Download - Hudson Lighthouse
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 1/10
M
WELCOME
TO
THE
TIUDSON.ATHENS
LIGHTHOUSE
I
would
like
to take
this opportunity
to welcome
you
to our
lighthouse.
The
Hudson-Athens
Lighthouse
is
bne
of
seven remaining lighthouses
on the
Hudson
River.
Once
there
were thirteen,
but six have
been demolished
and are
gone
forever.
Our
lighthouse is the
northem most
on the river.
With
its
ied brick
and stone
construction
it
is
also the most stately
and
truly
the
gem
of
the Hudson River. It was
built
in
1874
and
is
still an
active aid
to navigation,
having
been
automatednlg4g.
We
hope that
you
enjoy
your
visit
to the lighthouse,
taking
a step
back
into
time
and
hopefully getting
an
understanding
of
what
it
was
like to
have been
a
lighthouse
keeper
and
living in
a lighthouse. We
will do our
best
to
answer
your
questions
and make
your
visit a
memorable
one.
As
you
tour
the
lighthouse,
I
would
ask
you
to
seriously consider
becoming
a
volunteer
in our
orgarization
so that we can continue to open up the lighthouse
for
others
to
enjoy
as
you
have today. Financial
support through
yearly
dues
and contributions
are
only a
part
of
what
makes
this
a
successfirl endeavor
and
is
greatly
appreciated.
However,
our
most
important and
greatest
asset is our members and
the
volunteer
time that
they
give.
It
is my
hope
that
you
will become an
active member
in our
organization.
Again
thank
you
for
visiting
the
Hudson-Athens
Lighthouse.
1Eu
frgfrtfr**4*
JfUf*
W
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 2/10
Emil
Brunner
The
Last
Civilian
Lightkeeper
1932-1949
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 3/10
THE
LIGHTHOUSE
In
the
late
1880's, hazards created
by
the
Middle
Ground
Flats
opposite
the
City
of
Hudson
made
navigation
of
the
Hudson
River at that
point
extremely
risky
for
the
busy shipping
route
that went from New
York City
to Troy.
After
much
petitioning
to the
Congress
of
the
United
States,
a
survey
was
completed
and an appropriation.
of
$35,b00.00
was
approvednlST2to build the
Hudson City
Lighthouse.
:
Construction
began
in
early
1873.
Pilings
were
driven
some fifty
feet
into
the
riverbed
and then
surrounded by
a
granite
pier. The
keeper's
dwelling
was then
constructed
on
top
of
the
man-made
pier.
The north
end of
the
lighthouse
base
was
designed
like the
bow of
a
ship.
This was done
to
protect
the lighthouse
from
the
frequent
ice flows in
winter
and spring. Built
in the
Second
Empire
architectural
style,
the two
story
brick
and
granite
structure
sits majestically
in
the middle
of the
river
between
Hudson
and
Athens.
The lighthouse
was
put into
operation
on
November
14,1874
with
Henry D.
Best
as
its first
keeper and automated on
November
10,1949
almost
seventy-
five
years
to
the date
on which
it
was
first
lighted.
Today
the
lighthouse
still serves as
an aid to
navigation
guiding
ships
safely
around
the Middle
Ground Flats. In
July
of
2000,
the U.S.
Coast
Guard
officially
transferred
the
title
of
the lighthouse
over to
the Hudson-Athens
Lighthouse
Preservation
Society.
As the
new
owners of the lighthouse,
it
is now our
responsibility to
preserve
this
historic
building
for
future
generations
to enjoy.
We
are now the
present
day
keepers
of
the
lighthouse.
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 4/10
The
Outside
Deck
This
lighthouse
is
one
of
seven
thit remain
today
on the
Hudson
River.
They
are
The
Hudson-Athens,
Saugerties,
Rondout
in
Kingston,
Esopus
Meadows,
Stony
point,
Tarrytown,
and Jeffrey's
Hook
(also
known
as
the
Little
Red Lighthouse)
All
in
total
there
were
ttrirteen
lighthouses'on
the Hudson
River.
Stulvesant,
Coxsackie,
Four
Mile
Point,
The old
Rondout
Light,
West
Point, and
Rockland
Lake
are
no longer
standing.
The
Hudson
City
Light
(its
official
name) is now
the northernmost
lighthouse
on the
river
and was first
lighted
on
Nov
l4th,
r874
with
Henry
D.
