Episodes

Ahoy everyone! The Lighthouse Lowdown is back! We are continuing with our Green Island series, this time traveling to Western Canada where you may spot a beautiful white and red light station on a lone island in the most dangerous body of water on Canada shores.

Also known locally as Goat Island Lighthouse, Newport Harbor Lighthouse was extended out onto a breakwater with its original tower being used in Prudence Island. The lighthouse and its city go all out for the holidays! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Lighthouse Lowdown! We will be back in 2026. References: The Cutters, Boats, and Aircraft of the US Coast Guard Newport Harbor Lighthouse Christmas Lighting Event Newport Harbor Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Keeper's Log Spring 2016...

We are continuing our Green Island series with this Wisconsin gem, which had survived two explosions and a devastating forest fire, but ultimately succumbed to time. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Doomsday List | Lighthouse Digest Green Island Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Private Islands Inc.

We are starting a fun series with the Green Island Lighthouses of the world, starting with Ohio! It's not often you hear of a lighthouse that burns down twice, and unfortunately this history has put our light on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Green Island Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Green Island Light Station | USLHS Archives

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank November 10th, 1975. Gordon Lightfoot's song brought it to posterity in 1976, and we've been talking about it since. Listen in as Vince does a solo-episode about the infamous ship, wreck, and song! Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Lyrics | Genius Lyrics The Cruelest Month - Edmund Fitzgerald Newsweek, November 24, 1975 | PDF | Water Transport | Violence TIL Gordon L...

Like most beachy lighthouses, Point Betsie battled shifting sands for its whole lifetime, now shielded by at least three methods of erosion control to keep the light shining! Point Betsie Lighthouse is a standing testament to what a community can do (whether that's saving a lighthouse, building a road, or saving lives) when they work together. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Point Betsie Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Friends of Point Betsie Ligh...

Although this was the last lighthouse built in Connecticut, it is the first for us to cover in the state, and the first we've covered that skipped straight to 200 Watt bulbs! Avery Point Lighthouse was built by the Coast Guard in 1944 as a part of their training center, later becoming a physics laboratory for the University of Connecticut. Thank you to all who left us reviews! Merch (and a giveaway) is coming your way. References: Avery Point Light | American Lighthouse Foundation Avery Point...

Listener Lighthouse! I'm trying to think of a lighthouse where I have this hard of a time saying it's name out loud... Regardless, Crisp Point Lighthouse was close neighbors with a Life-Saving Station, along with three others built along "Shipwreck Coast" in 1876. This red-capped light still shines today as a private ATON. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Crisp Point Light Historical Society Crisp Point Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Light Lists |...

What's prettier than a lighthouse on a cliff edge? Point Bonita lives up to its name, adjacent to a mini version of the Golden Gate Bridge. It shines on to this day with its original second order Fresnel lens! Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: https://miladidit.com/2017/12/12/point-bonita/ Point Bonita Lighthouse Point Bonita Lighthouse - Golden Gate National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) Point Bonita Lighthouse, California at Lightho...

In honor of Maine Open Lighthouse Day coming up on September 13, we are covering one of the over a dozen participants! Little River Lighthouse's forest green-turned-mint lantern room is just a plus. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Maine Open Lighthouse Day 2025 | American Lighthouse Foundation Little River Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Maine Open Lighthouse Day at Little River Little River Light History | New England Lighthouses

Not many original lighthouses last longer than their replacements, but this is the case for the second oldest brick lighthouse in American history! Sapelo Island Lighthouse was lit in 1820, and still stands today on the island with the last known Gullah community. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Stations | USLSSHA Ohio Life Saving Station No. 10 | Belle of Louisville Sapelo Island Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends USLHS Keeper's Log 1988

Where is whitefish fishing good? Probably at the Whitefish Township, at Whitefish Point in Whitefish Bay...which is why we needed Whitefish Point Lighthouse! Have I said whitefish too much? This skeletal lighthouse is unique in many ways, with a decagonal lantern room, second floor covered walkway, and a lifeboat station that physically left the grounds to return decades later. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Stations | USLSSHA Whitefish Point Lig...

