a hurricane off the Texas coast in 1887, while
the Pharos was in service as late as 1908, when she was condemned
and sold.
LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS. 67
The essential features of a lighthouse tender, in which it differs
from the ordinary vessel of similar size, are the low forward deck and
the buoy-handling gear, whereby the foremast is rigged as a derrick,
with a boom and falls for reaching over the side. The construction
of the hull, the framing of the deck and all parts of the superstruc-
ture, also all mechanical appliances, are designed with a large reserve of
strength, and are made as simple and sturdy as possible. As these ves-
sels are frequently required to take and keep the sea even in the face
of the most violent storms, a high degree of seaworthiness is essential;
and as the nature of their duty requires them to be handled around
shoals, rocks, and other obstructions in the placing and relief of buoys,
their economic maximum draft is proportionally limited, and un-
usually strong hulls are required to prevent damage from accidental
grounding which such work frequently entails.
Lighthouse tender "Fern," sixteenth district.
It is the policy of the Service in the design of lighthouse tenders to
plan working boats as effective as possible for placing and tending
buoys and for other lighthouse duties, and to provide suitable and
sanitary quarters for the officers and crews of the vessels. As oppor-
tunity offers in connection with the overhaul of older vessels improve-
ments along these lines are effected.
As the average life of a lighthouse tender is estimated at 25 years,
it is necessary on an average to build from one to two new tenders a
year in order to maintain the present number of vessels in service.
To provide for frequent overhaul, cleaning, and painting of the
underwater body, it is customary to dock tenders in exclusively salt-
water districts every six months; in districts having a reasonable
amount of or all fresh water, once a year is deemed sufficient. A
standard style of painting is prescribed, using red lead and approved
antifouling paints lor the underwater body, black for the exposed
68
outside of the hull and funnel, and white for the top-sides and deck
houses. White is also given the preference for the larger portion of
the interior painting, while the lower deck is painted metallic brown
and the upper deck light lead.
Since 1867 it has been the custom to give botanical names to tend-
ers, generally of some plant, flower, or tree indigenous to the district
wherein they are assigned. This name appears commonly on the
stern; brass miniature lighthouses are also fitted on each side ot the
bow.
The typical arrangements of a number of tenders are along the fol-
lowing general lines, although in a number of instances variations
have been made. The anchor windlass is forward on the main deck;
this is often protected by a forecastle head. Below this the chain
Lighthouse tender " Anemone," second district.
lockers, tanks, and crew's quarters are located. The open portion
of the main deck is devoted to space for carrying and handling buoys ;
a large hatch gives access to the fore hold, which is the principal
freight-carrying space. The foremast is fitted with a boom, falls, and
lifting gear as a derrick for handling buoys and heavy articles.
The hoisting engine for the derrick is sometimes on the main deck,
just aft of the foremast or in the hold directly below and operated
from the deck by levers. The officers' quarters, wardroom, galley,
and entrances to the upper engine room and drum room are usually
on the main deck, the gangways of which are as a rule inclosed.
There is generally an open space aft with towing bitts and a hawser
rack. The amidships portion of the hold is given over to the engine,
boiler, and bunker space, while the after space contains petty officers'
quarters, ship's stores, and tanks.
LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS. 69
The upper or spar deck generally extends from just abaft the fore-
mast to the stern; here may be found the wheelhouse and master's
quarters, the small boats, generally three in number, a launch, a
whaleboat or cutter, and a dinghy, and quarters for the inspector or
other official passengers. The mainmast appearing above this deck
is used for the display of the customary range light, officials' flags,
and for the support of the antenna yard when the vessel is fitted
with radio. At the present time three tenders are so equipped, and
further installations will be made as funds permit.
In addition to the national ensign, which is displayed at the flag-
staff while under way in daylight, tenders may fly the Lighthouse
Service flag. This flag was first used in 1869, and is triangular in
shape, with a red border, and bears a blue lighthouse on a white field.
While working on buoys in channels or other frequented waters,
tenders may display a red flag and a black ball at the foremast head,
as a warning to other vessels to slow down in passing.
The largest tender of the Service will be the Cedar, now under con-
struction at Long Beach, Cal., for use in Alaskan waters. This
vessel will be 200 feet 8 inches over all, 36 feet molded beam, and of
approximately 1,750 tons displacement at 13 feet draft. The smallest
regular tenders are the Snowdrop and Waterlily, gasoline-propelled
vessels about 65 feet long, 1 1 feet beam, and 3 feet 6 inches draft.
General information concerning tenders in commission during the
fiscal year 1915 will be found in the table on the following page.
70
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
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18. PERSONNEL AND CIVIL-SERVICE SYSTEMS.
All positions in the Lighthouse Service are governed by the civil-
service rules, which were extended to this Service by President Cleve-
land, May 6, 1896, and all appointments and promotions are made on
a strictly merit basis; this is of great importance in maintaining a
good organization and rigid discipline in a purely technical service,
on the efficient conduct of which is directly dependent the safety of
lives and property. The Service is justly proud of its long and
honorable record in fulfilling an important public duty, and it is
only by close adherence to those worthy traditions that its ideals may
be perpetuated.
The technical and clerical positions in the Lighthouse Service, such
as inspectors, superintendents, draftsmen, aids, and clerks of all
grades, also cadets on tenders, are in the educational class of classi-
fied competitive positions; all original appointments are therefore
made from rosters of eligibles established as a result of educational
examinations conducted by the Civil Service Commission. Regis-
ters of eligibles for all noneducational positions peculiar to the Light-
house Service, such as officers 'of vessels, except cadets, keepers of
lights, etc., are established and maintained by the district civil-
service boards. Applicants for such positions are rated by these
boards from answers made in their application forms, and if an
eligible rating is obtained their names are entered on the register
and they are given due consideration for appointment from time to
time as vacancies occur, in accordance with civil-service rules.
Original appointment is usually in the lowest grade, the more responsi-
ble positions being filled whenever practicable by transfer and
promotion of employees in less important positions who have earned
such consideration by reason of efficiency and length of service.
In the case of officers of vessels, the possession of a proper license
from the Steamboat-Inspection Service is a condition precedent to
placing upon an eligible register the name of an applicant for appoint-
ment; and in general similar licenses are required on self-propelled
vessels of the Lighthouse Service to those required in the merchant
marine for vessels of similar service and tonnage, so far as may be
practicable.
