Guard Islands

Guard Islands. . A square, white wooden tower housed the Guard Islands light, with a separate keeper's house nearby. When a reinforced concrete building replaced the old light tower in 1922, a second house was built so two keepers could live there with their families., The island's small size and isolation fueled differences between the families. In the early years of the 20th Century, an assistant keeper killed his wife because he thought she was romantically involved with the head keeper., Violence of another kind came to Guard Islands during Prohibition. The keeper and his assistant sighted a troller drifting nearby with no one at the helm. When the keepers rowed out to investigate, they found the bodies of two men stuffed inside a locker. The murder was blamed on bootleggers. On a gentler note, early-day keepers rescued an orphan fawn that became a pet, living at the lighthouse for many years. It ran up to greet visitors and accompanied the keepers on boat rides., The location of the original Fresnel lens is unknown. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and managed by the Coast Guard., At-a-glance box , . Location: east entrance to Tongass Narrows, 9 miles north of Ketchikan , . First lighted: Sept. 15, 1904 , . Original Optics: fourth-order Fresnel lens , . Automated: 1969, Captions , (Top) Guard Islands keepers and their wives in the dining room of the head keeper's home. (US Coast Guard Photo) , (Bottom) Guard Islands Lighthouse and keepers' quarters. (US Coast Guard Photo)