Saturday, August 8, 2015

A Look at Lighthouses in Celebration of National Lighthouse Day

National Lighthouse Day


Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia
Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia (c) Wednesday Elf

On August 7, 1789, Congress approved an Act to establish and support lighthouses, beacons, buoys and public piers.

On the 200th Anniversary of this Act, August 7, 1989,  Congress passed a resolution to designate August 7th as National Lighthouse Day.  To honor this day, let's review a few lighthouses through stories, photos, and a handmade lighthouse picture afghan.

Lighthouse Enthusiast

Cape Florida Lighthouse greeting card
Cape Florida Lighthouse Greeting Card

The lighthouse expert on Review This! is Mary Beth (mbgphoto), who has captured the images of over 100 lighthouses around the United States through her very fine photographs.  Check out a few of her outstanding images on her blog, (Lighthouse Musings) as she tells the story behind each one.

Then visit Mary Beth's charming Zazzle Store called “Lighthouse Enthusiast” for a wide variety of products decorated with her beautiful lighthouse photographs, such as the lovely photo of the Cape Florida Lighthouse shown above on a greeting card.

Mary Beth has also shared several of her fabulous lighthouse photographs from her various visits to lighthouses around the country in her salute for Review This of National Lighthouse Day.

Fun Lighthouse Facts


  • There are 391 lighthouses on the East Coast of the United States and 94 on the West Coast.
  • Thirty Seven (37) states have lighthouses.  Surprisingly, the state of Michigan (located on inland lakes, not an ocean) has over 120 lighthouses. 

Of course, Michigan is known as the Land of the Inland Seas and has connections to 4 of the 5 Great Lakes with 3,200 miles of coastline, so sailors on these often temperamental inland seas certainly need the help of the lighthouses as much as ocean-going vessels. 


  • The OLDEST lighthouse is the Boston Lighthouse on Little Brewster Island built in 1716. But due to being heavily damaged in the American Revolutionary War it had to be renovated (in 1783) before being put back into service. Therefore, it is no longer the oldest ORIGINAL lighthouse. 

  • The oldest original lighthouse in the US is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey. It was built in 1764, and is still flashing it's light today. Just ask mbgphoto ~ she's been there, as you can see in her outstanding lighthouse photo above.

My Favorite Lighthouse


Tybee Island Light, Tybee Island, Georgia
Tybee Island Light

I've visited a number of lighthouses over the years, but the lighthouse that has become most dear to me is the Tybee Island Light Station at Tybee Island, Georgia.  It's one of seven Colonial lighthouses; this one originally built in 1732 at the entrance of the Savannah River, which separates Georgia from South Carolina.

The Tybee Lighthouse has been a navigational aid for 270 years.  For 13 of those years, I lived on Tybee Island where I could see the lighthouse every day! And, our daughter was married there in the Lightkeepers Cottage!




Handcrafted Lighthouse Afghan Pattern


Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Afghan Pattern
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Afghan Pattern on Etsy

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse NC – Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Outer Banks are a group of barrier islands on the North Carolina coast that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the coastal sounds and inlets. The pattern for this Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Afghan was originally designed as C2C Afghan, but the graph included with this pattern can also be used for knitting, cross stitch, Tunisian crochet, latch hooking, etc.

Celebrate National Lighthouse Day each Year on August 7th or Enjoy a Lighthouse Anytime Throughout the Year!


Tybee Island Lighthouse Journal
Tybee Island Lighthouse Journal

National Lighthouse Day commemorates a beacon of light that symbolizes safety and security for boats at sea.

Celebrate anytime by visiting a lighthouse, or learning more about a local lighthouse.  This Lighthouse Journal will help you keep track of your lighthouse visits.



Article by Wednesday Elf

Wednesday Elf can also be found at:Crochet Crafts Critters Blog
and many other places listed below.


Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


14 comments:

  1. What a fascinating article Elf! I rely completely on you and Mary Beth to teach me about lighthouses. I don't believe I have ever seen one in real life, only the photos. I am sure I have passed over many in planes, but still have never caught a glimpse of one out the window. Mary Beths photos and products are always beautiful and your afghan is quite lovely! I can understand completely why the Tybee Island Lighthouse holds such a special place in your heart.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mouse. Glad you enjoyed it. You are welcome to come visit me anytime. I no longer live on Tybee Island, but the lighthouse is just 10 miles down the road from me. I'd be delighted to take you to see it. :)

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    2. Love this article!! What a wonderful tribute for National Lighthouse Day! As you know, I really enjoy photographing and exploring lighthouses. We made our fourth trip to Michigan this year and I've now photographed 64 of their lighthouses. We have traveled all along the coastlines. Most of the ones I've missed can only be seen from boats. Someday I hope to do those too! Thanks for featuring my Zazzle photos and for the kind words. I really appreciate the lighthouse blog feature! You are the best.

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    3. Glad you enjoyed my article and salute to National Lighthouse Day, Mary Beth. It was very easy to write since I had your fantastic photos to feature!

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  2. That would be lots of fun Elf! I just might take you up on that! I was sitting here thinking after I wrote my last comment, as many times as I have been to Florida and Georgia, you would think that I would have encountered a lighthouse, but I honestly don't remember ever seeing one in person.

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    Replies
    1. You are welcome anytime. I have a guest room and love company. And it would be great fun to show you a lighthouse!

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  3. Your lighthouse afghan (lapghan - I never heard that word before!) is really beautiful, Elf! Of course Mary Beth's lighthouse photos and stories are always outstanding. Interesting about the oldest lighthouse versus the oldest original lighthouse. I haven't seen either, though I'd love to. We always enjoyed lighthouses on the Outer Banks of North Carolina when we lived on the east coast. Amazing that there are so many variations and that there are so many that are so old and continue to be kept up and in working order. Beautiful article!

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  4. Your lighthouse afghan (lapghan - I never heard that word before!) is really beautiful, Elf! Of course Mary Beth's lighthouse photos and stories are always outstanding. Interesting about the oldest lighthouse versus the oldest original lighthouse. I haven't seen either, though I'd love to. We always enjoyed lighthouses on the Outer Banks of North Carolina when we lived on the east coast. Amazing that there are so many variations and that there are so many that are so old and continue to be kept up and in working order. Beautiful article!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Susan. I appreciate your kind words. There are many lighthouses that have been rebuilt over the years after being damaged in wars and by weather. The Tybee Lighthouse we see today is actually #4, the first two being built too close to the shore and being washed away by storms and the third one burned down by Confederate troops in 1862 to keep the Federal troops from using it to guide their ships into port to attack Fort Pulaski on the Savannah River.

      Lapghan is a name given to smaller afghans commonly used for crib blankets for babies and toddlers or for stadium blankets or wheelchair blankets. :) The term was new to me, too, until I made one that size.

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  5. Another great article. I remember visiting Tybee Lighthouse and having to rest along the way while the middle school kids on a field trip ran up and down the steps so easily.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Linda. Yes, kids have a much easier time with the stairs in any lighthouse than us 'grandma-age' people do. :)

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  6. I have always been fascinated by lighthouses, probably since I first went to the lighthouse at Portland Bill in Dorset, England when I was quite young. Portland is of course where the other Portland's in Maine and Oregon were named after.
    I love the lighthouses on Lake Michigan as well, and have seen 3 of them.
    Keep writing about lighthouses, you have my attention.

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  7. I've loved lighthouses since I first found out what they were as a child. I've read stories about them, even wrote about them, and I agree with you about Mary Beth's photos. I even used some of them in a couple of my writings years ago, so I admire her "eye" for them and her talent. This is a great review, Wednesday Elf! Thank you for the spotlight on lighthouses! :)

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  8. I had no idea that there were inland lighthouses - and in Michigan of all places!

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