The duties of all positions of keepers require that the lights be
given the necessary care and attention in cleaning, filling, and
lighting, and generally that the incumbents possess ability to handle
a boat; in many cases knowledge of operating machinery is required,
in view of the fog-signal and revolving-light mechanisms at a number
of stations. The same requirements apply in a less degree to the
positions of laborers in charge of minor lights, in which the incum-
bents work but a portion of their time each day. Selection for
PERSONNEL AND CIVIL-SERVICE SYSTEMS. 73
these positions is made with sole reference to the ability and fitness
of the applicants, the proximity of the applicant's home to~the
lights, and facilities possessed by them, such as the ownership of a
suitable boat when needed, etc.
Trades and skilled positions, such as machinists, carpenters, black-
smiths, etc., are also in the classified competitive civil service, and
employment in such positions is made by selection from registers
based on the physical ability, training, experience, and fitness of the
applicants for the employment desired.
The compensation of all positions in the Service not fixed by law
is based so far as practicable on similar requirements in the com-
mercial world; thus, the entrance salary for draftsmen and other
technical employees is, as a rule, from $100 to $125 per month, for
clerks $75 per month, for junior officers of vessels from $50 to $80
per month, for assistant keepers of lighthouses $35 to $40 per month,
the latter two grades receiving also a subsistence allowance while
on duty. It should be observed that these are the average rates
only and that the compensation varies according to the character
and location of the work. The pay of laborers in charge of minor
lights is based upon the number of lights cared f or j distance necessary
to be traveled, and conditions met, averaging roughly about $8 per
month for each light in the river districts. The pay of trades and
skilled positions is generally governed by the prevailing rates in the
locality.
All appointed employees in offices, at depots, on tenders, and
in the field force at monthly rates of pay, who have been in the Service
for a considerable period of time, may be granted leave when properly
approved, not exceeding 30 days each of annual and sick leave in any
one calendar year.
Special rules are in effect regarding leave and shore liberty on light
vessels and at isolated light stations. These rules provide for a
rotative system, so that all may have an equitable amount, without
interfering with the proper conduct of work on the station or vessel,
and fix a maximum of 90 days per year in the case of light vessels
and 72 days per year at isolated light stations where families do not
reside or where the location is unusually remote or unhealthful.
Careful attention is paid to the welfare of employees in all cases
in which remedial measure;* are authorized by law. All persons in
hazardous employment in the Service are entitled to the benefits of
the act of May 30, 1908, providing for compensation for injury or
death sustained in the line of duty. In addition, expenses of medical
or surgical attendance, or of burial, are allowed in special cases
under proper authority and restrictions. The benefits of the Public
Health Service are extended to various classes of employees, those
on vessels being cared for without charge, while other employees
74 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
may receive care and treatment under the same rates as fixed for
the Army and Navy. The Public Health Service also gives infor-
mation and advice, when called upon, in regard to medical questions
and matters of sanitation affecting the Lighthouse Service, and pro-
vides for the free vaccination of certain classes of employees against
smallpox and typhoid fever. That Service has also cooperated in
the preparation of a Medical Handbook for the use of lighthouse
vessels and stations on the prevention of disease and care of the sick
and injured, with special reference to first aid to the injured. Medicine
chests, containing such articles as may be needed for isolated vessels
or stations in emergency cases, with directions for use, are also
furnished by the Lighthouse Service.
Libraries are furnished all light vessels and inaccessible offshore
light stations, with proper arrangements for their exchange at
intervals. These libraries were first introduced in the Service in
1876, and are carefully selected from books of a good standard appro-
priate to the persons who will use them; while largely fiction, other
classes of literature are included in reasonable proportions. In the
matter of educational facilities at stations not accessible to schools
and where there are children of school age, inquiry is made from time
to time into the education of the children and any course which
will lead to their suitable education is encouraged; and, other things
being equal, preference is given to employees having children between
the ages of 5 and 16 years in filling vacancies by transfer at stations
convenient to schools. Consultation is had with State and local
educational authorities and in some localities, notably in the State
of Maine, good results have been achieved through traveling teachers
provided by the State, who are transported by lighthouse tenders
in making their visits.
There is great need for provision by law for the retirement of em-
ployees of the Lighthouse Service who after long service have lost
their ability for active duty by reason of age or disability incident
to their work. This is essential to full efficiency in the administra-
tion of the Service. A pension system is in force with favorable
results in the lighthouse services of most of the other important
maritime countries.
All male employees on vessels and at light stations are required,
when on duty, to wear a uniform as prescribed for their respective
grades. Laborers in charge of minor lights are not required to wear
uniforms. These uniforms must conform to the regulations issued
on the subject, which cover all details for each class or rank. Such
regulations were first issued in 1883. The standard material for the
clothing is dark navy-blue cloth or serge, except in hot weather, when
white duck is allowed. The standard cap bears in the middle of the
front a gold embroidered wreath inclosing a silver embroidered light-
PERSONNEL AND CIVIL-SERVICE SYSTEMS. 75
house. Officers of tenders wear a single-breasted coat shaped to_the
figure with a fly front and standing collar, trimmed with braid.
Other employees wear a double-breasted sack coat with gilt buttons
embossed with a lighthouse. Deck officers of vessels wear an anchor
on the collar, while engineer officers wear a propeller. The relative
rank of such officers is indicated by sleeve stripes of braid near the
cuff of the coat. Keepers of lighthouses wear within a loop on the
collar the letters K, 1,2, etc., as the case may be, indicating respec-
tively keeper, first assistant, second assistant, etc., and do not wear
sleeve ornaments. Petty officers of tenders wear ornaments on the
sleeves only, midway between the shoulder and elbow; a white steer-
ing wheel for quartermasters, and a red propeller for machinists.
