The Lighthouse Preservation Society is the nonprofit organization that has made lighthouse preservation a national issue with Congressional hearings, conferences, the sponsorship of National Lighthouse Day and its celebrations, the nomination of 35 U.S. lighthouse stamps, and raising nearly $6 million for over 160 lighthouse projects.
This prestigious group is also the recipient of a Presidential Achievement Award from the federal government for its efforts to preserve our lighthouse heritage.
Specifically, the Society’s accomplishments include:
CREATED FEDERAL ACTION
- Proposed and passed a Congressional $3 million Lighthouse Bicentennial Fund that provided matching grants for over 160 lighthouse restoration projects.
- Lobbied successfully for a Congressional hearing on lighthouse issues.
- Persuaded Congress to mandate a U.S. Coast Guard review of lighthouse management issues, which led to numerous policy changes.
- Had Congress proclaim National Lighthouse Day (August 7) in celebration of America’s Lighthouse Bicentennial and created exhibits for the Senate and House Rotundas.
- Nominated 35 U.S. lighthouse postal stamps in 1990, 1995, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2021
- Received the prestigious Presidential Achievement Award from the federal government in 1992.
- Hosted 3 National Lighthouse Conferences in Washington, D.C., which led to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.
- Initiated and funded the study to create the National Lighthouse Museum at Staten Island, New York.
DIRECTLY AIDED LOCAL ACTION
- Proposed and passed a Massachusetts $2 million lighthouse grants program through the state legislature.
- Created an incentive program which led to the nomination of 124 lighthouses to the National Register of Historic Places.
- Funded a thematic National Register nomination for Maine’s Lifesaving Stations.
- Provided technical and advocacy support to dozens of local lighthouse groups.
- Coordinated 70 coastal lighthouse celebrations for the Lighthouse Bicentennial.
- Invented the acclaimed “Dine at the Top of the Lighthouse” fundraising program.
INITIATED DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS
- Isle au Haut Lighthouse (now The Keeper’s House inn).
- Thacher Island North Tower (restored and relit).
- Monomoy Point Light (now used for wildlife tours).
- Ten Pound Island Light (restored and relit).
- Portland Breakwater Light (restored and relit).
- Newburyport Front and Rear Range Lights (restored).
- Roanoke River Light (purchased, moved, and transferred to the state of NC).
The Highland Lighthouse
The Highland Lighthouse, sometimes known as the "Cape Cod Light", guards the tall cliffs of the outer Cape in Truro, Massachusetts. With the rapid erosion of the sandy bluffs, it became necessary to save the historic tower and keeper's house by moving them back to a safer location. One third, or $500,000 of the $1.5 million cost to move the structures was supplied by the state's lighthouse fund that was successfully lobbied for and established by The Lighthouse Preservation Society.
Portland Breakwater Light
The Portland Breakwater Light in Portland, Maine was restored through the joint efforts of The Lighthouse Preservation Society and the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club.
The Society approached the Rotary Club to see if they would take on the light's restoration as a service project. They agreed, and began raising funds locally, which were then matched with a federal grant that the Society successfully wrote.
Monomoy Point Lighthouse
The Monomoy Point Lighthouse at the elbow of Cape Cod was a derelict structure until The Lighthouse Preservation Society was able to successfully lobby for funds to restore the historic structure, with the help of Senator Ted Kennedy. The Society also orchestrated the restoration work at the site. It is now used for research by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department.
Key West Lighthouse
LPS successfully lobbied Congress for a $3 million matching grants program, called the Lighthouse Bicentennial Fund, that put scores of lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places, and provided funds to 160 lighthouse restoration projects around the country. The program was enormously popular, winning the society a Presidential Achievement Award. As an example, it allowed the Key West Lighthouse pictured here, to raise 10 times the government match, and open the site as a museum.
Roanoke River Light
The Roanoke River Light in Edenton, North Carolina was in rough condition when The Lighthouse Preservation Society was hired to appraise this last surviving screwpile lighthouse in the state. State funds were then used to move it to the nearby old colonial capitol's waterfront, restore it, and transfer the ownership to the Edenton Historical Society to be opened as a museum.
Lighthouse Preservation Stamps
One of the most popular and successful stamp series, the America's lighthouses series was comprised of 7 sets of 5 stamps (for a total of 35 stamps), released between the years of 1990 and 2021. The series was nominated by The Lighthouse Preservation Society, and many of the stamps were based on photographs taken by James Hyland, such as the famous West Quoddy Head Light in northern Maine.
Isle au Haut Lighthouse
When LPS's founder was doing his survey of New England's lighthouses, he stayed at a charming B&B run by Jeff and Judi Burke. Judi was the daughter of a lighthouse keeper and the couple asked to keep them in mind there was a lighthouse that would make a fine inn. A few months later, Isle au Haut Lighthouse became available. Remembering the conversation with the Burkes, LPS orchestrated a meeting, which ended with the Burkes purchasing the lighthouse and turning it into one of the nation's first lighthouse inns.