Best
as
its
first
keeper.
The Coast Guard
installed
the electric
fog
bell
you
see on the
deck
in the
later part
of the
1940s.
Prior
to
1946 there
was
no electricity
in
the
lighthouse.
Everything
was
operated
by
kerosene
or
coal.
It
is
one
of
two
fog
bells
in the
lighthouse.
The
other
hangs
overhead from the
tower
and
is
still
functional.
You will
get
a
closer
look
at
that
when
you
go
up to
the Lantem
Room.
The
round metal plate
you
see
is
the
opening
to
the
coal
bin.
Coal
was brought
to
the
lighthouse
on boats
that
were
called
Lightho;e
Tenders.
These
tenders
also brought
others supplies
that were
needed.
T'hey.
operated
out
of
a
central location
on Staten Island,
which
was called
a
lighthouse
depot
The
old
depot
on
Staten
Island is
nowthe
home
of
The
National
Lighthouse
Museum.
The
U.S.
Lighthouse
Service
was taken
over by the
U.S.
Coast
Guard
in
1936.
That
was the beginning of
the end
of the
Lighthouse Keeper.
Today
all
of
our lighthouses
have
been
automated and
the only
lighthouse
in
the
U.S. that is
still
manned
is
the
Boston
Light,
which was the nation's
first
light.
Giving
tours
of the
lighthouse
was
also a
part
of the duties
of
a lightkeeper.
As
found
written
in the
Instructions
To
LighlKeepers
from the
year
1902
is the
foll,owing:
ac--
Keepers
must
be
courteous
and polite
to all visitors
and
show
them
everyhing
of
interest about
the
station
at
such
times
as will
not
interfere
with
light-house
duties.
Keepers must
not
allow
visitors
to
handle
the
apparatus
or deface
light-house
property.
Special
care must be taken
to
prevent
the
scratching of names
or initials
on the
glass
of
the
lanterns or
on
the
windows
of the
towers. The
keeper
on
duty
at
the time
is
responsible
for
any injury
or
defacement
to
the
buildings,
lenses, lamps,
glazing
of
the
lantem
and
to
any other light-house property
under
his charge,
unless
he
can identify
the
parties
who have
done
the injury,
so
as
to
make them
accountable
for
it;
and
any
such
damage
must be reported immediately
to the inspector
or
engineer
of the
district,
with
the
names
of
the
person
or
persons,
if
they
can
be
ascertained.
No
visitor
should
be admitted
to
the
tower
unless
attended
by a keeper,
nor in
the watch room
or lantern
between
sunset
and
sunrise.
The
Basement
The
basement
was
used as
a storage
area,
mostly
for coal
and
oil
and
the various
tools that
a
lightkeeper
needed to
perform
his duties and
also
as a
workshop
for
the
lightkeeper.
The coal
furnace
for the
central heating
system
and
a
6500-gallon
cistern,
which
held
their water
supply
are also
located in the
basement.
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 5/10
The
First Floor
The
Kitchen
The
kitchen
was
the heart
of
the
lighthouse.
I
would
imagine
that
something was
going
on
here
a
good
part
of
the day
with
the
preparation of meals,
baking,
and of course
coffee.
As
was
every.thing
in the lighthouse,
cooking
methods
were rather
primitive.
The
stove
was fueled
by
coal
which meant
that
one
had
to
get
coal
from
the basement
and
I
am
sure
there
was
always
cleaning to do. The
coal stove
meant
that
it
was nice
and
warm
in the
winter
but
a bit on
the toasty side during
the summer
months.
Water
was
collected
from
the
roof
into
a cistern located under the
kitchen.
It was
then
pumped
by
hand when
needed,
using
the
old
fashioned hand
pump
on the sink.
There
was
no
indoor plumbing
until
1938
when
a
bathroom was installed inside
the lighthouse
as
well
as a
central heating
system
that
was run
by a coal furnace.
Up until
then there
was
an
outhouse that
hung out over
the river
just
to
the
right of
the flagpole.
A
fun
experience
in
the
winter I
am
sure. Laundry
was done by
hand
in
the
old
days,
but
I
believe
that
the
Brunners
had an
old
gas
engine
washing
machine.
Ironing was done with
a cast
iron
flat
iron
that was heated
on the
kitchen
stove.
The Sitting
Room
The next
room
was the sitting room,
much
like our
living
rooms except that
there
was
no
television
or telephone. Remember, they
did
not
have
electricity.
