- ** Portsmouth
Harbor (New Castle, Fort Point, Fort Constitution) (4)
- 1878 (James C. Duane). Station established in 1771. Active; focal plane
52 ft (16 m); continuous green light. 48 ft (14.5 m) round cast iron tower with
lantern and gallery; a 4th order Fresnel lens installed sometime after 1935
is in use. Tower painted white, lantern and gallery black. Fog horn (blast
every 10 s). 1-1/2 story wood keeper's house (1872). C.M. Hanchey's photo appears above,
Anderson also has a good page
for the lighthouse, Marinas.com has aerial
photos, Huelse has a historic postcard
view, and Bing has an aerial
view. In 1998 the Coast Guard repainted the tower after removing lead
paint from the outside and inside. Early in 2000 the American
Lighthouse Foundation leased the tower for preservation. A support
group, Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Light, works for preservation and
restoration of the light station. In May 2004, the oil house was restored
by Campbell Construction; it is open with historical exhibits during station
open houses. In 2006, the walkway to the light station was rebuilt to improve
access. In 2010, the lighthouse was repainted with $30,000 raised mostly
by the Friends group. Located on the grounds of the Portsmouth
Harbor Coast Guard Station, adjacent to Fort
Constitution State Historic Site and off NH 1B in New Castle.
Site open, tower open on
Sunday afternoons from late May to mid October. Owner: U.S. Coast Guard.
Site manager (tower): Friends
of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. ARLHS USA-662; Admiralty J0234;
USCG 1-8330.
- Isles of Shoals (White
Island) (2)
- 1859 (station established 1821). Active; focal plane 82 ft (25
m); white flash every 15 s. 58 ft (17.5 m) round cylindrical brick tower
with lantern and gallery; solar-powered 190 mm lens. Tower painted
white, lantern black. Fog horn (blast every 30 s) operates continuously.
The 1-1/2 story keeper's house is leased to a diving school. The
station also includes a NOAA C-MAN automatic weather
station. Rich MacDowell's photo is at right, Anderson also
has a good page
for the lighthouse, a 2009 photo is available, Marinas.com has aerial
photos, Huelse has a historic postcard
view, and Bing has a satellite
view. In 1993, ownership of the light station was transferred
to the state of New Hampshire, which proceeded to ignore it completely.
By 2001 the tower was in poor
condition, riddled with cracks; it was placed
on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List in March 2002. A local
school group, the Lighthouse
Kids, drew public attention to the plight of the lighthouse.
In 2003, the Lighthouse Kids successfully lobbied the state legislature
for $125,000 to repair the tower, and in April of the same year
a $250,000 federal grant for restoration was announced. In May
2005, another $50,000 grant was received. During the summer of
2005, contractors carried out a complete restoration
of the tower and a partial restoration of the keeper's house. In
April 2007 a powerful nor'easter, known in New England as the
Patriot's Day storm, washed completely over the island, damaging
the newly restored lighthouse. The solar panels, foghorn, and walkway
connecting the tower and keeper's house were all destroyed, and
the covering of the tower was damaged. Federal funds will
be sought for repairs. In 2008, the lens was replaced by a modern
VLB-44 LED unit. The Isles
of Shoals are a group of 18 islands and rocks 9 miles (15 km)
southeast of Portsmouth and lying partly in Maine and partly in
New Hampshire. The New Hampshire portion of the Isles comprise a
state park. Accessible only by boat; cruises
from Portsmouth pass the site. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site
manager: N.H. Division of
Parks and Recreation (light tower) and Atlantic
Aqua Sport (keeper's house). ARLHS USA-406; Admiralty J0246;
USCG 1-0235.
|
White Island Light, Isles of Shoals, June 2010
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Rich MacDowell |
