List of lighthouses in the United States

Boston Light, the oldest light station and second oldest lighthouse structure in the USA.
Charleston Light, the last manned lighthouse built on shore in the United States

This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present lights.

Most of the lights in the United States have been built and maintained by the Coast Guard (since 1939) and its predecessors, the United States Lighthouse Service (1910–1939) and the United States Lighthouse Board (1852–1910). Before the Lighthouse Board was established, local collectors of customs were responsible for lighthouses under Stephen Pleasonton. As their importance to navigation has declined and as public interest in them has increased, the Coast Guard has been handing over ownership and in some cases responsibility for running them to other parties, the chief of them being the National Park Service under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.


Arizona

The Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club is in the process of building lighthouses on Lake Havasu which is part of the Colorado River. These lighthouses are 17 to 30 feet replicas of famous lighthouses. In order of dedication date, they are:

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California

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: California". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

Alcatraz Island Light
Point Reyes Light
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Florida

Alligator Reef Light, four miles (7 km) east of Indian Key in the Florida Keys
St. Augustine Light near St. Augustine, Florida
Gasparilla Island Light, Boca Grande, Florida
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Hawaii

Lahaina Light, Maui, Hawaii

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Hawaii". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

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Illinois

Grosse Point, IL

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Illinois". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

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Indiana

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Indiana". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

Notable faux lighthouses:

  • Cooper Memorial (1997), on the Prairie Creek Reservoir near Muncie, is an active light but does not meet the Directory's size standard for a lighthouse.
  • Gloryland Lighthouse, near New Castle, is not on navigable water.
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Kentucky

Lighthouses in Kentucky and Tennessee

Notable faux lighthouses
  • Louisville Waterfront Plaza, lighthouses on top of building
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Louisiana

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Louisiana". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

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Maine

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

Petit Manan Light, home of the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge
Dice Head Light, Castine
Fort Point Light, Stockton
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Maryland

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maryland". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

Thomas Point Shoal Light near Annapolis
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Massachusetts

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

Borden Flats Light
Duxbury Pier Light in Plymouth harbor
Nauset Light
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Michigan

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.  The Michigan.gov website has a Map of Michigan Lighthouses in PDF format.

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New York

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: New York". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

Montauk Point Lighthouse, the very first lighthouse in New York State.
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Oklahoma

Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Oklahoma". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Notable faux lighthouses
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Pennsylvania

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Pennsylvania". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

In addition, Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Northwestern Pennsylvania". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  lists:

  • Erie Yacht Club
  • Erie Harbor Pierhead (Presque Isle North Pier) (2)
  • Erie Pierhead Light

Southeastern Pennsylvania Lighthouses

Schuylkill River Lighthouse

  • Turtle Rock Light
  • Delaware River Lighthouse
  • Chester (Schooner Ledge) Range Rear (3)
  • Chester (Schooner Ledge) Range Front (3)

Notable faux lighthouses:

  • Sherman Memorial (Tionesta)

Lost lighthouses:

  • Fort Mifflin Blockhouse
  • Horseshoe Lower Range Front (1881-?), Horseshoe Upper Range Front (1881–1931), and Horseshoe Rear (1881–1920), Delaware River. ARLHS USA-384, 1132, and 385, respectively.
  • Schooner Ledge Range Front (1880-about 1915), Delaware River. ARLHS USA-169.
  • Schuylkill River Range Front and Schuylkill River Range Rear (1875-about 1912), mouth of Schuylkill River. ARLHS USA-1206 and 1207.
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Tennessee

Lighthouses in Kentucky and Tennessee

Notable faux lighthouse
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Texas

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Texas". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

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Virginia

Old and New Cape Henry Lights

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Virginia". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

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West Virginia

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Wisconsin

"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Wisconsin". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

Outer Island Light, Apostle Islands
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Territories

Puerto Rico

See List of lighthouses in Puerto Rico

Other territories and minor islands

  • Buck Island Light in the Virgin Islands
  • Cape Mala Light Station in the Canal Zone
  • Fort Louisa Augusta Light in the Virgin Islands
  • Hams Bluff Light in the Virgin Islands
  • Howland Island Light
  • Navassa Island Light on Navassa Island
  • Windward Point Light on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
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Notes

  1. ^ William Livingstone Memorial Light
  2. ^ Rowlett. "South Carolina". Lighthouse Digest. Retrieved May 16, 2012.  Unknown parameter |first 1= ignored (help)
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Further reading

  • U.S. Coast Guard, Historically Famous Lighthouses (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1957).
  • Wagner, John L. "Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. 
  • Wagner, John L., Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective, (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) ISBN 1-880311-01-1 ISBN 9781880311011.
  • Weiss, George, The Lighthouse Service, Its History, Activities and Organization (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1926).
  • Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.
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Notes

  1. ^ William Livingstone Memorial Light
  2. ^ Rowlett. "South Carolina". Lighthouse Digest. Retrieved May 16, 2012.  Unknown parameter |first 1= ignored (help)
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Last modified on 9 May 2013, at 12:55