The lightkeepers
and their
families
pretty
much had to entertain
themselves.
However
Mr.
Brunner
liked
to
tinker
with
things
and
rigged up his own homemade
crystal
radio set
which
did not
need
electricity
to
operate.
I
don't
know
how
good
the reception
was
as
there were
not
many
radio
stations
back
then. Today
in this room
we
have
a display
of
some
Hudson
River
memorabilia
in
the
display
case along
with a
replica
of
a Keeper's
hat
and badge. In the
corner
is
a reproduction
of
a
Lighthouse
Service
blanket.
Originals
of these
items
in
good
condition
are
very
hard
to
come
by
and are very
expensive
to
purchase.
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 6/10
The
Keeper's
Room
There
were several
keepers
that were stationed here
at this
lighthouse
over
the
years,
the
last civilian
keeper being
Emil
Brunner.
Our
restoration
efforts
have
focused
upon the
years
in
which
he
and
his family
lived at the lighthouse.
This
small
room
here
on the
first
floor
was
his
bedroom,
as he had
to
be
up
several
times
during
the
night
to
check the
light
and
refuel
the lantern.
The
oil
or
kerosene for
the lantern
was
stored
in
the
basement and had
to
be brought
up
to
the lantem room. The
partial
lens
you
see on
the
floor
is
one similar
to
that which
would
have been here.'Tlie
original
lens
as
I have
been
informed is in the
South
Street Seaport
Museum in New
York City.
Emil
Brunner,
the
last
civilian
keeper
was here from
1932
until
1949.
The
last
person
to tend
the
lighthouse was
William Nestlen,
who
oversaw
the
operations
of
the
light
and
fog
signal
from 1966
until 1986.
The
first
keeper
was
Henry
D.
Best.
He
kept
the
light until
his
death
in
January
of
1893 and was succeeded by his
son,
Frank.
Through
the
years
the lighthouse
had nine
lightkeepers
including
one
wgman,
Nellie
Best,
foia
short time
in
1918.
Keepers
Of
The
Hudson-Athens Lighthouse
1874
-
Henry D.
Best
1893 -
Frank
Best
1918
-
Netlie
Best
1918
-
William J.
Murray
t922
-
August Kielberg
1932
-
Emil Brunner
1949 -
G.E.
Speaks
1957
-
Perry
Peloubot
1966
-
William Nestlen
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 7/10
The Second
Floor
The
Stairway
.
The
stairs
are
narrow
and winding.
Please
notice
the brass
hand
railing.
The
Lighthouse
Service
was
noted
for
all
its brasswork.
All
of
the
fittings
of
the
lens and
lantem
apparatus
were
made
of
brass
as well
as
many
other
items found
in
the
lighthouse
such
as duspans,
work
boxes,
oil
lanterns,
oil
cans,
etc.
When
the
lighthouse
was
closed
up
in
1954
most
of
the
brasswork
was
taken
out.
This
railing
is all that
remains. 'Of
o*r
all of
the
brass
was expected
to
be kept
polished.
These
items as
well
as
other
supplies
came
from
a
central
warehouse
called
a
Lighthouse
Depot'
which for the
Hudson
River
lighthouses
was
located
on Staten
Island.
This
is
the site
which was
picked
for
the
soon
to
be.opened
National
Lighthouse
Museum.
The last
verse
of
a
poem
written by
Fred
Morong,
a
Maine
lightkeeper,
circa 1920
goes
like
this:
And
when
I
have
polished
until
I
am
cold,
And
I'm
taken
aloft
to
the
Heavenly
Foldr'
Will
my
harp
and my
crown
be
made
of
pure gold?
No,
brasswork
The
Bedrooms
The
second
floor
has
four
rooms
that
were
used
as bedrooms.
The
Brunners
had
five
children,
four
of which
lived
at the
lighthouse
until
the
family
moved
into
the Town
of
Athens
in
1938.
They
were
Emily,
Richard,
John,
Robert
(who
was
actually
born
in
the
lighthouse),
and
Norman
who
was
born
after
the
family
had
moved
into
town.
Mr-
Brunner
of
course
remained
at the
lighthouse,
while
the
rest
of
his
family
lived
in town.
Now
I can
imagine
that
raising
four
children
in
such
a confined
space
must
have
been
no
small
challengi.
