Hereford Inlet Lighthouse

Located in North Wildwood, NJ, the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse has been a beacon of safety to mariners since the 17^th century.

Today visitors can tour the lighthouse, including a walk up the short tower. (Visitors are not allowed in the lantern room, as it’s still maintained by the Coast Guard and remains an aid to navigation for mariners.) Looking out the windows on each level of the tower, the ocean, town, and gardens of the lighthouse can be seen. A short path through the beautiful gardens leads to the seawall, which can be walked and leads to the beach.

A fun fact about the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse – its twin, Point Fermin Lighthouse, sits in San Pedro, CA and is also open for tours.

To see more pictures of Hereford Inlet Lighthouse and North Wildwood, NJ, please visit my website here.

To see more photos, please visit my website here.

Nobska Lighthouse

Originally called Nobsque Light, the now known Nobska Light, sits on the southwestern tip of Cape Cod. It’s between Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Sound, and Vineyard Sound in a place called Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Not far from the lighthouse is a small beach called Nobska Light Beach, where the blue-green water rolls onto the shore and endlessly stretches out to sea.

Nobska Lighthouse was constructed in 1829 and was the first light on Nobska Point. In 1888 the lighthouse followed technological trends and was upgraded to a fourth-order Fresnel Lens. This lens still sits in the lightroom of the lighthouse today and can be seen while touring the tower.

To see more photos of Nobska Lighthouse, please visit my website here.

To see more photos, please visit my website here.

Nauset Lighthouse

Overlooking Nauset Light Beach, sits Nauset Lighthouse. This is the same area where The Three Sisters Lighthouses presided before becoming an unnecessary trio along the coast.

Nauset Lighthouse was erected in 1923 and sits on what is now the Cape Cod National Seashore. However, the tower is much older than its 1923 construction year. The tower that watches over the sea and is the Nauset Light of today is actually one of the 1877 towers of the twin lights at Chatham.

If you’d like to read about The Three Sisters Lighthouses, you may do so by going here.

To see more photos of Nauset Lighthouse, please visit my website here.

To see more photos, please visit my website, here.

The Three Sisters Lighthouses

This trio of little lighthouses was originally built in 1837 (and illuminated two years later in 1839), when a light became necessary halfway between Highland Lighthouse and the twin towers at Chatham. (There are no longer two towers at Chatham, but I’ll cover that in another post.) Unfortunately, the three original brick structures were casualties of erosion and fell into the sea in 1890. (It’s said the brick foundations can still be seen on the beach at low tide, even today.) Two years later the three lighthouses were replaced with wooden towers on brick foundations.

The Three Sisters have a history of keeping ships and mariners safe, of falling down and being rebuilt, and of being sold off when no longer needed and then reunited. These lighthouses no longer guard the coast, but have been bought back and reunited as the trio they began as so long ago. The Three Sisters Lighthouses can be seen in a small, wooded area on Cable Road in Eastham, MA, just a short walk from Nauset Lighthouse.

As for their name – The Three Sisters Lighthouses – there is no confirmed story as to how they received their named, but there are two lores. Some say the Keeper Henry Y. Hatch (1851 – 1853) had three daughters. Other say the name came from the fact that the towers resembled three demure women in white dresses and black hats.

To see more photos of The Three Sisters Lighthouses, please visit my website here.

To see more photos, please visit my website here.

National Lighthouse Day

Happy National Lighthouse Day!

For hundreds of years lighthouses provided a protective beacon for ships out at sea. They were operated by lighthouse keepers, both men and women, who took on the difficult task of maintaining the light. These lighthouse keepers (and their families) are as much a part of the light’s history as the land it was built on. Each lighthouse is different, built at a different point for a different reason, but their end goal is the same – to keep ships and their crew safe.

Lighthouses are beautiful structures with long, impressive histories. They’re filled with a certain magic and wonder…and mystery…that still exists today.

Point Pinos Lighthouse

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Piedras Blancas Light Station

Point Sur

Point Reyes

Point Bonita

Fort Point Lighthouse

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse

Point Arena Lighthouse

Walton Lighthouse

Lighthouse Point

Point San Luis Lighthouse

To see more photos, please visit my website.

Piedras Blancas Light Station

It’s strange to see a lighthouse without its top.

But it’s also a unique situation that would leave a lighthouse looking this way.

And that’s exactly the case with the Piedras Blancas Light Station.

Originally standing at 100 feet, the Piedras Blancas Light Station is now reduced to about 70 feet. Over the years it suffered damage from earthquake after earthquake until, in the late 1940s, one final earthquake rendered it structurally unsound. In 1949 the top three levels – fourth floor landing, watch room, and lantern – were removed.

Construction on Piedras Blancas Light Station began in April 1874 and was complete by February the following year. It was illuminated for the first time on February 15, 1875.

A fog signal building was constructed in the early 1900s.

As was the case at numerous lighthouses, if not all lighthouses, the life of a keeper was difficult. Not only did they face adverse weather conditions, but they also struggled with how to obtain a proper supply of food and water. Their lives were one of isolation while their work was labor intensive.

At Piedras Blancas Light Station fishing was a popular pastime and plenty of abalone was collected for food. As for water, keepers collected rainwater from the roof. At other times water had to be purchased and brought by wagon.

Despite the harsh weather, isolation, and difficult lifestyle, Piedras Blancas Light Station is a beautiful place.

Today there is a trail that leads around the perimeter, runs parallel to the coast. Walking the trail is both beautiful and peaceful. There’s plenty of interesting rock formations as well as plant and sea life. Flowers and other plants grow on land while elephant seals, sea lions, sea otters, gray whales, and many other animals have a chance to be spotted.

The fuel building still exists and continues to hold the lingering scent of gasoline.

The fog signal building, originally built in 1906, has been restored.

The entrance gate (1910) and the water tower have had beautiful replicas constructed.

The Piedras Blancas Light Station still has no top. The goal is to one day restore the tower and lighthouse to its former glory. Still, even missing it’s last three levels, it doesn’t take away from this lighthouse, or this place, any of its history or beauty.