III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 204 

Designating August 7, 2013, as ‘‘National Lighthouse and Lighthouse 

Preservation Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2013 

Mr. KING (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating August 7, 2013, as ‘‘National Lighthouse and 

Lighthouse Preservation Day’’. 

Whereas August 7, 2013, marks the 224th anniversary of the 

signing by President George Washington of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the establishment and support of lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and public piers’’, approved August 7, 1789 (commonly known as the ‘‘Lighthouse Act 

of 1789’’) (1 Stat. 53, chapter 9); 

Whereas that Act, the ninth act of the 1st Congress, established a Federal role in the support, maintenance, and repair of all lighthouses, beacon buoys, and public piers 

necessary for safe navigation, commissioned the first 

Federal lighthouse, and represents the first public works 

act in the young United States; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 204 ATS 

Whereas the establishment of the United States system of 

navigational aids set the United States on a path to the 

forefront of international maritime prominence and established lighthouses that played an integral role in the 

rich maritime history of the United States, as that history spread from the Atlantic coast, through the Great 

Lakes and the Gulf coast, to the Pacific States; 

Whereas those iconic structures, standing at land’s end 

through 2 centuries, have symbolized safety, security, 

heroism, duty, and faithfulness; 

Whereas architects, designers, engineers, builders, and keepers devoted, and in some cases jeopardized, their lives for 

the safety of others during centuries of light tending by 

the United States Lighthouse Service and the United 

States Coast Guard; 

Whereas the automation of the light system exposed the historic lighthouse towers to the ravages of time and vandalism and yet, at the same time, opened an opportunity 

for citizen involvement in efforts to save and restore 

those beacons that mark the evolving maritime history of 

the United States and its coastal communities; 

Whereas the national lighthouse preservation movement has 

gained momentum over the past half century and is making major contributions to the preservation of maritime 

history and heritage and, through the development and 

enhancement of cultural tourism, to the economies of 

coastal communities in the United States; 

Whereas the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act 

of 2000 (Public Law 106–355; 114 Stat. 1385), enacted 

on October 24, 2000, and with the aid of the lighthouse 

preservation community, provides an effective process adVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:34 Jul 31, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR204.ATS SR204

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 204 ATS 

ministered by the General Services Administration and 

the National Park Service for transferring lighthouses to 

the best possible stewardship groups; 

Whereas, for the past several decades, regional and national 

groups have formed within the lighthouse preservation 

community to promote lighthouse heritage through research, education, tourism, and publications; 

Whereas the earliest and largest regional preservation group, 

the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, 

headquartered in Michigan, marks its 30th anniversary 

in 2013, and the largest and oldest national group, the 

United States Lighthouse Society, which relocated from 

San Francisco, California, to the State of Washington in 

2008, marks its 30th anniversary in 2014; 

Whereas other groups have also been formed to promote 

lighthouse preservation and history, many with regional 

chapters, including— 

(1) a national leadership council and forum named 

the American Lighthouse Council (formerly the American 

Lighthouse Coordinating Committee), currently 

headquartered in Illinois; 

(2) the American Lighthouse Foundation in Maine; 

(3) the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance and Michigan 

Lighthouse Conservancy; 

(4) the Maine Lights Program; 

(5) the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society in North 

Carolina; 

(6) the New Jersey Lighthouse Society; 

(7) the Florida Lighthouse Association; and 

(8) the Lighthouse Preservation Society in Massachusetts; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 204 ATS 

Whereas major lighthouse publications, including the United 

States Lighthouse Society’s Keeper’s Log and the Lighthouse Digest, contribute greatly to the promotion of 

lighthouse heritage and preservation; 

Whereas single-lighthouse preservation efforts by individuals 

or organizations, including historical societies and governments, have even longer histories, including preservation 

efforts in— 

(1) Grosse Point, Illinois, established in 1935; 

(2) Buffalo, New York, established in 1962; 

(3) Navesink Twin Lights, New Jersey, established 

in 1962; 

(4) Point Fermin, California, established in 1970; 

(5) Charlotte-Genesse near Rochester, New York, established in 1965; 

(6) Key West, Florida, established in 1969; 

(7) Split Rock Lighthouse, Minnesota, established in 

1971; 

(8) Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida, established in 

1972; 

(9) St. Augustine, Florida, established in 1981; and 

(10) Fire Island, New York, established in 1982; 

Whereas, despite progress, many lighthouses in the United 

States remain threatened by erosion, neglect, vandalism, 

and deterioration by the elements; 

Whereas Congress passed, and President Ronald Reagan 

signed, a Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution designating the day of August 7, 1989, as ‘National Lighthouse Day’ ’’, approved November 5, 1988 (Public Law 

100–622; 102 Stat. 3201), in honor of the bicentennial 

of the United States Lighthouse Service; and 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 204 ATS 

Whereas the many completed, ongoing, or planned private 

and public efforts to preserve lighthouses demonstrate 

the public support for those historic structures: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates August 7, 2013, as ‘‘National 

3 Lighthouse and Lighthouse Preservation Day’’; 

4 (2) encourages lighthouse grounds to be made 

5 open to the general public to the extent feasible; and 

6 (3) encourages the people of the United States 

7 to observe National Lighthouse and Lighthouse 

8 Preservation Day with appropriate ceremonies and 

9 activities. 

Æ 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS