Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRace Rock Light RACE ROCK Light (1878) Off Fishers Island, NY by Harlan Hamilton This is the 34th article in a series which appeers monthly In 80sting World Sound Edition about the fascinating lighthouses of Long Island Sound and adjacent waters. The- October Issue will feature an article on North Dumpling Light, one of Long Island Sound's three privately owned lighthouses. The Challenge Race Rock Lighthouse will stand forever as a monument 10 the courage and skill of two indomitable men: Francis Hopkinson Smith, its engineer. and Captain Thomas Albenson Scou, its construction foreman. They built a lighthouse on a location that expertS said was impossible. Their engineering challenge was monumentaL The sile of the proposed lighthouse was a moal of small diameter in the center of which is a boulder known as "Race Rock," a rock 12' long, 4 l/2' wide and 4 112' high. Since it was under water at all tides, lhe rock was a dangerous obstacle to passing vesseJ.s and had been marked for years by a succession of iron spindles which had been carried away by swrms and ice noes. Over this shoal swept a currenl known as "The Race." At rimes it had a velocity of 6 mph on the ebb [ide which made submarine: work dangerous and expensive. It also limit~ ed 'hivers to only abom two hours of work every six hours while the tide was turning. Nonh and southeasters in the spring and fall caused unusual heavy seas when they CUt againsr iliis ride current, and during early spring, large fields of ice floating out of the Connecticut River were caught in its rip and hurled against any construction unfinished and unsupponed at the eod of each working season. Just establishing basic working con- ditions at the site proved difficult, requiring thousands of tons of riprap to secure the work-in-progress from the violent water con- dinoDs. At all times the builders were subject to the whims of nature with her winds, waves and sudden SWalls: Constructing the new lighthouse was not an easy task. The> Builders Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838-1915) was a highly-regarded civil engineer, a good paimer and writer, and much soughl after lec- mrer. In addition to Race: Rock Ugh[, which he considered his greale5t achievement, Smith'built the Block Island breakwater; the foundations for the Statue of llherry in New York Harbor and Penfield Reef Light, Bridgeporr, CT; the sea walls at Tornkinsville, Staten Island, NY and for Governor's Island, also in New York Harbor. For 30 years he was a parmer in me New York: CilY firm of Smith & Symington which engaged in construction work.. chietly for the federal government. In his spare moments, Smith pursued his hobby of painting and was essentially self-Iaught. He was known for his charming watercolors (par- ticularly of Venice) and his charcoal studies. When he r~tired from dIe strenuous life of a mwine engi- neer, SmiTh also mrned (Q writing tiction., One of his mosr popular novels was "Caleb West, Master Diver," published in 1898 by Houghton Mifflin. The novel is a" fictional acCOUnt of the building of Race Rock Lighthouse and is a personal tribute to his mend, Captain Tom Scon, who is the hero of the book. Smith is buried inconspicuously in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY. Sept 2000, S.E.B.W. Captain Thomas Albertson Scott (1830. 1907) was the head of a successful mwine con- tracting and salvage company in New London which survived until his death, Scott was a master diver and did much of the dangerous and difficult submarine work. on many of Smith's marine pro- jects. During his career he performed many acts of heroism and received numerous citations for his bravery during the building of Race Rock: Light. Smith once described him as being. . , "three pans fish and one pari man - - strong as a bull,. clear- eyed, honesl, competent and fearless." Construction of the Light Worle. on the new lighthouse began on Monday, May 6, 1872, by unloading cargoes of riprap from a fleet of "stone" Sloops and placing them on me site. By the end of August, some 10,000 tons of stone had been placed, and an artificial island made in the shape of a turtle's back was completed. But