Vince is back from Sweden, and he brought back tales of a lighthouse that took many daymarks over it's lifetime! The Väderöbod Lighthouse is one of many Swedish lighthouses built on the islands of the Väderö archipelago. Although it is 9 miles off the coast, if you can handle yourself in a kayak you are welcome to visit and even stay on the island! Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: David Lyle and his Life Saving Gun - Springfield Armory National His...

While Lobster Cove makes me think of a rocky beach and open seas all around, what you'll find in Newfoundland is vastly different! Surrounded by a lush national park, glacier-carved fjords and thundering waterfalls, Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse flashes white over 100 feet above the waves. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse | Parks Canada Sun Valve | Go Industrial

If the cute name of this lighthouse doesn't catch your attention, the history sure will! That is, if you like lighthouses that are also a post office. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Nova Scotia Explore Page Peggy's Cove Website Peggy's Point Wikipedia Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society The Canadian Lighthouse Route Nova Scotia Lighthouse Route Nova Scotia Lighthouse Road trip | Travel Bunny

Unfortunately, the name Cape Fear directly correlates to how mariners felt about the area, dubbing the Frying Pan Shoals almost as fearsome as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. However, efforts to light the area were a struggle, and we ended up with many different lighthouses (and lightships) in an attempt to mark the shoals. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: The Cape Fear Lighthouse's Prism Project | Our State Cape Fear Lighthouse | Lighthouse Frien...

We've all heard stories here and there of what keepers went through on the job at their lighthouses - the position was rife with danger! Vince takes us on a deep dive of what was really at stake for our lighthouse keepers and the perils they faced in daily life. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: In Memoriam | United States Lighthouse Society Lighthouse Oil Myths & Folklore - Ponce Inlet Lighthouse The Dangers of Lighthouse Keeping - Lighthouse Ex...

Didn't get enough of Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse in our last episode? Us either! Listen in as historian Ralph Krugler gives the inside scoop about the lighthouse's restoration project, history, and interesting stories! Please consider donating towards the restoration at https://www.hillsborolighthouse.org/ Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com

Like most inlets in eastern Florida, Hillsboro Inlet's waters were filled with wrecked ships. But it wasn't until 1907 that a lighthouse was built there, sturdy enough to withstand hurricanes, shifting sands, and the ocean waves. Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse was home to some of the best lighthouse keepers the US had to offer, and still shines brightly today with it's original Fresnel lens in its lantern room! Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Thank yo...

While we cover Walton Lighthouse as our history buoy this time, the meat of this episode covers mercury floats! How did they work? Why were they implemented? Did they really have a negative effect on keepers? Listen in as we answer all these questions and more! Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Santa Cruz Breakwater | Lighthouse Friends Santa Cruz Breakwater Light | Wikipedia Lights with Mercury Floats | USLHS Lens Rotation | USLHS Mercury Float Rot...

Vince takes us to sunny Mexico to look at a golf course that is blessed with not one, but two lighthouses on the tip of the Baja California Sur. While the area beckons with it's pristine golf courses and resorts, the real treasure are the lighthouses hundreds of feet above the thrashing surf. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Quivira Los Cabos Residence El Faro Viejo Cabo San Lucas – Old Cabo One Course, Two Lighthouses: Quivira Golf Club - InMexico...

In honor of WIC week, we are covering the lighthouse with the most years kept by women keepers! Biloxi Lighthouse is also known well in Mississippi as a symbol of resilience after surviving Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Biloxi Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Biloxi Lighthouse Throughout the Years | City of Biloxi Biloxi Lighthouse | USLHS

Listener Lighthouse! Thank you to Megan for sending this in. Commonly known as the I Love You Lighthouse, Minot's Ledge actually has a deadly history as a strange lighthouse on stilts! When that one failed, engineers used the successful construction tactics from the Eddystone Lighthouse to build a stone tower that still stands today. Liked this episode? Leave us a review at thelighthouselowdown.com References: Minot's Ledge Lighthouse | Lighthouse Stars Minot's Ledge Lighthouse | Lighthouse ...

We're headed back over to California today to talk about a lighthouse that, like many others, went dark after the beginning of WWII - however, Point Fermin Lighthouse was never relit. Decades later, its Fresnel lens was found in an unlikely location... Liked this episode? Leave us a review on thelighthouselowdown.com References: Point Fermin Lighthouse | LA Parks Point Fermin Lighthouse | Lighthouse Friends Point Fermin | USLHS