Coastal introduction
This coast is read through working towers and the people who kept them.
We connect archive photos, keeper stories, and preserved lighthouse locations so visitors can follow navigation history from shoreline image to lived account to place on the map.
Browse the archiveCoastal chronology
A quick historical arc, from first beacon building to today’s preservation work along the shore.
Early 1800s
Stone towers and fixed lamps began marking hazardous approaches for coastal vessels.
Mid to late 1800s
Keepers maintained wicks, polished lenses, and recorded weather through long coastal watches.
Mid 1900s
Electric systems and remote controls gradually replaced full-time on-site staffing.
Late 1900s
Some stations were decommissioned as new navigation methods reduced reliance on manned lights.
2000s to today
Local stewards, historians, and volunteers continue conserving towers as public heritage landmarks.
Preserved towers
Each surviving beacon marks a different chapter in navigation history, from harbor guidance to open-water warning lines.
Preserved tower
First lit in 1872, this granite tower marked a dangerous turn where fishing fleets once entered in dense fog.
Northwatch Headland, Outer Reach
Preserved tower
A cast-iron structure from 1891, designed to withstand winter surge while guiding cargo steamers away from reef shoals.
Brindle Flats, Mid-Coast Channel
Preserved tower
Keepers here maintained a nightly signal code for inbound mail boats, a routine documented in surviving station journals.
Old Quay District, Stormglass Bay
Preserved tower
Completed in 1904 after repeated wreck inquiries, its higher lantern plane improved visibility along the exposed cliff run.
Gullstrand Cliffs, North Passage
Coastal Preservation Insert
Field Plate