It
is
hard
to
imagine
not
having
a
yard
or
streets
to walk
down
or other
children
to
PlaY
with.
We
are
going to
use these
rooms
on
the
second
floor
to
interpret
river
life
around
the
lighthoor
itd
the
waterfront
industries
of
both
Hudson
and
Athens.
You
will find
,o*r pi.t*es
of
the children
who lived
here
as
well
ry
some enlarged copies
of
old
postcards
from
the
Hudson
and
Athens
area.
The
larger
bedroom
has some
displays
and
pi t*.r of
boats
that
operated
on
the
river.
Also
in the
small
room
you
will frnd a display
of
ull
th
lighthouses,
which
were
on
the
Hudson
River,
past, and
present'
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 8/10
Hudson
and Athens
The city of Hudson
was
a
well-established
river
port
being
founded
in
1784
as
a
whaling
port
by
a
group
of
Nantucket
whalers
who
relocated
from
to
coast.
They
had
feared
that England would
retake
the
colonies
and
wanted
a
safer
place
to
run
their
whaling
industry
from.
Hudson
was one
of several whaling
ports
on the
Hudson
River.
It
was
also a stop
for the
Hudson
River
Dayliners,
which
carried thousands
of
passengers
up and
down
the river
from
Troy to
New
York City.
Athens was
a ship-building
town.
Many
ships and
boats
were
built
in
Athens
including the 281-foot Kaaterskill,
which
ran
for
over
thirly
years
between
New
York,
Catskill,
and
Hudson. The
Athens
Shipyard,
the
Clark Pottery, the
Every
& Eichhorn
Ice
house, and
the
Howlands
Coal Yard
were
irmong
many businesses
that
were
located
in
Athens. These and other industries
on the
river
all
shipped
their
goods
by
boat.
Many
of
the
waterfront buildings
were
destroyed
in
the
fire
of
March23rd
1935.
There
were
also
a
number
of ferries
that ran
from
Athens
to
Hudson from as early
as 1778
until
the
1940's.
One
of
the
last was the
Hudson-Athens,
which
ran
from
1921
until
1938.
She
was
replaced by the Hopewell, which
ran
into
the 1940's.
The ferryboats
were
doomed
by
the
opening
of
the Rip Van Winkle
Bridge
in
1935.
All
this combined
with
the
hundreds
of
sloops,
steamships,
and barges
that
went up
and down the
river
made
this
a very
busy
area
on the
river.
In
the earlier days of
navigation
the lighthouses
on the
Hudson
River
were
shut
down for the
winter
season,
usually
from
December to March
as
ice
made
the
river
impassible.
During
the
winter
the
keepers would
often engage
in
some
seasonal
employment to supplement
the
low
wages that they received
as
a
lighthouse
keeper.
Helping with
the
ice harvest
was a cofirmon
form
of
employment
as
the
keepers
lived
on
the
river.
But in later
years
the
Coast
Guard kept
the
river
open
with
the
use
of
icebreakers. Then the lighthouses
remained
operational
all
year.
The Saturday
Evening
Post-December 28th,
1946
The Hudson-Athens
Lighthouse
By
Mead Schaeffer
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 9/10
THE
FOGBELL
The
above
is
a
picture
of
the original
fog
bell
appaiatus,
which
is
still
operational.
The
first
fog
bells
were
rung
by
hand,
but
around
1860,
the
Lighthouse
Board
installed
mechanisms
to
ring
them
mechanically.
Engines
were
used
at first,
but
the
clock
work'r
system
as we
have
here
(where
the
falling
weight
is the
source
of
power)
was
soon
adopted,
as it
was both
more
practical and
reliable.
: :
The
fog
bell
chores
of
the
light
keepers
improved
with
the installation
of
semi-
automatic
ringing
mechanisms.
The
system
here
in
the lighthouse
is a
weight
and
pulley
escapement*
system
that
used
weights
that
could
be
wound
to
start a
timed
session.
Not
unlike
a
grandfather
clock, the
system
needed
to
be
periodically
rewound
to
insure that
the
fog
bell
continued
to sound
throughout
the
duration
of
fog
conditions.
Should
the
escapement
mechanism
fail,
the
keepers
then had
to
sound the
bell
manually,
and
at
timed
intervals
and
for the
duration
of
the
storm
or fog. Consider
the
conditions
of
this
effort
between
the hard
and seemingly
endless
labor
and
the
close-by
clang
of
the
bell.
