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History of Lighthouses

Beacons of Hope

The Story of the Iliad (by Homer. Iliad)
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (by Banks, Edgar James)
New Colossus, The (by Lazarus, Emma)
To the Lighthouse (by Woolf, Virginia)
The Lighthouse Keeper of Aspinwall (by Sienkiewicz, Henry K.)

Lighthouses are used around the world to guide ships sailing in coastal waters. They dot coastlines from the U.S. to Greece, Gibraltar, Iceland, the Ukraine, and beyond. LighthousePreservation.org defines lighthouses as structures from which light is projected at night or which serve as markers by day to guide ships.

Boasting a variety of shapes, including round and octagonal, lighthouses mark the entrances to harbors and estuaries, dot rocky ledges and reefs, and appear on islands and in the water. They’re often embellished with bold stripes, spiral designs, diamond patterns, or vivid colors.

Beyond casting a nautical vibe and being rather majestic, lighthouses assist in identifying a ship’s location, warn of potential hazards, and notify sailing vessels that land is near.

Traditionally, living quarters for lighthouse keepers were incorporated into the towers themselves; however, most of today’s contemporary lighthouses utilize electric lights, which are automatic and don’t require a keeper. Before lighthouses were used, bonfires guided ships. Later, oil and gas lanterns lit the way.

The first known lighthouse―the Pharos of Alexandria in Egypt―was completed around 280 B.C.. An earthquake destroyed it in the 1300s. According to LighthousePreservation.org, some believe the earliest known reference to a lighthouse may date back to 1200 B.C. when a lighthouse may have been described by Homer in The Iliad. Some skeptics deny the possibility.

Other prominent lighthouses around the globe include “the lighthouse at the end of the world,” located on an island by Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city on the globe. Apparently inspired by the Argentinian lighthouse, Jules Verne wrote a novel of the same name. Estonia’s Kõpu Lighthouse is the third oldest operating lighthouse in the world, having been in continuous use since 1531.

One of America’s oldest lighthouses, Connecticut’s New London Harbor “Pequot” Light, has been guiding ships for more than 200 years. Other interesting information about these beacons of light point to the fact that lighthouse keeping was one of the first U.S. government jobs available to women in the 19th century, according to the United States Lighthouse Society.

Built in 1871, the UK’s Souter and The Leas between Leeds and Edinburgh, was the first lighthouse built to use electricity. Manhattan’s Statue of Liberty is the first American lighthouse to use electricity. From its debut in 1886, until its deactivation as a lighthouse in 1902, its torch carried an electric light visible for 24 miles. In 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote "The New Colossus" to raise money for the construction of Lady Liberty’s pedestal. The sonnet was engraved on a plaque and mounted inside the monument.

In recent years, the U.S. government began selling obsolete lighthouses, which have transformed them into chic homes, cozy inns, and museums. For more reading on lighthouses, explore Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse and The Lighthouse Keeper of Aspinwall by Henry K. Sienkiewicz.

By Regina Molaro