In order to insure uniformity in the practical operations of the
Service, one of the first acts of the Lighthouse Board was to issue a
a set of rules and regulations for the government of employees, with
detailed instructions concerning the routine of their duties. Such
regulations were first issued October 22, 1852, and have been since
revised and amended from tune to tune. These regulations are au-
thorized by the law governing the Lighthouse Service, and the latest
edition went into effect October 1, 1914, comprising a volume of about
180 pages, with chapters appropriate to the various activities of the
Service. The Regulations are supplemented by Instructions to Em-
ployees, the latest edition of which took effect July 15, 1915. This
is a book of about 100 pages, with chapters dealing with the duties
of different grades of employees, such as keepers of lighthouses, offi-
cers of tenders, etc., with general chapters on disciplinary and pro-
fessional matters applicable to all. All -employees are required to
familiarize themselves with the instructions and to be governed
thereby. The lighthouse is and should be a common synonym for
absolute reliability. Strict rules for the government of the Service
must be made and observed, and this has been the policy from its
earliest days. President Thomas Jefferson, in approving the dismis-
sal of a keeper in a case referred to him for decision, made the f ollow-
ing remarks in his own handwriting, dated December 31, 1806: "I
think the keepers of lighthouses should be dismissed for small degrees
of remissness, because of the calamities which even these produce."
On the other hand, devotion to duty is always praised and re-
warded. Keepers in charge of stations who attain a high efficiency,
as shown by inspections made during the year, are entitled to wear
the inspector's efficiency star, and those who win this star for three
successive years are entitled to wear in lieu thereof the Commission-
er's star. Whenever employees render service to endangered per-
sons or property, or otherwise perform their duty under hazardous
or trying conditions, including any special act of unselfish or unusual
service of any kind, either in the office or the field, in a manner to
76 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
merit commendation, a special report is made and a commendatory
letter, signed by the Secretary of Commerce, is addressed to such
person and the fact noted on the official records of the Service. Also,
the light station in each district attaining the highest general efficiency
during the year is entitled to fly the "efficiency flag," being the regu-
lation service flag, for the succeeding year.
As a means of attaining the ends sought by the Regulations and
Instructions, systematic inspections are made of all branches of the
Service by its officers. Each light station and depot is inspected at
least twice a year; each tender and light vessel at least three times
a year, at such times as will secure the most efficient service, and
not at regular intervals that may be anticipated. Inspection of non-
attended lights, buoys, and unlighted beacons is made at least once
a year. Additional inspections are made whenever rendered neces-
sary by unusual conditions. Such inspections are made by the district
officers, who fill out a form provided for the purpose at the time of
making the inspection, and in case it appears that a bad state of
repair or other unsatisfactory condition exists, the Commissioner is
promptly notified.
Such inspections are supplemented by traveling officers of the Serv-
ice; a general inspector, who attends particularly to the technical fea-
tures, such as the condition of vessels and stations from the engi-
neering standpoint; and an examiner, whose activities are more par-
ticularly addressed to business methods and fiscal matters, such as
accounts, reports, etc. The officers of the Bureau also make inspec-
tions from time to time, as opportunity permits, in order to obtain
information at first hand regarding the operations of the Service.
On June 30, 1915, there were 5,792 authorized positions in the
Lighthouse Service, divided into the following principal classes:
Executive and technical employees 123
Clerical employees 145
Depot keepers and assistants 71
Light keepers and assistants 1, 471
Laborers in charge of minor lights 1. 782
Custodians of reservations 12
Officers and crews of vessels 1, 605
Construction and repair force 583
Total 5, 792
19. LIGHT KEEPERS' QUARTERS.
On account of the comparative isolation of many lighthouses, and
to insure immediate attention at all times, it is the practice of the
Service to furnish quarters for keepers at all attended lights. Dwell-
ings for keepers and their families are provided for nearly all impor-
tant lights located on shore, while in the case of offshore stations,
LIGHT KEEPERS QUARTERS.
77
Fort Pickering, Mass.
Cape Halteras, N. C.
Point Conception, Cal.
Barbers Point, Oahu, Hawaii.
Fort Point, Cal. Pointe aux Barques, Mich.
DWELLINGS FOR LIGHT KEEPERS.
78 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 11.'..
where women and children are not permitted to reside on account of
the hazard in making a landing and the restricted space, quarters for
the keepers only are allowed. Eight hundred and fifty-seven dwell-
ings are now provided for lighthouse and depot keepers.
There is no standard type or design of keepers' dwellings, by reason
of many different local conditions which have to be met, embracing
all kinds of climate from the exposed coasts of Maine, Alaska, and the
Great Lakes to the senr tropical conditions of Porto Rico and Hawaii.
Attempt is made to have such buildings conform to the prevailing
local styles and customs, and at the same time to harmonize them
architectually so far as practicable with the light station and its
surroundings. Consideration must also be given to the kind of
materials most available in the vicinity, for economical reasons, as
the limit of cost for such dwellings is fixed by law at not to exceed
$6,500, exclusive of the site. While this is ample under ordinary
conditions, the great difficulties of transportation frequently make
the costs much higher than would prevail in localities close to markets
for materials and sources of skilled labor. Unnecessary or elaborate
ornamentation is avoided, and care is taken to use simple and sub-
stantial designs appropriate to the purpose. In recent years prefer-
ence has been given to fireproof construction, when funds permit, and
the use of perishable materials has been eliminated when feasible to
avoid or lessen future repairs. In all new dwellings hot water or
steam heat is provided in climates requiring it, as well as sanitary
plumbing with water-supply and sewerage systems; these features
are also being added to older dwellings not so equipped, as circum-
stances allow.
In some cases double or triple dwellings have been built at stations
with more than one keeper, but recent practice favors detached
houses, as insuring greater privacy, and giving the opportunity for
individual gardens or yards. Many reservations have areas of tillable
soil, on which keepers are permitted and encouraged to grow vege-
tables, etc., for household consumption.
Where quarters are furnished by the Government, a fuel allowance
is made for heating and cooking, and each station to which a Govern-
ment power boat is assigned is also granted an allowance of gasoline
or other fuel, based on the reasonable official requirements of the
station.
In order to avoid any possible interference to the work, persons
outside the Service are not permitted to occupy any premises belong-
ing the the Lighthouse Service; no traffic or trade is allowed to be
carried on within any lighthouse reservation, nor may articles be
exposed for sale on the premises. Visitors must be received with
courtesy and may be admitted in limited numbers to lighthouses at
prescribed hours not conflicting with the regular duties of the -keepers.
