Refer to page 12 of Lighthouses Short & Tall for Pensacola Lighthouse
It was the keeper’s responsibility to paint the tower and dwelling each year and do minor repairs. He was allowed
to hire day labor if the job was a huge one. Do you think he would have needed help at Pensacola?
See the letter on Page 47 describing a keeper’s problems with day laborers.
At the top of the Pensacola tower the lantern has a walkway around it, as does the watchroom below it. Watchrooms were
needed in tall towers because a keeper needed to stay close enough to the lamp to tend it if it was not performing properly.
He would not have wanted to go up and down all those stairs every couple of hours and so would have stayed in the watchroom
throughout his shift.
