- Pierce Island Range Front
- Date unknown. Active; focal plane 51 ft (15.5 m); quick-flashing green light. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. Trabas has a 2009 photo but the light is only a spot in Google's satellite view. The range guides vessels westward in the Piscataway River. Located on the east shore of Pierce Island. Site status unknown. Admiralty J0237; USCG 1- 8355.
- Pierce Island Range Rear
- Date unknown. Active; focal plane 67 ft (20.5 m); green light, 3 s on, 3 s off. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. Trabas has a 2009 photo but the light is only a spot in Google's satellite view. Located about 125 ft (40 m) west of the front light. Site status unknown. Admiralty J0237.1; USCG 1- 8360.
- Isles of Shoals (White
Island) (2)
- 1859 (station established 1821). Active; focal plane 82 ft (25
m); white flash every 15 s. 58 ft (17.5 m) round cylindrical brick tower
with lantern and gallery; solar-powered 190 mm lens. Tower painted
white, lantern black. Fog horn (blast every 30 s) operates continuously.
The 1-1/2 story keeper's house is leased to a diving school. The
station also includes a NOAA C-MAN automatic weather
station. A 2022 photo is at right, Anderson also
has a good page
for the lighthouse, Michael Petersen has a 2024 photo, a 2009 photo is available, Marinas.com has aerial
photos, Blaine Kopp has a street view from the lantern, Huelse has a historic postcard
view, and Google has a satellite view. In 1993 ownership of the light station was transferred
to the state of New Hampshire, but the state proceeded to ignore the lighthouse completely.
By 2001 the tower was in poor
condition, riddled with cracks; it was placed
on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List in March 2002. A local
school group, the Lighthouse
Kids, drew public attention to the plight of the lighthouse.
In 2003 the Lighthouse Kids successfully lobbied the state legislature
for $125,000 to repair the tower, and in April of the same year
a $250,000 federal grant for restoration was announced. In May
2005 another $50,000 grant was received. During the summer of
2005 contractors carried out a complete restoration
of the tower and a partial restoration of the keeper's house. In
April 2007 a powerful nor'easter, known in New England as the
Patriot's Day storm, washed completely over the island, damaging
the newly restored lighthouse. The solar panels, foghorn, and walkway
connecting the tower and keeper's house were all destroyed, and
the covering of the tower was damaged. The walkway was replaced in 2011 with federal damage restoration funds from FEMA. In 2008 the lens was replaced by a modern
VLB-44 LED unit. The Isles
of Shoals are a group of 18 islands and rocks 9 miles (15 km)
southeast of Portsmouth and lying partly in Maine and partly in
New Hampshire. The New Hampshire portion of the Isles comprise a
state park. Accessible only by boat; cruises
from Portsmouth pass the site. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site
manager: N.H. Division of Parks and Recreation (White Island State Historic Site
). ARLHS USA-406; Admiralty J0246;
USCG 1-0235.
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White Island Light, Isles of Shoals, September 2022
Instagram photo by Jessica S. |