National Lighthouse Day
LPS picked up a dead bill advocating for a National Lighthouse Day and lobbied it successfully through Congress. As a result, we were able to orchestrate some 70 coastal lighthouse celebrations in 1989, celebrating the Lighthouse Bicentennial and the proclamation of National Lighthouse Day. One of the biggest celebrations was held at the Portland Head Lighthouse, where LPS board member and national parks historian F. Ross Holland - "the dean of lighthouse historians" - gave the keynote address.
Aransas Pass Lighthouse
Built in 1857, the Aransas Pass (Lydia Ann) Lighthouse in Port Aransas, Texas was the target of both armies during the Civil War. In 1952 the lighthouse lens was removed from the tower and later the station was sold and became privately owned. As the finishing touch to the restoration work, the owner reached out to LPS to find a rare classical fourth-order Fresnel lens. We were able to obtain one for the historic station, and the lighthouse was relit July 4th, 1988, and recommissioned as an operating lighthouse.
Ten Pound Island Light
Originally built in 1821, and abandoned in the 1960's, the Ten Pound Island Lighthouse in Gloucester, Massachusetts was restored and relit in 1989 by LPS, as part of the Lighthouse Bicentennial celebrations that the society promoted nationwide with the passage of National Lighthouse Day. The lighthouse has been the subject of many renowned artists, including Winslow Homer, who lived in the lighthouse one summer. The lighthouse was also featured prominently in the movie "The Perfect Storm".
Wood Island Lifesaving Station
LPS initiated the nomination of the endangered Wood Island Lifesaving Station in Kittery, Maine - recently restored - to the National Register of Historic Places. In doing the research, however, it was discovered that several other historic lifesaving stations in Maine also needed to be nominated to the National Register. Consequently, LPS paid for a thematic nomination of Maine's historic lifesaving stations to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Thacher Island North Tower
In the 1980's, the newly formed Thacher Island Association had it's hands full fixing up the South Tower, the keeper's house, and grounds, so The Lighthouse Preservation agreed to help out by raising the funds to restore the abandoned North Tower. They did that successfully with the help of Senator Ted Kennedy, who was able to procure $75,000 for the North Tower's restoration. Making the dilapidated tower safe again allowed it to be relit as a private aid to navigation.
Moving Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
In 1999, LPS was asked to participate in a National Academy of Sciences panel to explore options for preserving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. At a height of 193 feet, America's tallest lighthouse needed to be protected from severe erosion. Two of LPS's board members were recruited to serve on the panel, which ultimately decided to move the tower. Called "the move of the century" the skyscraper-sized tower was transported on a vehicle like those that move spaceship rockets, and rescued at a cost of $12 million.
Straitsmouth Island Light
James Hyland was inspired to found LPS because of the Straitsmouth Island Light in Rockport, Massachusetts. Both the tower and keeper's house were severely neglected and one side of the keeper's house had collapsed. Eastman Chemical Company approached LPS with an offer to donate a new chemically treated wood product they developed to last 100 years to a lighthouse project. With help from volunteers from Massachusetts Audubon Society, the wood transported to the island to rebuild the keeper's house.
Portland Head Light
Perhaps New England's most iconic and photographed lighthouse, the Portland Head Light in Maine is a major tourist draw. LPS worked extensively with community leaders to facilitate the transfer of the property to the Town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. We wrote a customized deed for the community using graduate students from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and procured $100,000 in federal assistance for the preservation of the lighthouse's exterior.
Newburyport Rear Range Lighthouse
The Newburyport Rear Range Lighthouse in Massachusetts gets regular restoration and maintenance work from The Lighthouse Preservation Society on an ongoing basis. We want the old tower, built in 1873, to look good for the many diners who come to eat at this popular one-of-a-kind dining destination at the top of the lighthouse tower.
Newburyport Front Range Light
The Newburyport Front Range Light, the little twin to our Rear Range Light, where we serve dinners, got nearly $50,000 in repairs by LPS, including the removal of lead paint and repair of burned wood from a fire that occurred in the tower, as well as door and railing repairs, new brass vents, and a fresh new paint job.
Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Light
In many lighthouses, brass vents were used to regulate the oxygen for the oil that was burned to provide a flame for the light before the days of electricity. LPS had to manufacture replacements for the missing vents when we restored the Newburyport Range Lights, and decided to make them available to other lighthouse restoration projects around the country, as well. Our vent replicas pictured here were installed in the Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Light in Michigan.
Watch Hill Lighthouse
Rhode Island's Watch Hill Lighthouse is among the oldest lighthouses in America. Commissioned by Thomas Jefferson and first lit in 1808, the original wooden structure was replaced with the present granite tower in 1857. In 1986, under LPS supervision, Harvard graduate students from the Kennedy School of Government worked with the Coast Guard and the Watch Hill Lighthouse Keepers Association to customize a lease transferring the property to the nonprofit organization, culminating in a public transfer ceremony.