Beavertail Light Jamestown RI

 Beavertail Light (click for complete history) located on the southern tip of Connanicut Island is the third oldest light in the US built in 1749. The original wooden tower designed by Architect Peter Harrison burned, was rebuilt and later destroyed by retreating British troops. In this view you can see the 45 ft granite light tower built in 1856 with the smaller fog signal building on the left and the keeper's quarters on the right.

The fog signal building has been re-purposed as an aquarium with RI DEM naturalist tours offered during the summer months. The restored keeper's quarters are a museum of the history of the light station run by the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association. The grounds are open to the public including the restored base of the original wooden tower which stands just to the south of the current buildings on the exposed rocky ledge.

The US Coast Guard maintains the light and fog signal as an aid to navigation. The distinctive architecture is a group of simple square or rectangular white painted masonry structures with recessed openings and red shingle roofs. The tower is made from interlocking granite blocks with a black metal lantern. The light is a 7 sec. period single white counterclockwise rotating beacon. The original 3rd order fresnel lens is on display in the museum.

photographs copyright 2014 George Hutchinson

St. Joseph MI North Pier outer and inner lighthouses

Benton Harbor Michigan also known as the St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouse outer cast iron and inner steel lights located on the north jetty. The outer light has part of the lantern catwalk missing possibly from storm damage. According to a local resident Lake Michigan froze over during the winter of 2013/4 resulting in much less wave action along these structures than when the lake remains open.

The lights are connected by an elevated iron framework that used to have an elevated catwalk deck and guardrails. This walkway allowed lighthouse tenders to get to the light structures without risking a traverse of the icy surface of the jetty itself. Both lights are operational and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

2009 winter photo

photograph copyright 2014 George Hutchinson