National Lighthouse Day
To say that lighthouses are extremely amazing and simultaneously terrifying to me. I do so enjoy looking at them, even exploring the ones I can. The thought of living in one or just plain being in one during a storm? I shudder to think of it. Makes me sick to my stomach. National Lighthouse Day is one that gives me mixed feelings.
Today we celebrate those towering beacons of light. It’s #NationalLighthouseDay, let’s show our love. They have kept ships and boats at sea safe and secure for hundreds of years. Surprisingly most of America’s shorelines were darted with lighthouses.
What actually constitutes a lighthouse? Is it the shape? The lights? Its location?
Webster’s Dictionary defines it this way: the lighthouse is a structure (such as a tower) with a powerful light that gives a continuous or intermittent signal to navigators.
Britannica defines it this way: Lighthouse, a structure, usually with a tower, built onshore or on the seabed to serve as an aid to maritime coastal navigation, warning mariners of hazards, establishing their position, and guiding them to their destinations.
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Notable lighthouses in history
Henry Winstanley made the first attempt at the modern lighthouse. It was an octagonal wooden structure, anchored by 12 iron stanchions, and secured in the rock. It took from 1696-1698 to complete. In 1703 a great storm wiped out almost the entire structure. This was in England.
The first lighthouse built in the US was in Boston, MA. The Boston Light built in 1716 in Boston Harbor. This and many others of its time were constructed of wood. The first Masonry-style lighthouse was built in 1764 in New Jersey. It was named Sandy Hook. Built on Sandy Hook Peninsula, the lighthouse stood just 500 feet from the tip of the peninsula. Erosion being what it is has changed geography just a bit. As currents continued to move sand up the coast, the lighthouse became farther from the tip as shoreline extended. By 1864 the lighthouse was a whopping 4,000 feet from the shoreline. The lighthouse now stands about a mile and a half from the shoreline. Sandy Hook was declared a National Historical Landmark on June 11, 1964.
Some of my favorite photos of landmark lighthouses
Miss yesterday’s National Day? Find it here.
Other National Days to celebrate today:
- National Family Day – First Sunday in August
- National Friendship Day – First Sunday in August
- National Raspberries n’ Cream Day
- National Sister’s Day – First Sunday in August
- Purple Heart Day
