Lighthouses

"Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power." - Henry George

As we cruise we enjoy spotting lighthouses...we don't go out of our way to go by them, but I do like getting a picture of the ones we get close to. I also enjoy reading about their history and the interesting stories that some of them have. We've spotted 30 new lighthouses so far this year...we head to Maine next week and I hope to add more to our list.

Here's the link to our lighthouse map. Each lighthouse has a picture, but you can see all of the pictures in one place in my Lighthouse Album on Google.

This is what the map will look like when you open it. Click the box on the upper left corner for a drop down for a list of lighthouses we've seen.

Scroll through the list, click on one and it will give you more information and a picture.

 Clicking on the picture will enlarge it. 

Here is just a portion of our lighthouse map. The highest concentration of lighthouses is in New England and Maine. 

Execution Rocks Lighthouse is just one of the lighthouses that has an interesting story. You can read about it below.

Execution Rocks Lighthouse built in 1850 is located in Long Island Sound. It carries a chilling legend of how it received its name. According to folklore, the British avoided public executions in Colonial times because they would inflame the revolutionary spirit of the American people. Instead, they would carry the condemned to these reefs at low tide, chain them to rings embedded in the rock, and wait for high tide to carry out the death sentence. Some say the skeletons were left to torture the minds of the newly condemned as they faced certain death.

The ghosts of the victims later had their revenge when a shipload of British soldiers, sent to pursue Washington on his retreat from Manhattan to White Plains, foundered at the reef and no redcoats survived.

The legend of the executions had such hold, that when lightkeepers were assigned to Execution Rocks, they were under a unique contract. No lightkeeper was to ever feel chained to the reef. Instead of stating a set length of duty, their contract read that their length of service was for as long as they were willing. If for any reason they requested a transfer, it was instantly granted.

A more benign tale of how the place got its name comes from the early settlers of nearby Manhasset Neck who said that many ships were “executed” on the rocks while trying to make their way past the dangerous reef en route to Manhasset Bay.