Lighthouses of Alaska

Lighthouses of Alaska. . For more than 100 years, lighthouses have guided mariners through Alaskan waters., Lighthouses capture our imagination as lonely sentinels of the sea. They played a vital role in Alaska's development because for more than 70 years, ships carried almost all people and goods between Alaska and the Lower 48. World War II military needs spurred development of highway and air transport., Russian officials lighted the earliest beacons. The first light marked the seaward entrance to Sitka Harbor. Later, seal-oil lanterns with copper reflectors were placed atop Baranof's Castle, the Russian American Company's administration building. Both guided ships bound for the capital of Russian America, now Sitka. When an approaching ship fired a signal cannon, the beacons were set alight., After the 1867 Alaska Purchase, the United States built 16 lighthouses in its new territory. Civilian keepers tended the lights until 1939, when the Lighthouse Service became part of the Coast Guard. During World War II, the lighthouses served as military observation stations, their beacons extinguished briefly following the Pearl Harbor attack., Most of the US lights shone through state-of-the-art Fresnel lenses. Through an intricate system of prisms, these optics focused diffuse light rays into one, strong beam that mariners could see from many miles away. Many of those classic lenses are now located in Alaska museums., Although Alaska's lighthouses, like those around the nation, no longer have resident keepers, the Coast Guard maintains automated lights. The state has determined that all 12 remaining lighthouses are eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.