Downtown Juneau in Juneau Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
Mary Island
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 3, 2021
1. Mary Island Marker
Mary Island's main structure was a one-story, octagonal, wooden building with a pyramid-shaped roof topped with a tall light tower. This was the working heart of the lighthouse. Two frame houses for keepers stood nearby.
Mary Island was one of the few Alaska lighthouses to which keepers could bring their families. One keeper's son who spent much of his childhood on Mary Island joined the Lighthouse Service and became a keeper on the island where he had grown up.
In 1938, a new lighthouse of reinforced concrete replaced the pioneer building. The original Fresnel lens is on display at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. The site is managed by the Coast Guard.
At-a-glance box
• Location: Mary Island, 10 miles south of Ketchikan
• First lighted: July 15, 1903
• Original Optics: fourth-order Fresnel lens
• Automated: 1969
Captions
• The original Mary Island Lighthouse. (US Coast Guard Photo)
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this page online
• Aerial view of Mary Island in 1965 (US Coast Guard Photo)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Lighthouses series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 15, 1903.
Location. 58° 17.912′ N, 134° 24.324′ W. Marker is in Juneau, Alaska, in Juneau Borough. It is in Downtown Juneau. Marker can be reached from Marine Way. Marker is on the Juneau Harbor boardwalk, south of Marine Park and across from the cruise ship berths. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 252 Marine Way, Juneau AK 99801, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Tree Point (here, next to this marker); Five Finger (here, next to this marker); Sentinel Island (here, next to this marker); Guard Islands (here, next to this marker); Cape Decision (here, next to this marker); Point Retreat (here, next to this marker); Lincoln Rock, Fairway Island & Point Sherman (here, next to this marker); Lighthouses of Alaska (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Juneau.
Also see . . .
1. Asset Detail | Mary Island Light Station. National Register of Historic Places registration (PDF)
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 3, 2021
2. Mary Island Marker
2. Mary Island Lighthouse. Comprehensive background on the lighthouse and its history, both good (bountiful gardens and practical jokes) and bad (the deaths of a relief keeper's infant son and unrelated deaths of a keeper and Ketchikan teenager in a sudden blizzard), by Lighthousefriends.com. (Submitted on September 12, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
United States Coast Guard
3. Mary Island Lighthouse (old)
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller
4. Mary Island Lighthouse (current)
It was built in 1938 to replace the original lighthouse.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 12, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 12, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 199 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 12, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
