Looking upon the Chesapeake Bay, one can see that is is so much more than a part of the sea. Despite its beauty, it is a complex and dangerous body of water. It is made up of miles and miles of powerful water. Oceanic tide surges are commonplace. So are threatening storms that hit with no warning. Despite these dangers, hundreds of ships safely navigate the bay every year. This is because Chesapeake Bay lighthouses are now using technology to guide ships through the dangerous waters.
From the heavy wooden vessels of the colonial era to the giant cargo ships of now, we use the bay for transportation and commerce. Signal fires and buoys used to be the only help that ship mariners had to help guide them through the waters, but those aids proved to be inaccurate.
As the volume of water traffic grew, and the nation began to depend on commerce coming through the bay, a safer way to pass through the waters was required. Lighthouses were the solution and in 1792, at Cape Henry, the first lighthouse lit the entrance.
The building of lighthouses increased in the early eighteen hundreds due to the advancements in technology and increased commerce along the bay. By the middle of the century, dozens of them stood along the western shore. Up and down the eastern shore, they aided commercial fishermen. By the early nineteen hundreds, lighthouses were the primary aid in helping shippers navigate through the formidable water.
Being a keeper of a lighthouse was often a lonesome job that demanded that the keeper be committed and determined. Before electricity, the lanterns burned all day and night, in all types of weather. This required the keeper to carry heavy jugs of oil up and down the steep staircases numerous times a day. He also needed to repair and maintain the lamps and lanterns. The keeper was also required to keep and submit daily records of lighthouse operations.
Being a keeper also meant risking your own life to save another's. There were many instances where the demands set forth upon the keepers were life threatening. A notable occurrence happened in 1909 when the Thimble Shoal lighthouse keepers barely survived a boat smashing through a wall of the lighthouse. The coal stove was overturned in the mayhem and set fire to the keepers' living quarters.
Decade after decade, it was decided that women were not fit to be lighthouse keepers. The job was too dangerous and strenuous. Despite this way of thinking, there have been some female keepers. One well known keeper was named Fanny Salter. She ran the Turkey Point lighthouse for more than twenty years. As the last woman keeper in the country, she retired in 1947.
When the twentieth century rolled in, the Chesapeake Bay lighthouses had to adjust to the changes in time and technology. Electricity replaced dangerous kerosene and oil. The lighthouses become fully automated and keepers were no longer needed. At one time there were at least seventy-four lights lining the shores of the bay. These days, the number has been reduced to less than half that amount. However, of the thirty that are still standing, twenty-three are still operational and continue to serve as navigational aids and tourist attractions.
From the heavy wooden vessels of the colonial era to the giant cargo ships of now, we use the bay for transportation and commerce. Signal fires and buoys used to be the only help that ship mariners had to help guide them through the waters, but those aids proved to be inaccurate.
As the volume of water traffic grew, and the nation began to depend on commerce coming through the bay, a safer way to pass through the waters was required. Lighthouses were the solution and in 1792, at Cape Henry, the first lighthouse lit the entrance.
The building of lighthouses increased in the early eighteen hundreds due to the advancements in technology and increased commerce along the bay. By the middle of the century, dozens of them stood along the western shore. Up and down the eastern shore, they aided commercial fishermen. By the early nineteen hundreds, lighthouses were the primary aid in helping shippers navigate through the formidable water.
Being a keeper of a lighthouse was often a lonesome job that demanded that the keeper be committed and determined. Before electricity, the lanterns burned all day and night, in all types of weather. This required the keeper to carry heavy jugs of oil up and down the steep staircases numerous times a day. He also needed to repair and maintain the lamps and lanterns. The keeper was also required to keep and submit daily records of lighthouse operations.
Being a keeper also meant risking your own life to save another's. There were many instances where the demands set forth upon the keepers were life threatening. A notable occurrence happened in 1909 when the Thimble Shoal lighthouse keepers barely survived a boat smashing through a wall of the lighthouse. The coal stove was overturned in the mayhem and set fire to the keepers' living quarters.
Decade after decade, it was decided that women were not fit to be lighthouse keepers. The job was too dangerous and strenuous. Despite this way of thinking, there have been some female keepers. One well known keeper was named Fanny Salter. She ran the Turkey Point lighthouse for more than twenty years. As the last woman keeper in the country, she retired in 1947.
When the twentieth century rolled in, the Chesapeake Bay lighthouses had to adjust to the changes in time and technology. Electricity replaced dangerous kerosene and oil. The lighthouses become fully automated and keepers were no longer needed. At one time there were at least seventy-four lights lining the shores of the bay. These days, the number has been reduced to less than half that amount. However, of the thirty that are still standing, twenty-three are still operational and continue to serve as navigational aids and tourist attractions.
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