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The Eldred Rock Light is an historic
octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...
al
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...
adjacent to
Lynn Canal Lynn Canal is an inlet (not an artificial canal) into the mainland of southeast Alaska. Lynn Canal runs about from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage. At over in depth, Lynn Canal is the deepest fjor ...
in
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. It is the last of the ten lighthouses constructed in Alaska between 1902 and 1906. It was also the last of 12 manned lighthouses that were started in Alaska. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as Eldred Rock Lighthouse.


History

The Lighthouse Board approved plans for a lighthouse on
Eldred Rock Eldred Rock (also known as Nechraje) is an island in the boroughs of Juneau and Haines, Alaska, United States. Located in Lynn Canal, it is southeast of Kataguni Island and northwest of the city of Juneau. This island is the site of the Eldr ...
in 1905 and hoped that the design would be completed before November and the coming of harsh winter weather. However, due to weather, the lighthouse was not finished until June 1, 1906. A fourth-order
Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...
was placed in the lantern room, near the top of the fifty-six foot lighthouse, at a focal plane of ninety-one feet. This unique lens consisted of two bull's-eye panels — one about four feet in diameter and the opposing one a smaller, 14-inch panel. A sheet of red glass was placed between the light source and the larger prism, causing the revolving lens to produce alternating red and white flashes. The light was automated by the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
in 1973 and downgraded to a minor light. In view of Skagway's commercial importance, the United States Board of Light-Houses established four manned lighthouses in Lynn Canal between the years 1902 and 1906. This was nearly half the number of light stations ever located in Southeast Alaska in the 1900s. Commissioned in 1906, Eldred Rock Light Station was the last lighthouse constructed in Lynn Canal; the second station in Alaska with light and fog-signal apparatus and keepers' quarters combined in a single structure; and the first lighthouse in Alaska constructed with concrete. and Nils Peter Adamson was a keeper on Eldred Rock in 1910, when his colleagues (John Currie and John Silander) disappeared during their way with victuals from lighthouse Point Sherman to Eldred Rock. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1975. The original lens was moved to a museum in Haines, Alaska in 1978.


See also

*
List of lighthouses in the United States This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Haines Borough, Alaska This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Haines Borough, Alaska. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Haines Borough, Alaska, United ...


References


External links

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Eldred Rock Lighthouse
at Lighthouse Friends * 1906 establishments in Alaska Lighthouses completed in 1906 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Haines Borough, Alaska Octagonal buildings in the United States {{US-lighthouse-stub