Evening star., 1913-04-06

*
The thirteen lighthouses thus placed un.
der government control. as in the case OF
practically all other bi-
First Board reaus established at the
rl,:.ll same time and for sew
GstdoiASAco. eral years ito come. were
blanketed under the Treasury Depart
ment At first the work came directly
under the Secretary-at that time Alex
ander Hamilton. In 1920. however, the
fifth auditor of the department was in
charge, and Stephen Pleasonton, filling
that position. thus supervised the light
houses for thifty-two years. At the end
of that time, in 1852. Congress established
lighthouse board, composed of three
naval officers. three army engineers and
two civilians, the, Secretary of. the Treas
ury acting as president ex ofHcio. With
the single exception Of Prof: Joseph Hen
nv. whose term ran from 1871 to 1873.
the chairmen of this board were admirais
tinued for many years, the bureau OF
lighthouses being established by Congress
only three years ago.
The conditions, at the, point where "a
lighthouse is to be situated determine
the kind of. light to be located there. as
we'll as the force which is needed to Oper-
ate it, At the more prominent and dan.
gerous points "first-class" lighthouses and
fog signal stations are erected. For such
a light as many as five men may be en-
rayed to keep continuous watch through
the night, and lookout for. fog at all
times.
In order to be seen at distance OF
twenty nautical miles. a lighthouse must
he 800 feet above the water. owing to the
curvature of the earth, The taiiest IN
this country is the Cape Hatteras light
house. in North Carolina, 200 rect nlgn;
This tower is also used as day ,iss marx.
and in order that it may be disting ulsn
able it is painted spirally. On the other
hand, the Cape Mendocino light. in Can.
fornia, is housed in building oniytwenty
feet high. 1t stands. however. on a cnII
SO lofty that the light IS AZ 1eet apove
the sea. the most elevated beacon'in the
United States.
**
Since the days when lighthouses were
new many changes have been made in
both the type and ma
Changes in Z terial' Of their con-
struction. Wood. re-
CONSTRUCTION. inforced concrete. con-
crete steel. iron. brick and stone have al
been used All along the seacoasts the iaho
lights are comparatively simple matters
to build. Where the site is inaccessible,
such as upon rocks in the water, hght-
house construction becomes difhcuit en-
gineering feat. Tt was nearly seventy
years after the federal government had
assumed charge of the lighthouses that
an attempt was made to erect one on
dangerous site. That was when the
Minots Ledge light wasverected. on-a reef
off Boston harbor, which had long been
the terror Of all mariners. TWO years
after it was built. in April, 1851, a. severe
gale, destroyed the lighthouse, both tine
keepers being lost. In 1855 another tower
was begun, which was completed' only
after Ave years Of labor. This takes rank
as one of the most difficult feats or engi-
neering in the world. During the frst
hours had been possible. and even after
three years Of labor only four stones of
the foundation had been laid.
The lighthouse fafthest from shore In
this country Is the Stannard Rock light,
which is twenty-four statute miles from
the nearest land. and marks the most dan
gerous reef in Lake Superior. This tower
was built by constructing coHerdam,
pumping out the water and leveling OF the
bed rock. to which the lighthouse, con-
structed of cut stone, was securely fas-
tened.
one of the most exposed towers in the
world is the Tillamook Rock lighthouse,
b' built on a high sc9 rock south Of the Coluin-
site that the hrst day .. working party
started for the rock the foreman was
drowned In addition to. such difficulties
as landing. it was necessary to blast off
the top of the rocle in order to secure
sufficient room fors the tower. The light
house is 136 feet above high water, but
Keepers OF this light have reported storms
SO severe that the sea has broken over
the building, end even gone. above the
tower, -.
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