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I'm a lighthouse junky

Discussion in 'History Forum' started by Phinvader Bill, Jul 7, 2009.

  1. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    Now, its story time...

    The Cockspur Island Lighthouse was the original marker of the Savannah River. The Tybee Island lighthouse replaced it. The Cockspur Island Lighthouse is less than 2 miles from Ft. Pulaski...

    This is a photo I took of a painting of the fort. The second photo is mine of the front of the fort.
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    Here, you can see the fort in the background behind the lighthouse:

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    This is a photo of the lighthouse from the top of the fort:

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    Anyway, during the Civil War, the Confederates were in Ft. Pulaski, and the Union wanted to take it...Not so much the fort, but the Savannah River. The fort guarded the entrance of the river at the ocean.

    The Union ships showed up, and were pretty much in the same place I was when I took that photo of the lighthouse from the water. A very fierce battle that lasted 2 days took place between the Confederates and the Union. Cannon fire back and forth non stop. This little lighthouse stood directly in the crossfire between the Confederates in the fort and the Union ships...And never suffered a scratch from a stray cannonball. Both sides knew that whoever won would control the entrance to the Savannah River would need the lighthouse. Here's a look at the serious damage that was done to the fort by the Union..Notice the difference of colors in the bricks on the left hand side. The fort was repaired by the Union shortly after they took the fort.

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    Here's a photo of the info plaques I shot that display the damage shortly after the battle.

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  2. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    The Savannah Harbor Light

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    My other photo is of it at night lit up. The Civil War wasn't the first time the Savannah River was battled for. During the Revolutionary War, Old Ft. Jackson was built (before Ft. Pulaski and about 10 miles in from the ocean.) to defend the city of Savannah. Ft. Jackson had done a good job of repelling the English. One night, it was EXTREMELY foggy, and the British sailed 20 ships down river and past Ft. Jackson unseen due to the fog. They sunk them halfway between Jackson and Savannah Harbor. They did it because the French reinforcements were expected within a month. They weren't able to take Savannah Harbor because they didn't have enough ground troops to secure the city once they took the harbor. So, they made it very treacherous to get into the harbor, hoping the French ships would be damaged while trying to come into the harbor. The ships were mostly submerged but people saw them do it. So, they built the Savannah Harbor Light to mark the spot where the ships were sunk. It simply looked like a regular insignificant harbor light, so the British were oblivious to what it was for. So, when the French arrived, they knew about the wrecks, and the light, so each ship was led into the harbor by a rowboat to navigate over the wrecks. Its still operational today.

    Ft. Jackson
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    Here's a photo of the Talmadge Bridge from the top of Ft. Jackson. On the other side of it is the Savannah Harbor. And, there is a huge freighter under the bridge.

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    nice, thanks for the details!!
     
  4. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    just ran across this over at Weather Underground;

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded by: machead Friday July 17, 2009

    Split Rock Lighthouse in Minnesota.

    I just noticed that this thread is in graphics when I tried to find it.. I'm moving it to the "history" forum.


    edit; I just discovered a "catagory" for lighthouses over there.. some interesting shots. BTW, the photo galleries at Dr. Masters joint are as fine as any I have ever perused. This is in addition to it being IMO, the finest weather site on the net.

    http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/imagegallery.html?category=lighthouses
     
  5. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Winter Ice

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    Uploaded by: corlib Saturday January 31, 2004 St Joseph, MI (Current Conditions)
     
  6. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Wow, that's a great pic.
     
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  7. Soundwave

    Soundwave Phins Sympathizer..

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    i was a lighthouse keeper on St Paul's Island in the Cabot Strait, between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland:

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    in the above photo I was located on the small island at the bottom of the picture. here was the station circa 1937:

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  8. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    [​IMG]
    Uploaded by: postpounder Friday July 24, 2009 Marinette, WI (Current Conditions)

    same guy, another view;

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded by: postpounder Thursday July 16, 2009 mainette, WI

    2. postpounder 1:57 PM EDT on July 17, 2009
    This was taken in Memominee, Mi. Looking out on the bay of Green Bay.
     
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  9. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    Soundwave, that is really cool. Do you have anymore photos? There are a couple lighthouse vacations you can take and be a lighthouse keeper at a working lighthouse. I'd like to do that some time.

    Some time after the Falcons game, I may start taking day trips down to the Florida panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to shoot some lighthouses there.

    In January, my wife and I will likely be going to the NC Outer Banks and a couple Virginia lighthouses.
     
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  10. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    I'm headed to northern Michigan next week (Traverse City, Mackinac Island, Upper Peninsula). I'll have some high res. pics for you guys if you want them. We can PM some emails when I get back.
     
