The U.S. state of Pennsylvania has 4 lighthouses, 3 active, on its Lake Erie shoreline in the northwestern corner of the state. These lighthouses are described on the Northwestern Pennsylvania page. Diagonally across the state, at the southeastern corner, the Delaware River estuary brings ships to the historic port of Philadelphia. There are no longer any traditional lighthouses on the Delaware River, but there is a former light station in Chester and an interesting example of a privately-built beacon on the Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware.
Navigational aids in the United States are operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, but ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. Delaware River lights are the responsibility of the Coast Guard's Fifth District.
ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from Volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from Vol. II of the U.S. Coast Guard Light List.
- General Sources
- Lighthouses of Pennsylvania
- Excellent photographs from LighthouseFriends.com.
- Online List of Lights - Delaware River
- Photos by various photographers posted by Alex Trabas.
- Lost Lighthouses of Pennsylvania
- An interesting June 2003 Lighthouse Digest article by Bob Trapani.
- Lighthouses in Pennsylvania
- Photos available from Wikimedia.
- Coast Guard Lighthouses - Pennsylvania
- Historic photos and notes, posted by the U.S. Coast Guard Historian's office.
- Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten
- Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses posted by Klaus Huelse.
Turtle Rock Light, Philadelphia, May 2006
Flickr Creative Commons photo
by Leena Jaffer