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A little reason to celebrate

National Lighthouse Day

History · Nature · August 7

Lighthouses, the towers that guide ships along coasts and lakeshores, and the ways people visit, photograph and learn about them.

National Lighthouse Day falls on Saturday, August 7, 2027. That is 284 days away.

A lighthouse is a tower with a strong light at the top, built where land and water meet so ships can find their way and avoid rocks, shoals and harbor entrances in the dark.

Each one has its own signature. Some flash, some hold a steady beam, and some blink in a timed pattern that sailors can match to a chart. By day, the paint does similar work. Stripes, spirals and bands of black, red or white let a tower be recognized from far offshore.

The classic lens is a Fresnel lens, a stack of glass rings and prisms that bends light into a single bright beam. Older towers were tended by keepers who climbed the stairs to trim wicks and wind clockwork. Most lights in the United States now run automatically, and many old keepers' houses have become small museums.

The country has lighthouses on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, along the Gulf, and around the Great Lakes, where storms can be as rough as any at sea. Some towers let visitors climb to the gallery. Others are best seen from a beach, a pier or a ferry deck.

People mark the day by visiting a nearby light, photographing it at dusk when the beam first shows, or reading about the keepers who lived beside one. Even an inland visitor can learn a tower's flash pattern and picture what it means to a crew counting seconds in the dark.

Ways to celebrate

• Visit a nearby lighthouse and walk the grounds.
• Photograph a lighthouse at dusk as its light comes on.
• Read a book or article about a lighthouse keeper's life.
• Look up a local light's flash pattern on a nautical chart.
• Sketch or paint a striped lighthouse tower.

Dates

Categories: History daysNature days