Jason Momoa as Flip and Marlow Barkley as Nemo in "Slumberland" (Netlfix) Peter from "Slumberland" joins other lighthouse keepers on screen, such as the lonely keeper in "Latarnik," an adaptation of Henryk Sienkiewicz's famous 1881 novella "The Lighthouse Keeper" and Will Denton, another lonely keeper in the adaptation of Jules Verne's classic 1905 novel "The Lighthouse at the End of the World." A lighthouse located on the northeast coast of Isla Gonzalo, in the Diego Ramirez Islands, remains manned and a meteorological station administered by the Chilean Navy.Īs of 2011, approximately a dozen lighthouses were still manned in France, 62 were manned in Italy and just two were manned in the Netherlands. Elsewhere, approximately 20 lighthouses were manned in Chile as of 2003. Today, most lighthouses in the United States are automated, except for the Boston Light in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, which must be manned according to a 1989 law. In the West, however, keepers were paid $1,000 during the Gold Rush. In the 19th century, the head keeper's pay was between $250 to $600. The first female lighthouse keeper was Hannah Thomas, who took over her husband's position and duties in 1776 while he served in the Revolutionary War.Įarly lighthouse keepers were paid "a lower middle class wage." Worthylake was paid $250 a year, which is equivalent to $16,000 today. 3, 1718, Worthylake, along with his wife and daughter, all drowned after their canoe capsized amid their return to the lighthouse from Boston. In the United States, the first keeper - and the first to die in the line of duty - was George Worthylake. William worked at the South Foreland lighthouse near Dover, England. The earliest official documented lighthouse keeper was named William, who was part of the famed Knott family of keepers. Many responsibilities were altered to include building and buoy maintenance, realigning navigational aids off the coast and technical maintenance on automated systems. Coast Guard in 1939.Īlthough electricity, automations and other technological advancements did away with the need to tend to the lights as diligently as in the past, lighthouse keepers are still needed in some areas to ensure ship safety. As for the care of individual lighthouses, that responsibility was given to the Bureau of Lighthouses in 1910 and then the U.S. In 1896, lighthouse keepers officially became civil service employees. The Lighthouse Service provided keepers with additional guidance in the 19th century, notably with its "Instructions to Employees of the United States Lighthouse Service." The hefty handbook "included instructions for keeping the lighthouse in working order and emergency response, but also instructions about matters of daily life, including standards of conduct and the required use of the official Lighthouse Service uniform." Their duties included completing routine maintenance work, like making repairs preparing to respond to emergencies, like shipwrecks and keeping the light operating, which varied based on geographic location, weather conditions, and other factors. Lighthouse keepers often worked long hours, usually beginning their day before dawn and ending it well past dusk. Their duties also expanded as the job become more professionalized. were employees of the United States Lighthouse Service, which was the first Public Works Act of the first United States Congress. In certain instances, duties were passed from husband to wife, usually when the former died or was incapable of maintaining their position.ĭuring the 18th century, most lighthouse keepers in the U.S. That also meant duties were often passed down from generation to generation, as seen in "Slumberland" when Nemo asks her father why she has to learn math if she's going to take over his role and care for the lighthouse. Before electricity, that meant maintaining the oil lamps (such as trimming the wicks, which inspired the nickname "wickies") and the clockwork mechanisms.īecause of the remoteness and dedication required, lighthouse keepers often lived on location. Historically, lighthouse keepers were essential to keeping the lights on so that ships would have visibility and not wreck. Here's a closer look at the origin of the job and how it has changed: Over the years, lighthouse keepers have been heavily romanticized in Hollywood, despite it being regarded as an isolating profession. Do people still live in lighthouses? Are their duties the same now that technology has taken over? We had questions.
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