Lighthouse Buildings

Lighthouse Buildings. . , The first buildings associated with 30-Mile Point Lighthouse were a carriage barn and an outhouse. Over the years, other buildings were added to the property, reflecting important changes in the lighthouse's operation., The original carriage barn, shown in this ca. 1898 photograph, was located directly east of the lighthouse. The present barn was built in 1904. These barns had stalls for the light keepers horses and housed their sleighs and carriages, which were an important link to the town of Somerset and the world beyond. The wooden fence was installed in 1893. Photograph courtesy of Gambles Open Door Antique Shop and the Town of Somerset Historian's Office., Note the large garden in this 1907 photograph of the lighthouse. Because of their relative isolation, the light keepers families grew much of their own food. Photograph courtesy of the Town of Somerset Historian's Office., Note the outhouse pictured in the foreground of this ca. 1945 photograph, located precariously close to the embankment. The outhouse was moved in the early 1950s to save it from an eroding shoreline. Photograph courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office., In 1881, the Lighthouse Service replaced the lard oil lamp at 30-Mile Point with one that burned mineral oil (kerosene). Ten years later, the Lighthouse Service installed the first of two round, iron oil houses so that this more flammable oil could be stored away from the lighthouse. A second oil house was delivered sometime after 1900. The earlier oil house was moved to its present location east of the lighthouse to serve as a well house. The oil houses in this photograph are typical of those installed at many of the nation's lighthouses in the 1890s. Photograph courtesy of the Town of Somerset Historian's Office., In 1879, the Lighthouse Service built a woodshed east of the lighthouse. It was replaced with the existing woodshed in 1905. The shed was adapted to store coal for the lighthouse's furnace, which was installed in 1924. Each family living at the lighthouse was allotted 8 tons of coal per year. At times, this shed also served as a workshop. Photograph courtesy of the Town of Somerset Historian's Office.