The Watch List of Threatened Lighthouses

The lighthouses listed here are not listed currently on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List, but they appear to be threatened or endangered. This list has no official standing. The symbols preceding the entries are my highly unofficial estimates of the degree of danger to the lighthouse. Here is what the symbols mean:

x The lighthouse is not in danger of actual destruction at the present time, but it is increasingly dilapidated and urgently needs restoration.
xx The lighthouse is in danger of actual destruction within ten years. Action is needed now to prevent loss of the lighthouse later.
xxx The lighthouse is in imminent danger of destruction. Immediate action is needed to save the structure. The lighthouse could be lost in less than a year.
Y The lighthouse is in ruins. A significant portion of the historic structure has already been lost, and restoration would require reconstruction.

California
xx Santa Cruz (Mark Abbott Memorial): 1967. Active. 39 ft square brick tower attached to 1-story brick museum. The lighthouse is endangered by rapid erosion of the cliff on which it stands. A new master plan for Lighthouse Point State Beach includes relocation of the lighthouse, but there are no funds to carry out the plan. Prognosis: uncertain.
Delaware
xx Lightship 118 Overfalls: 1938. Single-masted steel lightship, length 116 ft, beam 25 ft. Neglected for years, the ship is now judged unseaworthy; it cannot be moved to a shipyard and will have to be restored where it is. A local support group, the Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation, took ownership of the vessel in December 2001. Engineering studies of the ship in early 2000 revealed it was in bad shape and needs to be moved onshore for preservation. The ship will then be the centerpiece in a new municipal park. Volunteers have been working to restore the interior of the vessel, and this lengthy project is nearing a successful completion. In the winter of 2004-05 the ships's electrical system was rebuilt and running lights were installed, as well as the light in the crow's nest. Fundraising continues to secure the $1 million needed to lift the ship from the water. Prognosis: good.
Georgia
xx Cockspur Island: 1857. Inactive since 1909. 46 ft brick tower. A National Park Service restoration project completed in 2000 has addressed most of the tower's problems, but it remains vulnerable to wave damage during hurricanes or other severe storms. Prognosis: fair.
Louisiana
xxx Chandeleur: 1896. Active; focal plane 99 ft. 100 ft square pyramidal skeletal tower with central cylinder, aerobeacon. Hurricane Georges (1998) left the lighthouse standing in the water, where it is vulnerable to the next big storm. No preservation plan. Prognosis: very poor.
Maine
x Burnt Coat Harbor (Hockamock Head) ME: 1872. Active. 32 ft square cylindrical brick tower. Original 1-1/2 story frame keeper's quarters, frame bell tower (1911). Owned by the town of Swan's Island, the buildings are endangered by lack of maintenance; the town's resources are slender. The town replaced the shingle siding of the bell tower in 2001 and is planning an architectural study of preservation options and requirements. Prognosis: fair.
Maryland
x Bloody Point Bar ("The Coffee Pot"): 1882. Active; focal plane 54 ft. 40 ft cast iron sparkplug tower, including keeper's quarters, mounted on iron caisson. The interior of the lighthouse was gutted by fire in 1960. Prognosis: uncertain.
x Poole's Island: 1825. Inactive since 1939. 44 ft (13.5 m) old-style granite tower with lantern and gallery. Oldest Maryland lighthouse and the first of John Donohoo's 12 lighthouses. The tower was partially restored and stabilized in 1997, and it seems to have been repainted recently. There was a plan to reactivate the light after further restoration is completed. Prognosis: uncertain.
Michigan
x Ontonagon: 1866. Inactive since 1964. 34 ft square cylindrical brick tower attached church-style to 2-story brick keeper's quarters. The building is endangered by past neglect and lack of interior heat. In 2003 an act of Congress transferred ownership of the light station from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Ontonagon County Historical Society, which is working actively for restoration of the light station. Prognosis: good.
x Saginaw River Range Rear: 1876. Inactive since 1960. 55 ft square brick tower attached to 2-story brick keeper's quarters. Light station recently in poor condition. The Dow Chemical company and the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society have announced plans to restore the lighthouse, with Dow providing most of the funds. In 2000, the roof and windows were replaced. Prognosis: good.
x South Fox Island (1): 1868. Inactive since 1934. 30 ft cylindrical brick tower attached church-style to brick keeper's quarters. In October 2000 the state proposed a land swap with David Johnson, the developer who owns most of the island; the swap would have placed the light station under private control. Strong opposition from preservationists led the developer to scale back his plans in November 2001, leaving the station in state ownership. In late 2004, a preservation group was being organized to work for restoration of the South Fox Island lighthouses. Prognosis: uncertain.
New York
Y Horseshoe Reef: 1856. Inactive since 1920. Originally a square frame keeper's quarters with lantern on the roof, mounted on an iron frame platform above a square stone foundation. The building has completely collapsed and vanished, leaving only the iron framework and the lantern. Prognosis: very poor.
xx Long Beach Bar: 1990 reconstruction of 1871 lighthouse destroyed by arson in 1963. Reactivated. 70 ft frame octagonal cylindrical tower rising from 2-story square frame keeper's quarters, all mounted on a concrete foundation (1926) but supported in part by the original (1871) screwpile foundation. The lighthouse is increasingly endangered by deterioration of the original screwpilings. Prognosis: uncertain.
North Carolina
xx Roanoke River: 1887. Inactive since 1941. Relocated in 1955 to downtown Edenton (on the other side of Albemarle Sound) and used as a private residence. The house has been vacant and deteriorating since the death of its owner in 2000. The lighthouse is for sale, but at an exagerrated price that has attracted no buyers. Prognosis: poor.
Ohio
xx West Sister Island: 1848. Active. 55 ft old-style brick tower, painted white; lantern removed. Keeper's house destroyed 1945. One of the last built and least known of the old-style towers. Located in a wilderness area, this lighthouse is endangered by beach erosion. No preservation plan. Prognosis: poor.
South Carolina
x Cape Romain (1) and (2): (1) 1827. Ruined 65 ft brick tower, no lantern. (2) 1858. Inactive since 1947. 150 ft octagonal brick tower. The 1858 tower has a long-standing lean of several degrees due to a faulty foundation. Both towers suffer from isolation and lack of maintenance. Prognosis: poor.
xx Hunting Island SC: 1875. Inactive since 1933. 136 ft cast iron tower. This well-known light station is increasingly endangered by beach erosion. So far there is no plan for dealing with this problem. Prognosis: fair.
Texas
x Bolivar Point: 1873. Inactive since 1933. 117 ft cast iron tower (brick lined). This privately-owned lighthouse is black with rust and probably endangered by lack of maintenance. Prognosis: uncertain.

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