This
dedication
to
duty
and
to the
safety
of
others
is
a landmark
of
the
U.S.
Lighthouse
Service
and its
successor,
the
U.S. Coast
Guard.
The
Hudson-Athens
fog
bell
with the
clock
work
apparatus
is
one
of
the few
remaining
in the
United
States.
It
rang
once
every
fifteen
seconds
when
it was
foggy.
By
the
1920's
the
Lighthouse
Service
had
developed
electrically
operated
bells.
The
bell
by
the
front
door
of
the
lighthouse
is
an example
of
this
type
of
fog bell.
The
United
States
Coast Guard installed
it
in the
1940's.
Today,
sirens
along
with diaphones
and diaphragm
horns
are the
principle
sound-
type
fog
signals
used
in
the United
States.
The
last
thirty
or
forty
years
has
seen the
development
of
the
soundless
fog
signal:
the
radiobeacon
and GPS
(Global
Positioning
System),
which
uses
satellites
orbiting
the earth
to
pinpoint
your position.
7/25/2019 Hudson Lighthouse
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hudson-lighthouse 10/10
THE
LANTERN
ROOM
This
is where the
actual
light
of
the lighthouse was. Before modern technology
and the automation
of
this lighthouse,
the keeper
would
have
to
keep
the
light
shining.
Every night he
would
have
to light
the lamps
and make sure that they
burned
brightly
and
did
not run out
of oil.
This
usually
meant several
fiips
a night
up and
down
the
stairs.
During
the hours
of
darkness, the
light
was
never to
go
out
and
if
the
Lighthouse
Service received
complaints
that the
light
was
not
lit
or that
it
was
poorly
lit,
the
lightkeeper would
be in
danger
of
losing
his
job.
In the morning he would
have
to
clean
the
soot from
the lantern
room, clean the
lens,
polish
the
brass, and make
the
lamps
ready
for
the following
night.
This
had to be
done everyday. The lantern
room
as well
as the
entire
lighthouse
was
subject
to
periodical
inspection
by
a
Lighthouse
Service
District
Inspector.
If
all
were not
in ship-shape
the keeper
would
be
writtpn
up
and warned.
If the
lighthouse
continually did
not
meet
the Lighthouse
Service standards,
the
keeper
would
be replaced.
However if all were
well,
he
would
receive
praise
and
usually
a
written
commendation.
The Lighthouse
Service had very
strict regulations
as
to
how
a lighthouse
should be kept.
The
lens,
which
was in
this lighthouse,
is
now at
the
South
Street
Seaport
Museum
in New
York
City.
It
was a
frfth
order lens, being one of
the smallest,
but
could
still be seen some
eight to ten miles
away. The
lights
on the river did not
have
to
be
seen
as
far
away
as those
on the
Great Lakes
or on
the
ocean.
The
original
light
of
this
lighthouse was
a fixed light, which
was changed
to
a
flashing
light in
1926..
Ttre
light
is
54 feet
above sea
level.
Today the
light
is
automated and is turned
on at
night
by means
of a light
sensor.
It
is solar
powered
and maintained
by the U.
S.
Coast
Guard.
The
Hudson'Athens Lighthouse
Preservation Society maintains
the
rest
of
the
lighthouse.
:.:
THE
MIDDLE
GROT]]\[D
FLATS
From
the
lantem
room if
you
look
to
the
north
you
will see
an
island.
The
is the
middle
ground
flats and
the
reason
for the building of this lighthouse.
In
the mid
to
late
1800's this was
just
a mud
flat,
which
was completely submerged at high
tide.
There
are
two
high tides
a
day
as
far north
as
Troy
on
the Hudson River. This
meant
that
twice a
day the mud
flats were under water
and
a
possible
tlreat
to boats navigating
the river.
I
am
quite
sure that
many
a
boat
captain had wished that the lighthouse
had
been
built
much
sooner
that
1874
as
many
ships
found themselves grounded
on
the
mud flats.
Tlrough
the
years
with
dredging
and the depositing
of
the
silt,
the
mud
flats
have
become
an island. The main channel
of the
river is
to the
right
of the
island
towards
the
city
of Hudson.
The channel
on the left towards Athens is also
navigable,
but
only
for
smaller boats.
Today the lighthouse
probably
would
not have had to
been
built
as
the
island is
always
visible.