Northern Coast Chronicle

Lighthouse history, traced through the coast

A concise timeline of structural, technical, and social shifts that shaped the northern beacons from first construction to preservation work.

  1. 18211838

    First towers rise along exposed headlands

    Stone and timber lights are established to guide packet routes through fog-heavy shoals.

    Harbor ledgers call this period the lantern decade.

  2. 18421857

    Keeper stations become year-round households

    Record books show families, assistants, and supply boats building a stable coastal routine.

    Inventory notes begin listing school slates and medical kits.

  3. 1860s1880s

    Fresnel lenses extend range and reliability

    Upgraded optics sharpen beam reach, lowering wreck reports in the outer channels.

    Engineering journals sketch prism repairs by hand.

  4. 19051927

    Signal systems add foghorn and wireless updates

    Audio warnings and radio traffic turn isolated towers into coordinated safety points.

    Margin note: storm-week alerts doubled in winter logs.

  5. 1930s1960s

    Automation gradually reduces staffed postings

    Mechanized lamps and remote controls shift daily duties away from permanent keepers.

    Final full-time journals close at mid-century outposts.

  6. 1978Present

    Preservation trusts restore towers as public archives

    Conservation teams stabilize structures and publish photographs, maps, and oral histories.

    Current surveys catalog surviving lenses and stairworks.