Resources for Lighthouse History

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Resources for Lighthouse History

The National Archives is the primary repository for government records. Record Group 26 consists of material from the U.S. Lighthouse Service, U.S. Life-Saving Service, U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and U.S. Coast Guard.

Recommended Websites for Lighthouse Research:

Library of Congress
- American State Papers
- Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) "Built in America"
Lighthouse Friends
National Archives
- National Archives Genealogy web site for lighthouses
- Our Archives Wiki
National Park Service's Lighthouse Heritage Site
- Inventory of Historic Light Stations
New England Lighthouses
Seeing the Lights: Lighthouses of the Western Great Lakes
U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
- U.S. Coast Guard Bibliography with a section devoted to lighthouses
- Index of lighthouse pages
U.S. Government Depository Libraries
U.S. Lighthouse Society
- National Archives Database provides information from the descriptive pamphlets that are part of Record Group 26
- Light Lists

Recommended Reading:

Instructions to Light-Keepers
- A reproduction of the 1902 Instructions to Light-Keepers and Masters of Light-House Vessels was published in 1989 by Great Lakes Lighthosue Keepers Association and is available for ordering at their web site. Includes 55 pages of detailed instructions, 39 plates of photos and diagrams of equipment used by a keeper, and an extensive index.
- Summary of 1881 Instructions to Lighthouse Keepers which is part of a National Park Service web site Keepers in the Nineteenth Century put together by Candace while working at the National Park Service. It's based on material in Nineteenth-Century Lights: Historic Images of American Lighthouses.

Resources for Teachers:

U.S. Lighthouse Society lighthouse curriculum and more
Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plans: Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station and Navesink and Robbins Reef Lighthouses
Lighthouses of North America: Exploring Their History, Lore & Science by Lisa Trumbauer - excellent resource book on lighthouses for children

Lighthouse Preservation Resources:

Genealogical Research on Keepers

Note the section for keepers in the Record Group 26 finding aid I am developing for lighthouse research
Some registers of keepers have been put on microfilm available at any National Archives location and some federal depoistory libraries - M1373 Registers of Lighthouse Keepers 1845-1912 (6 rolls arranged geographically)
For civilian keepers in the service since 1896, I recommend that descendants request their personnel file from: National Personnel Records Center; Civilian Records Facility; 111 Winnebago Street; St. Louis, MO 63118-4199

Specializing in researching and writing lighthouse history

For more information contact Candace Clifford

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