LIGHTING OF BRIDGES. 79
A placard entitled ' Rules for visitors" is posted in convenient places
where it may be seen by such persons. Probably more visitors are
received at Absecon Light Station, Atlantic City, N. J., than any
other in the United States, about 10,000 persons visiting this light-
house in July, August, and September of each year.
20. SAVING OF LIFE AND PROPERTY.
While the business of the Service is primarily concerned with the
maintenance of aids to navigation, it frequently happens that oppor-
tunity presents itself to give assistance to persons or vessels in dis-
tress, and in such cases it is the duty of light keepers and their assis-
tants, and of officers and crews of lighthouse vessels, to give or
summon aid to vessels in distress, whether public or private, and to
assist in saving life and property from perils of the sea whenever it is
practicable to do so. The records of the Service are replete with
many heroic incidents of this character, and it is customary to
include a brief statement of this work in the Commissioner's annual
report, giving the name of the vessel or employee rendering this
service, the object or person aided, and the nature of the assistance
performed. Commendatory letters signed by the Secretary of Com-
merce are addressed to such employees, and in specially meritorious
cases involving great personal danger recommendation may be made
to the Secretary of the Treasury for the award of life-saving medals.
In the annual report for 1914 mention is made of 124 occasions on
which services in saving of life or property were rendered by em-
ployees of the Lighthouse Service, and the report of 1915 includes
143 similar incidents. These latter may be grouped into the follow-
ing general classes:
Cases.
Towing disabled small boats to safety 59
Towing larger vessels to safety 30
Furnishing food, clothing, and shelter 24
Rescuing persons overboard 20
Recovering property 5
Recovering bodies 2
Miscellaneous 3
Total : 143
21. LIGHTING OF BRIDGES.
One of the duties of the Lighthouse Service incidental to its general
work is the supervision of the lighting of bridges over navigable
waters of the United States, also of lights on sheer booms, piers,
dams, and similar obstructions to navigation. All parties owning,
occupying, or operating bridges over any navigable river are required
by the act of August 7, 1882, to maintain at their own expense, from
sunset to sunrise, throughout the year, such lights on their bridges
80 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
as may be required by the Commissioner of Lighthouses; failure to
do so may subject the offender to a fine of not exceeding $100 for
each offense, and each day during which such violation continues is
considered as a new offense.
Special regulations are issued on the subject, the latest edition
being dated June 25, 1915, intended for the guidance of shipmasters,
pilots, and bridge owners. They prescribe standard methods for
marking the piers and waterways of bridges with various combina-
tions of red and green lights for different classes of bridges, illus-
trated by diagrams or plates showing the proper arrangements.
The red lights indicate danger, while the fairway is marked by
green lights. In the case of draw or swing bridges, mechanism must
be provided for changing the color from red to green and vice versa
as the draw is opened or closed. All lights are required to be securely
attached and of sufficient intensity to be visible on a dark night with
a clear atmosphere not less than 1 nautical mile. Provision is made
for exempting bridges infrequently used from the more detailed re-
quirements of these regulations, so long as such lights as are necessary
for the security of navigation are maintained in each case.
On June 30, 1915, there were 1,183 bridges lighted in accordance
with the regulations. The bridges are inspected at intervals and any
deficiency in lights is called to the attention of the owners.
22. PRIVATE AIDS TO NAVIGATION.
It is unlawful for anyone to establish or maintain any light or other
aid to navigation similar to those maintained by the Lighthouse
Service without first obtaining permission to do so from the Commis-
sioner of Lighthouses in accordance with regulations established by
the Secretary of Commerce; violation of these provisions may subject
the offender to a fine of not exceeding $100 per day.
In accordance with the law, those desiring to establish a private
aid may apply for authority, on a blank provided for the purpose, to
the Commissioner through the proper lighthouse inspector. This
application must contain the material facts relating to the proposed
aid, such as whether a light, fog signal, buoy, with its exact location,
color, and other descriptive items, in order that it may be properly
ascertained that no conflict will exist between this and any neighbor-
ing Government aid. An annual report is also required from those
authorized to maintain a private aid, stating its condition, and inspec-
tions of such aids are made at intervals by representatives of the
Service. Private aids authorized under the rules cover a useful pur-
pose in marking privately dredged channels or localities where special
service is required. Such aids are usually under the control of muni-
cipalities, corporations, yacht clubs, or other organizations. Light
and fog signals on ferry slips and on piers, used only by certain ves-
LAWS FOR PROTECTION OF AIDS. 81
sels, and stakes, bushes, and barrel buoys marking shallow and little-
used channels, are not affected by these regulations. Information
regarding lawfully maintained private aids is printed in the customary
publications of the Service, the same as for Government aids, and they
are also entitled to the same protection of law as is afforded aids main-
tained by the Lighthouse Service. On June 30, 1915, there were 660
authorized private aids in commission, comprising 211 lights, 23
lighted buoys, 267 unlighted buoys, 134 other unlighted aids, and 25
fog signals.
23. LAWS FOR PROTECTION OF AIDS.
Heavy penalties are prescribed by law for obstruction to or inter-
ference with any aid to navigation. Exhibiting a false light, or
extinguishing a true light, with intent to bring any vessel into danger,
is a felony punishable by imprisonment of not less than 10 years, or
for life. Any person who obstructs or interferes with any aid to
navigation maintained by the Lighthouse Service, or who anchors a
vessel so as to obstruct range lights, may be subject to a fine of $500
for each offense, and each day during which the violation continues
may be considered as a separate offense. By a recent act of Congress
these provisions apply also to any lawfully maintained private aid,
as noted in the previous chapter.
In addition to the Federal statutes on the subject, various States
and Porto Rico have passed laws providing penalties to be imposed
on persons interfering in any manner with aids to navigation main-
tained by the Lighthouse Service, as follows: Maine, New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Porto Rico, Ohio, Michigan, Min-
nesota, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, and California.
The Lighthouse Service takes the position, inasmuch as the aids to
navigation are established and maintained at heavy expense for the
sole purpose of safeguarding maritime interests and the lives and
property intrusted to then- care, that it is therefore the obvious duty
of masters and pilots, in their own interests, as well as those of the
public welfare, to exercise special care to avoid collisions with these
aids to navigation. Failure to do so renders persons in charge and
the owners of offending vessels liable for the full amount of damages
to aids and subjects them to the penalties prescribed by law. It is a
part of the duty of the Lighthouse Service to prosecute all such
offenders vigorously.
