Journal of the Light Station at Cape St. Elias Construction, 1915-1916

Collection

Identifier: MS 274

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains two journals that document the construction of the Cape St. Elias Light Station. One journal contains only penned records of each day’s work. The other journal contains photographs with penned captions.

Dates

1915-1916

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Request for permission to publish or reproduce material from the collection should be discussed with the Librarian.

Historical

In October of 1913, Congress appropriated $115,000 for the construction of a permanent lighthouse on Cape St. Elias.

A party of six men, supervised by engineer Harry Fuller, landed on Kayak Island on May 13, 1915, to set up camp and conduct a topographic survey of the site in preparation for the imminent construction of the lighthouse.

Superintendent Ralph Tinkham arrived at the island on June 1, 1915, from Ketchikan with lumber, skilled labor, provisions, and a cook. F.J. Dohrer would serve as the project foreman. Superintendent Tinkham spent five weeks on the cape finishing his designs for the station’s structures and selecting their locations. The lighthouse was built on a terrace, forty-two feet above the water, and consisted of a two-story, twelve-foot-square tower attached to the southwest corner of the one-story, 25′ X 36′ fog signal building.

The Cape St. Elias Light Station was lighted September 16, 1916. It projected 300,000 candlepower with a range, due to its elevation, of about 15 nautical miles.

Information from: LighthouseFriends.com - http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=830 “Alaska Lighthouse Tales” by Shannon Lowry; Alaska Magazine, October 1990, Volume 56 No. 10, pgs. 30-45

Extent

2 Volumes : 1 Phase box ; 2 Journals, black and white photographs

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was presented by District 17, U.S. Coast Guard May-June, 1959. Acc. # 12787. The collection was cataloged as VK 1025.S256 Vol. 1-2 Oversize until April 2013, when it was re-categorized as a manuscript collection.

Processing Information

One journal has had some restoration work done to its binding. The journals are stored in a custom phase box.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title: Finding aid for the Journal of the Light Station at Cape St. Elias Construction, 1915-1916
Status: In Progress
Author: Processed by: Sara Bornstein, Apr. 2013 ; Revised by: Jacki Swearingen, Apr. 2013 ; ArchivesSpace finding aid by: Sandy Johnston
Date: 2019 June
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: Undetermined
Script of description: Code for undetermined script
Language of description note: English