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  11. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Thanks Jason, I'm in!

    Hey, you know Sugarcane, Kathy is a uper, lives in Trenary.. ... her old man owns the only bar in town too.. ohh, and they are famous for their winter outhouse races and Trenary Toast
     
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  12. jupiterfin

    jupiterfin Mild Irritant

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    Jupiter Florida
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  13. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    wow, GREAT shot! Thanks.. who do we credit?
     
  14. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Wow, talk about right place at the right time. That is a sweet shot.
     
  15. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Thanks Marty, I knew there was a uper amongst us, but forgot who it was. :up:
     
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  16. jupiterfin

    jupiterfin Mild Irritant

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    Jupiter Florida

    I don't know. I live here in Jupiter, and this picture hangs in my local b-fast joint, so I googled a few keywords and, poof, there it was.
     
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  17. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    well done, thanks!
     
  18. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    That is an awesome shot. I'd like to get one like that.

    ...Or especially this:
    [​IMG]

    Its a Titan rocket and the Cape Canaveral lighthouse. I WISH I took that photo. lol
     
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  19. Soundwave

    Soundwave Phins Sympathizer..

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    i forgot to include the site link: http://www.stpaulisland.net/

    i don't have any of my personal pictures unfortunately.
     
  20. Ducken

    Ducken Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Lower Delaware
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  21. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    While reading the history of this light, I came upon this gem.

    I was like, Holy Crap. He was doing WHAT? A portage across all of Canada sounded good right about then. :lol:
     
  22. Ducken

    Ducken Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Yeah that was pretty crazy. And to resupply and keep going not sure if he was playing with a full deck.
     
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  23. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    As promised......

    Well, a couple months ago I promised to get some lighthouse pics for some of you during my trip to Michigan in August. I thought I'd better get off my lazy arse and finally post them. I'll post three of each, and like I said in July, if you want the hi-res versions, just pm me your email, and their yours!

    I got most of them from Frankfort up to the Mackinac Straits. Because of time restraints, we didn't really get to the upper peninsula except for the ferry to Mackinac Island. I really wanted to see Lake Superior, but next summer, we will be spending lots of time at Pictured Rocks, and Isle Royale. Can't wait for that one!

    This will have to be in multiple posts, but without further ado....


    Frankfort North Breakwater Light
    The top portion of this light is the original. You can see where itt was stacked on top of the newer part where the door and windows are.

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    Point Betsie Lighthouse
    This is considered the most photographed lighthouse on Lake Michigan.

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    Grand Traverse Light
    This is at the extreme tip of the beautiful Leelanau Peninsula, and marks the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay. This Lighthouse is in a very tight space, and had very limited angles to take shots, sorry.

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  24. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Old Mission Lighthouse
    This lighthouse is smack-dab on the 45th parallel. Halfway between the equator and the north pole. It is on the Old Mission Peninsula which jutts up from Traverse City, into Grand Traverse Bay. This peninsula is absolutely georgous. Beautiful homes and vineyards abound.

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    Lots of critters in the weeds, so I included an extra pic of me doing my best Steve Irwin impression. :shifty:

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    Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
    This light is on the Mackinac Straits, which connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. I took one of the pics from behind the light, so you can see the famous Mackinac Bridge in the background.

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    Well, there you go. Hope some of these may be good enough for your collections!
     
  25. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Grand Traverse is beautiful, thanks for sharing the images. I think I have seen the Frankfort North Breakwater Light over at weather underground in their photo gallery. I feel "accomplished" when I start recognizing lighthouses outside of Florida...

    low standards eh.. :cry:
     
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  26. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Never. Especially not for a history buff like yourself. :up:
     
  27. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Speaking of history buffs..I received from a friend this morning a link to some articles written by one of her relatives, J.G. Braddock, that you might find interesting. Her family and mine became friends in 1872 and they were instrumental in the settling of Indian River and the treasure coast of Florida. The "Houstons" that settled here in Florida are the "get" of John C. Houston, brother to the famous Texan Sam Houston. Here is the link;

    http://www.woodenshipsironmen.com/Articles/Articles.htm
     
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  28. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Haha! Looe Key! As you may already remember, I was a captain in the Lower Keys for almost 10 years. I ran many a dive charter to Looe Key. During my initial spiel, I would talk about the HMS Looe and all, but I had no idea about all those events leading up to its demise. Nor did I know another vessel grounded along with it!

    Wooden Ships Ironmen looks like a pretty awesome read. I'm such a sucker for an old wooden ship, or an old steam locomotive.
     
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