Making fast any vessel or boat to a buoy or beacon is an interfer-
ence with an aid to navigation of a serious nature, and any person
committing this offense is liable to prosecution.
Masters of towboats should exercise special care to avoid barges in
tow striking and injuring buoys, beacons, or light vessels.
18247 16 6
82 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
24. PUBLICATIONS.
The principal publications of the Lighthouse Service are light lists,
buoy lists, and notices to mariners, all of which are distributed gra-
tuitously to shipmasters or pilots for their information and guidance.
There are three important light lists, each revised annually, contain-
ing information regarding lighthouses, lighted beacons, light vessels,
lighted buoys, and fog signals, giving in tabular form and in geograph-
ical sequence the name of each aid, the character and period of the
light, the location of the structure, with the latitude and longitude of
more important outside aids, the height in feet of the light above high
water, the distance in miles at which the light may be seen in clear
weather, and the approximate candlepower. Other columns give a
brief description of the structure, vessel, or buoy, with the height of
towers in feet, the characteristic blasts or strokes of the fog signal,
if any, and such additional explanatory remarks as may be necessary
in any case. The three lists mentioned are devoted respectively to
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Great Lakes, and the Pacific coast,
in separate octavo volumes, with the following number of pages each
for the 1915 editions: Atlantic list, 357 pages; Lake List, 271 pages;
and Pacific List, 148 pages. These light lists aim to give all the
important information as to lights and fog signals in a convenient
manner for the purpose of mariners engaged in coastwise or trans-
oceanic navigation. Effort is made to publish the Atlantic and
Pacific Lists on January 1, or as soon after the first of the calendar
year as possible, and the Lake List on April 1, immediately prior to
the opening of the season of navigation.
In addition, the Service publishes separately for each lighthouse
district a buoy list, which gives a list of all the buoys in the district,
both lighted and unlighted, as well as all the other aids. This is
issued rather for the use of local authorities and pilots and for the
Lighthouse Service. As far as the location of buoys is concerned,
the larger scale charts published by the United States Coast and
Geodetic Survey are preferable sources of information, as such charts
show at a glance the location and character of all buoys and aids with
reference to their surroundings, and are, moreover, corrected to the
date of issue ; while the lists can only be brought up to date when a
new edition is published, about every two years. The present series
of buoy lists forms a set of 16 octavo volumes, ranging from about
125 to 20 pages each, depending on the size of the district.
Announcement of all changes in aids to navigation, information of
dangers, changes in shoals and channels, facts of interest affecting
charts and coast pilots, corrections to published lists, and similar
items affecting navigable waters under the jurisdiction of the United
States, are published weekly in a Notice to Mariners, prepared jointly
PUBLICATIONS. 83
by the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Lighthouse Service. For
important changes in seacoast lights and lightships used by vessels in
foreign trade, a supplementary poster notice is also issued for promi-
nent display to mariners. A Notice to Mariners covering all navi-
gable waters of the world is published weekly by the Hydrographic
Office, Navy Department.
Light lists are also issued for each of the three river districts, com-
prising the Mississippi River and its tributaries, covering broadly the
upper Mississippi, the Ohio, and the lower Mississippi, respectively.
These are small volumes published annually in vest-pocket size and
contain simply the number and name of the aid, the distance from
some starting point, the side of the channel, and the color of the aid.
A special publication of the Service is a small quarto pamphlet of
about 20 pages, including diagrams, containing the Regulations for
Lighting Bridges, to which reference has already been made on page
80. This, publication is issued only when a new edition is necessary.
The Service publication of chief interest to the general public is the
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary
of Commerce, which is available for distribution after the convening
of Congress in regular session in December of each year, and covers
the work of the Service for the fiscal year ended on the preceding
June 30, as required by law. In its present form, this is an octavo
volume of about 100 pages, and gives a general description of the
operations and cost of the Service during the year, with recommen-
dations for new legislation and estimates for appropriations for the
second next following year, supplemented by detailed statistics of
various classes of aids to navigation and fuller details of many sub-
jects mentioned in the report proper, along with brief technical
descriptions of important works of construction or repair completed
during the year.
Other publications of the Service are of a routine character, printed
in limited editions, and intended more particularly for its internal
government and administration. A number of these have been re-
ferred to in the preceding pages. They embrace the Regulations,
the Instructions to Employees, the Medical Handbook, the Light-
house Service Bulletin (a monthly leaflet, commenced in January,
1912, containing items of interest to the Service), the Regulations for
Uniforms, the Civil-Service Regulations, and the various forms,
blanks, record books, etc., needed in the work of the Service.
Mention should also be made of the various printed specifications
and proposal forms issued by the Service from time to time covering
new vessels, lighthouses, annual supplies, and other large purchases
for which contract with bond is required. These are distributed to
prospective bidders in response to their inquiries as a result of public
advertisements in newspapers and other periodicals.
84 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
25. ENGINEERING AND FISCAL MATTERS.
Careful supervision is exercised over all technical and administrative
work of the Service, the desire being to attain a high professional
standard in modern methods of design and construction, with due
regard to the economical expenditure of funds.
Surveys are made with especial care, with bearings given from the
true meridian, and the distances well checked, to insure great accu-
racy. Each corner where practicable is permanently marked by a
substantial monument and at the conclusion of the survey maps are
prepared showing the information obtained. All notebooks and other
records are preserved, and in connection with each important new
structure a complete record is kept of the engineering elements, such
as computations, stress, analyses, weights, and estimated cost. These
principles apply to the design of vessels as well as shore structures,
full details of the form characteristics of vessels being worked out by
curves of displacements, centers of buoyancy, coefficients, meta-
centers, centers of gravity with varying conditions of load, etc., in
order that complete stability and seaworthiness may be assured.
Plans and specifications are prepared for all important works.
Standard sizes of drawings are prescribed, being based on multiples
of the dimensions of customary letter-size sheets 8 by 10 inches in
size. Each drawing bears a standard title giving information regard-
ing the subject, the scale, date, and the persons responsible for its
preparation. A standard form of advertisement, proposal, instruc-
tions to bidders, general conditions, and contract is used throughout
the Service, and a number of standard plans and specifications cov-
ering materials, articles, and structures have been prepared for Service
use, as a guide to designing wherever practicable and economical.
