III 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 507 

Designating August 7, 2014, as ‘‘National Lighthouse and Lighthouse 

Preservation Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 17, 2014 

Mr. KING (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. SCHUMER) submitted the 

following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating August 7, 2014, as ‘‘National Lighthouse and 

Lighthouse Preservation Day’’. 

Whereas August 7, 2014, marks the 225th 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 in 1789, the ninth Act of the first 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 represented the first public works 

act in the young United States; 


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•SRES 507 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 and Pacific States; 

Whereas those iconic structures, standing at the margins of 

land and water, sometimes for as long as 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 (16 U.S.C. 470w-7 et seq.), enacted on October 

24, 2000, with the aid of the lighthouse preservation 


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•SRES 507 ATS 

community, provides an effective process administered by 

the General Services Administration and the National 

Park Service for transferring lighthouses to the best possible stewardship groups; 

Whereas 2014 is the 200th anniversary of the August 24, 

1814, rescue of the original copies of the Declaration of 

Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the United 

States Constitution, and many irreplaceable original government documents and books from destruction when the 

British burned Washington, D.C. during the War of 

1812 by Stephen Pleasonton, who later served as General 

Superintendent of Lighthouses for 32 years; 

Whereas 2014 is also the 75th anniversary of when Congress 

dissolved the United States Lighthouse Service and 

turned all of its duties over to the United States Coast 

Guard; 

Whereas although the United States Coast Guard was created in 1915 with the merger of the United States Life 

Saving Service and the United States Revenue Marine 

Service, the United States Coast Guard uses the United 

States Revenue Marine founding date of 1790 as its anniversary year, and thus, August 7, 2014, is also the 

225th anniversary of the United States Coast Guard; 

Whereas 2014 also marks the 250th anniversary of the Sandy 

Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey, the oldest standing 

lighthouse tower in the United States, which was built 

before the United States was a country and was still part 

of the British colonies; 

Whereas for the past several decades, regional and national 

groups have formed within the lighthouse preservation 


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

Whereas despite progress, many lighthouses in the United 

States remain threatened by erosion, neglect, vandalism, 

and deterioration by the elements; and 

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, 2014, as ‘‘National 

3 Lighthouse and Lighthouse Preservation Day’’; 

4 (2) encourages lighthouse grounds to be opened 

5 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 


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