What are some interesting facts about lighthouses?
First lighthouse - Boston, MA (1716)
Oldest original lighthouse in service - Sandy Hook, NJ (1764)
Newest shoreside lighthouse - Charleston, SC (1962)
Only triangular-shaped lighthouse tower - Charleston, SC (1962)
Only lighthouse equipped with an elevator - Charleston, SC (1962)
Tallest lighthouse - Cape Hatteras, NC (191 ft)
Highest lighthouse (above sea level) - Cape Mendocino, CA (515 ft)
First American-built West Coast lighthouse - Alcatraz Lighthouse (1854)
First lighthouse to use electricity - Statue of Liberty (1886)
First Great Lakes lighthouses - Buffalo, NY & Erie, PA (1818)
Most expensive lighthouse (adjusted cost) - St. George’s Reef, CA (1891)
First lighthouse built completely by the Federal Government - Montauk Point, NY (1797)
Founding of the U.S. Lighthouse Service - 7 August 1789
U.S. Lighthouse Service merged with the Coast Guard - 7 July 1939
Second most powerful lighthouse in the world (and most powerful in the Western Hemisphere) - Charleston, SC (1962)