All works of construction and repair are supervised closely in
order to make certain that the plans and specifications are followed,
and persons charged with such duty are required to keep proper con-
struction records and to make regular reports of progress. In the
case of work performed by the field forces of the Service, written
work orders are issued showing the work to be done and the author-
ized amount of expenditure. When the inspection of supplies or ma-
terial under purchase can be more conveniently handled by a district
office near the location of the contractor's shop or plant, inspectors
cooperate with each other by forwarding the plans, specifications,
and other necessary information to the office assigned this additional
duty.
Progress photographs are also taken from time to time to show the
development of work under way, and record photographs are kept
of all light stations and vessels, with descriptions of the construction,
equipment, and similar information. About 8,000 photographs of
ENGINEERING AND FISCAL MATTERS. 85
various lighthouse objects are on file in the Commissioner's office;
covering practically every phase of the activities of the Service.
The administration of fiscal matters pertaining to the Lighthouse
Service forms one of its most interesting problems. A rigid economy
is enforced in this direction, and no expenditure is authorized or per-
mitted which is not necessary to render the aids to navigation efficient.
The appropriations made by Congress for the Lighthouse Service
may be divided into two broad classes, general and special. General
appropriations are those providing for the payment of salaries, and
the other ordinary expenses of maintenance, operation, and better-
ment, and are limited to the fiscal year for which appropriated, while
special appropriations are those designated for some specific purpose
usually new construction or extensive rebuilding, such as new light-
houses, vessels, etc., and are available until expended. The total
amount of special appropriations varies from time to time with the
needs of the Service and the action of Congress. The estimates for
such appropriations usually aggregate about $1,000,000 annually, and
the average sums so appropriated for the 10 fiscal years 1905 to 1914,
inclusive, amounted to $946,247. For the fiscal year 1915 the total
appropriations for special works were $136,000 and for 1916 the
amount was $250,000.
The general appropriations for the maintenance of the Service for
the fiscal year 1916 were $5,164,030, subdivided as follows:
Salaries, Bureau of Lighthouses $64, 030
Salaries, lighthouse keepers 940, 000
Salaries, lighthouse vessels 1, 010, 000
Salaries, Lighthouse Service 375, 000
General expenses, Lighthouse Service 2, 775, 000
Total 5, 164, 030
The names of the first three of these appropriations indicate their
respective objects; the appropriation " Salaries, Lighthouse Service,"
is for the compensation of technical and clerical employees in the
field service, while the appropriation " General expenses' 7 covers all
items of supplies, repairs, maintenance, and incidental expenses
required in the Lighthouse Service, including the wages of laborers
attending post lights and pay of mechanics and laborers in the field
force. The law requires that these appropriations shall be so appor-
tioned by allotments as to prevent expenditures which may neces-
sitate deficiency or additional appropriations to complete the service
of the year; careful accounts are therefore kept and monthly reports
made by each district, showing under each appropriation the total
allotments, deductions, advances, repayments, vouchers paid or for-
warded for payment, and available balances. On account of the
casualties to which the property and equipment of the Service is
frequently subjected by reason of storm damage and other accidents,
86 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
a close scrutiny of available funds is a highly necessary feature in
the management of the Service finances. Allotments under the
various general appropriations are made to the lighthouse inspectors
in charge of districts at the beginning of each fiscal year for operation
of their district during that year; all requisitions for supplies made
by each district, or other expenses incurred by them, are charged
against this allotment. This has been found advantageous in placing
definite responsibility for the judicious expenditure of funds and
increasing economy and efficiency. It is necessary when making
allotments to keep a small reserve to provide for storm damage or
other emergencies.
All purchases, except in cases of unusual emergency, are required
to be procured by public contracts after public advertisement for
proposals with the lowest and best bidder therefor. Every effort is
made to obtain the widest possible competition in all cases. Vouchers
and pay rolls are required to be checked as to quantities, prices,
extensions, and totals, and signed certificates of performance are
required on all bills, covering the receipt of the articles and the cor-
rectness of the quantity and quality. Payments on approved vouch-
ers are generally made by checks issued by duly bonded special dis-
bursing agents; in a few cases cash payments for services are made
to employees.
Property records are kept in all offices, depots, stations, and ves-
sels; such lists are verified and audited from time to time by inspec-
tors or by traveling representatives of the Commissioner, and an
annual inventory is taken. When changes are made in the personnel
having custody of property an additional inventory is required.
Property is divided into seven general classes, as follows :
Class 1. Issuable or expendable materials or supplies.
Class 2. Working equipment, fixtures, and fittings.
Class 3. Working tools for construction and repair.
Class 4. Buoys and appendages.
Class 5. Condemned articles.
Class 6. Shipments in transit.
Class 7. Office furniture and equipment.
A stock and stores account is kept of all expendable supplies and
issue is made only on approved requisitions. An invoice accom-
panies each shipment, a copy of which must be receipted and returned
to the issuing office or depot. The information obtained from this
stock-keeping system forms a basis for keeping an accurate cost of
every important feature of the work of the Lighthouse Service. The
results thus obtained are of value in preparing estimates, in planning
work, and in comparing the efficiency of different districts, vessels,
apparatus, methods, etc. The system used is made as simple as
practicable in order to save clerical expense and to avoid obscuring
ENGINEERING AND FISCAL MATTERS. 87
the important facts. Separate costs are kept only of the more
important features and classes of expenditures; general operating
costs, such as tender service and administration, are not distributed,
and liabilities are generally not charged.