il was nOI until 1874 that Smith and Scott solved me problem of building the foundation of the light- house. No other problem confronted them in me succeeding years of work at the light after they com- pleted this phase ot'their construction. Throughout the building of the Light, work proceeded slowly due to bad wea[her, disputes over the building contract and, at different periods, because of the lack of cemenl of the proper quali~ ty and s[Ones for the pier. In the fall of 1876, the workmen's quaners were damaged Iwice by the Sound during storms, derricks were toppled and, on November 21st; the crib which served as 3.tem- parary lanr;ling wharf, was carried away by high and violent waves. Despite these setback<;, Smith and Scott completed conSlTucrion of the pier on the foundation in 1877. It is 30' high. The Lighl.House Board in Washington approved plans for a two-Story keeper's dwelling in March 1878, but work was delayed until May when the lighthouse tender Mistletoe could deliver the cut stone for the face of the dwelling and lower. Operations resumed on June 11th. The [Ower was completed in December 1878 and firSt showed its beam on New Year's Day 1879. It is wonh Dorin" that it took Smith and Scon only six month: [0 build the keeper's dwelling and [Ower, but six years 10 build the pier and foundation upon which it rested, a funher Indicacion of the difficulties they had to face and surmounr wheo building on water instead of on land, The completed lighthouse cosr the: federal government $365,000, a considerable sum in its day, Its twin, Strarford Shoal, Middleground Light, completc(\ in 1877, but not by Smith and Scan, cost about one-third of what it cost to build Race Rock Light The high cost of the new lighthouse pro~pred the , members of the Light-House Board to look for a more economical way to build lighiliouses on wave-swept sites. 1l1.eir solution was the pre.fabricated, circular cast iron structure which could be produced in quantiry, taken to the site and literally dropped into place for a fraction of the COSI of the old masonry lighr- houses. Orient Point Light, for example, COSt $33,000 to build in 1899. Modem beacons atop sleel skeleton [Owers cost even far less. In 1898, Smith and Scan returned ro rh~ scene of their triumph and were pleased to nOte that the fine joints in the masonry of the pier and keeper's dwelling and tower were as true as the day they had placed them 20 years earlier. Since that time, the lighthouse has survived the Portland gale of 1898 and the New England hurricane of 1938 with only minor structural damage. In the laner storm, tbe lighthouse stood up [Q 175 mph winds, although there were some broken windows. The boat landing was badly damaged, and the station's small boar was swept away, but mere \vas no StrUC- lural damage to the lighthouse. Description of the Light Race Rock Lighthouse was builr in a Gothic Revival sryle, reflecting popular archirectural tllStes of the day. Thus, it is identified clearly as a product of a unique period. ItS hand~ome ~tone work is another tribute 10 its builders, Smirh and Scott. The keeper's dwelling, built on the pier, is, like the (Ower, construcled of granite. The lOwer is 45' high and stands 67' above high water. The pier, upon which the dweJJing and tower rest, is conical in shape, 57' in diameter ar its base, and 30' high above me foundation. Large gran,ire blocks form a thick outer wall; the center is filled with concrete. In the center of the concrere portion Continued on page 6 Page 3 GOOD@ AUTOMATIC ANCHOR WINDLASS 1-800-780-4655 Available through Sea-Curtty Systems 01 NY (631) 226-1616 . -l, .~ .~.~...~. .,6' Free-Drop Rope/Chain Automatic Anchor Windlass F850 Stealth Series Retrieves at 70 lpm (models for boats 24' to 50') ~ Free-Drop Rope Free-Drop Rope/Chain Good. 500 Original 800 Patriot Series Set> Ollr Windlasse$On. Pi~P~fMt;~9~!;~~:tb~tt Norwalk International Boat~1J9V(,ih.~pti,~1~~~it1~~1 Ph: (609) 698-4402..Fiitx::;(60~J~a~6.~J1~' Good@) Autom~tiPW.'.n9J~~~f'!J~~~B~~1 Boat Loans Fixed Rates as low as 8.99% Call Dane Goodson for Details (800) BOAT-LOAN ext. 1 Fax (203) 944-2821 www.firstnewengland.com . ~_ j FIR~i NEW ENGLAND FINANCIAL __ First in Yacht F,nanrp * