-
Re: Seeking records about Bakers Island Lighthouse
Elliot Schneider Feb 22, 2021 4:34 PM (in response to Joe Geller)1 person found this helpfulMr. Geller,
make sure you click on the images to enlarge.
I859 Lighthouse
Here is a photo 1925 USCG
1940s Ariel View
BAKERS ISLAND LIGHT
Lighthouse Name: Baker’s Island
Location: Baker’s Island/Salem Harbor Approach
Station Established: 1791
Year Current/Last Tower(s) First Lit: 1821
Operational? Yes
Automated? Yes, 1972
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: Granite
Construction Materials: Granite and concrete
Tower Shape: Conical
Markings/Pattern: White
Relationship to Other Structure: Separate
Original Lens: Fourth Order, FresnelHistorical Information:
* In 1791 a day marker was established on Baker’s Island. It was replaced by twin light atop the keeper’s dwelling at each end in 1798.
* New towers were built and lit in October 1820. One tower was taller than the other. The lighthouses were nicknamed “Mr. and Mrs.” and “Ma and Pa”.
* A fourth order Fresnel Lens was installed in the taller of the towers in 1855.
* The smaller lighthouse was deactivated and dismantled in 1926.
* The taller tower remains and is an active aid to navigation. It was automated in 1972.On April 8, 1796, President Washington approved $6,000 for a set of twin lights for Baker’s Island, in spite of General Lincoln’s fear that mariners would mistake the lights for the twin lights on Thatcher Island to the north and Plymouth to the south. Lincoln had proposed a two-story building with three lights spread along a 50-foot span of its roof, but his plan was rejected.
Solomon Blake, a Boston contractor, built the light station on ten acres on Baker’s Island for $3,674.57, and it went into service on January 3, 1798. Two towers, set forty feet apart, were built atop the roof of a wooden, two-story keepers dwelling—which was considered by Bentley to be “very plain.” The northern light was ninety-five feet above mean high water, while the southern had a focal plane of seventy-eight feet.
The first keeper, Capt. George Chapman of the Salem Mariners Society, served until he turned seventy-five in 1815. When Chapman later went blind, his condition was blamed on the brightness of the lights he tended on Baker’s Island. Joseph Perkins was selected as keeper upon Chapman’s retirement. While serving on Baker’s Island as a harbor pilot during the War of 1812, Perkins spied the USS Constitution being pursued by two British ships, the Tenedos and Endymion. Perkins immediately leapt into his dory, rowed out to the Constitution, and, with his intimate knowledge of the local waters, piloted her to safety in Marblehead Harbor.
Keepers:
- Head: George Chapman (1798 – 1815), Joseph Perkins (1815 – at least 1819), Nathaniel Ward (at least 1823 – 1825), Ambrose Martin (1825 – 1850), Robert Peele, Jr. (1850 – 1853), John H. Russell (1853 – 1854), William Tucker (1854), Daniel Norwood (1854 – 1861), Charles L. Williams (1861 – 1869), George Hobbs (1869 – 1874), Walter S. Rogers (1874 – 1881), James F. Lundgren (1881 – 1892), Walter S. Rogers (1892 – 1911), Elliott C. Hadley (1911 – 1918), Arthur L. Payne (1918 – 1943), Paul Baptiste (1946 – 1951), Richard J. LaLonde (at least 1956 – at least 1959), Donald G. Trecartin (1962 – 1965), David McKenzie ( – 1967), Randall K. Anderson (1967 – 1968), David Rollins (1968), Randall K. Anderson (1968 – 1969), Harry D. Toler (1969 – ).
- Assistant: Addison Norwood (1855 – 1856), Daniel Norwood, Jr. (1856 – 1862), Edwin A. Ober (1862 – 1863), Stephen Cross (1863 – 1864), Charles N. Williams (1864 – 1867), Frank Williams (1867 – 1869), Frederick Williams (1869), Samuel H. LeFaver (1869 – 1872), Peter Gillespie (1872), Walter S. Rogers (1872 – 1874), Oliver H. Saunders (1874 – 1877), John L.H. Collins (1877 – 1881), James F. Lundgren (1881), Ira W. Ingalls (1881 – 1884), George W. Forbush (1884), Charles W. Gilbert (1884), T.L.C. Mendenhall (1885 – 1888), Francis W. Vincent (1888), Eugene Terpeny (1888 – 1897), Arthur W. Woods (1897 – 1905), George I. Cameron (1905 – 1910), Malcolm N. Huse (1910 – 1911), Frank C. Hall (1911 – at least 1912), James F. Harrington ( – 1913), Herbert H. Davis (1913 – at least 1915), Arthur L. Payne (1917 – 1918), Elno C. Mott (at least 1919 – 1921), Charles A. Lyman (1921 – 1922), William A. Joseph (1922 – 1923), Theodore L. Chase (1925 – 1926), Harold L. Havender (1927 – 1928), Ernest A. Sampson (1929 – 1941), Clifton L. Willis (at least 1950), Melvin Brooks (1956 – 1958), Roger L. Lamascus (1962 – 1965), John Krebs (1965 – 1968), R. Royston (1968 – 1969), Paul Driscoll (1969 – 1971).
-
Re: Seeking records about Bakers Island Lighthouse
Joe Geller Feb 23, 2021 8:28 AM (in response to Joe Geller)Elliot: Thank you for the excellent research!
-
Re: Seeking records about Bakers Island Lighthouse
Charleen VoccaMar 2, 2021 2:55 PM (in response to Joe Geller)
Dear Mr. Geller,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
We searched the National Archives Catalog and located Logbooks of Lighthouses, 1872 - 1944 in the Records of the U.S. Coast Guard (Record Group 26) that contains a file for Bakers Island records from 1931 to 1939 in Box 18. Please contact the National Archives at Washington, DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) at Archives1reference@nara.gov for more information.
We also located Plans of Lighthouses and Related Structures, 1817 - 1996 in Record Group 26 that includes two file units titled Baker Island Light Station, 1954 and Bakers Island Light Station, 1875-1996. For more information about these file units, please contact the National Archives at Boston (RE-BO) at boston.archives@nara.gov.
Finally, we located Lighthouses, 1855 - 1933 in Record Group 26 that includes 3 file units & 28 items pertaining to Bakers Island. The items have been digitized and are available using the Catalog. For access to the non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures (RDSS) at stillpix@nara.gov.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1, RE-BO, and RDSS. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
-