Expenditures of materials, supplies, and labor are charged the
same as expenditures of money. Each principal object in the
Service is classed as a feature, such as district offices, depots, tenders,
light vessels, light and fog-signal stations, etc., and a set of account
numbers, ranging from 10 to 24, assigned to each feature. These
account numbers are arranged in continuous order, and certain blank
numbers are allowed each feature to provide for future extensions;
thus numbers 1 to 19 are assigned the Commissioner's office, while
only 15 are in use; numbers 20 to 49 to district offices, while only up
to No. 34 are live numbers. The numbers are of course purely arbi-
trary and are used merely for convenience and abbreviation, each
number referring to some particular item of cost; for example, under
the Commissioner's office No. 1 stands for administrative salaries,
No. 2 for technical salaries, No. 3 for clerical salaries, No. 4 for trans-
portation of persons, No. 5 for freight, express, and cartage, and so
on, the intention being to charge each item of expenditure to an
appropriate number. In all cases the numbers are so arranged as to
divide the costs into two main headings maintenance and better-
ments. The cost of maintenance includes what may be considered
fixed expenses, such as salaries, rations, fuel, and general expendable
supplies. The item of betterments includes repairs, improvements,
and new construction and is further subdivided to show the cost of
labor and materials separately for each principal object. Cost
reports are submitted annually by all the districts, and these are
consolidated in the Commissioner's office to show the results for the
entire Service. Such statements are checked with the money
accounts by taking into consideration the actual cash expenditures
and the difference in the value of supplies on hand at the beginning
and end of the year. A generalized summary of costs for the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1915, as derived from this cost-keeping system
appears on pages 88 to 90.
88
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
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Light stations:
First order
Second order
Third order
Three and one-hall
Fourth order
i
Minor fixed aids:
Fifth order
Sixth order
Lens lanterns
Post lights
Other lights
Daymarks, etc
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90
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
SUMMARY OF COSTS, LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1915
Continued.
AVERAGE OPERATING COSTS OF SELECTED FEATURES.
Average cost of
Sala-
ries.
Subsist-
ence.
Illumi-
nants.
Fuel.
Other
sup-
plies.
Inci-
den-
tals.
Total
mainte
nance.
Re-
pairs
ind im-
prove-
ments.
Total.
District office, exclusive of
third
S12,252
$2 025
$131
$14 408
$14 4('S
District depot, exclusive of
third
6,831
2 624
922
10 377
$4 6 1 6
14 993
Large tender, Pacific
Large tender, Atlantic.
22,612
18 6c5
$5,945
5 80
$9,724
8 025
4,055
3 063
286
213
42,622
35 846
5,458
3 740
48,087
OQ C07
Medium tender
14, 740
4 604
4,865
2*399
277
26 885
3 721
30 606
Exposed light vessel
8 053
1 941
$77
1 197
'854
99
12 221
3 693
15*914
Moderately exposed light
vessel
4 473
1 231
82
280
622
10
6 698
3 784
Lake light vessel
3 ? 323
950
105
300
292
22
4*992
1*218
6 21O
First-order light stations
with powerful fog signals. .
First-order light stations
without fog signals
2,465
1,800
430
330
135
147
277
110
248
208
23
24
3,578
2 619
1,032
515
4,610
3 134
Fourth-order light stations
with powerful fog signal
Fourth-order light stations
without fog signal
1,430
658
287
131
65
34
272
44
195
99
17
g
2,226
974
632
295
2,898
1 269
Lens lantern
189
21
18
5
11
245
a 31
*276
Minor li-rht, river districts
90
2
3
95
a l
96
Minor light, other districts...
121
11
5
1
138
a 14
152
Hi^h-pressure acetylene light
Hi^h-pressure acetvlene buoy
36
3
30
36
2
8
651
4
1
83
88
ol57
a 15
240
c 103
Low-pressure acetylene buoy
130
622
152
a 22
c 174
Oil-gas buoy
32
621
1
54
a 7
cgi
a Figures do not include cost of establishment cf new aids.
6 Figures include transportation charges of all kinds, such as freight on new buoys, etc.
c Figures do not include renewal of appendages.
With reference to the cost of establishing new aids, so much depends
upon the local conditions that little definite information can be given.
The following approximate statements, however, furnish some idea of
the prevailing range. Minor lights cost from about $100 to $10,000
each; lighthouses with quarters, and fog signal where necessary, from
$40,000 to $200,000 and over per station. The light and fog signal at
St. George Reef, Cal., the most expensive lighthouse thus far con-
structed in this country, cost nearly $800,000; it is on Northwest
Seal Rock, 65 miles off the northern coast of California, in the Pacific
Ocean; construction was commenced in 1883, and the light first
exhibited in October, 1892. Lighthouse tenders cost from $20,000
to $250,000 each, depending on their size and duty; the average
medium-sized tender will cost now about $150,000. A first-class
self-propelling light vessel will cost about $130,000; smaller and less
powerful vessels may be built for down to about $70,000. Lighted
buoys cost from about $800 to $5,000 each, the larger and more
expensive sizes being needed for outside stations. Whistling buoys
cost about $500 each, and bell buoys about $400 each, cans and nuns,
including also iron spars, range from about $50 to $300 each, depend-
ing on size, while first-class wooden spars are about $35 each, with
corresponding reductions lor smaller classes. The cost of moorings
EXHIBITS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE. 91
for buoys is not included in any type mentioned; this will vary from
a few dollars to $500 and over per buoy, depending on the location
and depth of water.
26. EXHIBITS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE.
It has been the custom of the Lighthouse Service for many years to
participate in various national expositions and similar occasions, by
a display of various articles and equipment used in its work, illus-
trating some of the progress made, the apparatus or methods
employed, and the results so obtained. As a part of the collective
exhibit of the Department of Commerce, similar steps were taken in
connection with the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition, held
at San Francisco during the current year.
The Lighthouse Service was allotted approximately 3,300 square
feet of space in the north end of the Machinery Building, and the
sum of $4,750 from the appropriation for the Government's exhibit
as a whole. It was planned to make the exhibit of interest from
both a historical and practical point of view.
The historic features included a collection of water colors, painted
in 1859, of early light stations on the Pacific; the old 10-pounder
cannon used from 1855 to 1857 at Point Bonita, Cal., being the first
fog signal on the Pacific coast; the first Fresnel lens imported into
this country in 1841 for use at Navesink, N. J., as well as the first
lens used on the Pacific coast at Alcatraz, Cal., in 1854; also a col-
lection of old lamps used for burning sperm oil, lard oil, and early
plunger and air-pressure lamps for kerosene.
From a practical standpoint, the exhibit included 50 enlarged
photographs of important lighthouse objects, with models to scale of
a number of important light stations and vessels. A modern flashing
lens and lantern, also improved forms of fog-bell strikers and a recent
type of compressed-air fog-signal, using a 6-inch siren were shown.
An unusual and striking feature was the inclusion of a portion of the
illuminating and fog-signal apparatus for the new lighthouse now
under construction at Cape St. Elias, Alaska, embracing, among other
equipment, the complete parapet deck, watch room, and helical bar
lantern, a massive metal structure standing 29 feet high above the floor
level and weighing approximately 44,000 pounds. Present practice
in lamps was illustrated by incandescent oil-vapor outfits of 35 and
55 millimeter mantles, along with smaller sizes of lens and post lan-
terns. Typical sizes and types of buoys, such as whistling, bell, cans,
and nuns, with ballast balls, sinkers, and anchors were also shown.
The attendants on duty were experienced lighthouse keepers,
selected from the Pacific coast districts for details of about three
weeks each, who were present in uniform to care for and explain the
apparatus.
92
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
I
PAST AND PRESENT OFFICERS '
THE SERVICE.
93
A medal of honor was awarded^ih^ -exhioit' J by J the J Exposition
authorities, and silver medals were awarded to those officers of the
Service who collaborated in the preparation of the exhibit. Similar
awards and tokens have been granted to previous exhibits made by
the Lighthouse Service in past years at other expositions, among which
may be mentioned the International Exposition at Vienna in 1873,
the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876, the Third Inter-
national Geographic Congress at Venice in 1881, the International
Fisheries Exhibition at London in 1883, the Industrial Exhibition at
Cincinnati in 1884, the World's Columbian Exhibition at Chicago
in 1893, the Trans-Mississippi Exposition at Omaha in 1898, the
Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo in 1901, and the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904.
27. PAST AND PRESENT OFFICERS OF THE SERVICE.
The names of officers in direct charge of the operations of the
Lighthouse Service, from the time of the establishment of the Federal
Government to the present, with their respective dates of service,
are given in the table below. In colonial days the management of
the lights was in the hands of the local authorities of the various
colonies and provinces. It should be observed that up to 1820 many
matters, involving even routine business, were approved personally
by the President.
Name.
From
To
PRIOR TO THE LIGHTHOUSE BOARD.
Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury
Aug. 7, 1789
May 8, 1792
Tench Coxe, Commissioner of the Revenue.
May 9, 1792
Jan. 21, 1798
William Miller, jr., Commissioner of the Revenue
Jan. 22,1798
Apr. 6, 1802
Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury
Apr. 7 1802
July 24 1813
Samuel H. Smith, Commissioner of the Revenue
July 31,1813
Dec. 31,1819
Stephen Pleasonton, Fifth Auditor of the Treasury
Jan. 7, 1820
Oct. 8, 1852
CHAIRMEN OF LIGHTHOUSE BOARD.
William B. Shubrick, captain, U. S. Navy ...
Oct. 9, 1852
Feb. 7, 1859
Lawrence Kearney, captain, U. S. Navy
Feb. 7, 1859
June 6, 1859
William B. Shubrick, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
June 6, 1859
Oct. 30,1871
Prof. Joseph Henry, LL. D. (Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution)
John Rodgers, rear admiral, U. S. Navy...
Oct. 30,1871
June 23,1878
May 13,1878
May 5, 1882
Robert H. Wyman, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
June 5. 1882
Dec. 2, 1882
Stephen C. Rowan, vice admiral, U. S. Navy. .
Jan. 18,1883
Feb. 26,1889
David P. Harmony, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
Feb. 27,1889
May 29,1891
James M. Greer, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
June 1, 1891
Dec. 1, 1894
John G. Walker, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
Dec. 4, 1894
Mar. 23,1897
Winfield S. Schley, commodore, U. S. Navy.
Apr. 5, 1897
Mar. 25,1898
F. V. McNair, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
Apr. 4,1898
July 5, 1898
Rush R. Wallace, commodore U. S. Navy
Jnly 11,1898
Oct. 3, 1898
Francis J. Higginson, commodore, U. S. Navv
Norman H. Farquhar, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
George C. Remey, rear admiral U. S. Navy
Oct. 3, 1898
May 2, 1901
May 6, 1902
Apr. 22,1901
May 6, 1902
Aug. 8, 1903
John J. Read, rear admiral U S Navv
Aug. 8, 1903
June 17 1904
Robley D. Evans, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
June 20,1904
Jan. 5, 1905
Benjamin P. Lamberton, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
George C. Reiter, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
Jan. 6, 1905
Feb. 25,1906
Feb. 25,1906
Dec. 31,1907
A. Marix, rear admiral, U. S. Navy
Jan. 6, 1908
June 30 1910
COMMISSIONER OF UGIITHOUSrS.
George R . Putnam
July 1, 1910
94
UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915.
The present principal officers of the Service are George R. Putnam,
M. Am. Soc. C. E., Commissioner of Lighthouses; John S. Conway,
M. Am. Soc. C. E., Deputy Commissioner; H. B. Bowerman, M. Am.
Soc. C. E., chief constructing engineer; and Edward C. Gillette,
superintendent of naval construction.
The lighthouse inspectors, with the duty or district assigned to
each, were as follows on December 1, 1915:
District.
Inspector.
District.
Inspector.
General duty ..
Everett M. Trott.
Twelfth
Lewis M. Stoddard.
First
Carl E. Sherman
Thirteenth
Maj. George M. Hoffman, Corps of
Second ..
Ralph H. Goddard.
Engineers, U.S. Army.
Third
Joseph T. Yates.
Fourteenth ....
Col. Lansing II. Bea^h, Corps of
Fourth
Thomas J. Rout,
Engineers, U. S. Army; M. Am.
Fifth
Harold D. King.
Soc. C. E.
Sixth
Henry L Beck
Fifteenth
Mai Wildurr Willing, Corps of
Seventh
Wm W. Demeritt.
Engineers. U. S. Army.
Eighth. . .
Benj. B. Dorry.
Sixteenth
Walter C. Dibrell.
Ninth . .
Camille A. Lamy.
Seventeenth
Robert Warrack.
Tenth
Roscoe House.
Eighteenth
Harry W. Rhodes.
Eleventh
Edward L. Woodruff, M. Am.
Nineteenth
Arthur E. Arledge, Assoc. M. Am.
Soc. C. E.
Soc.C. E.
RETURN
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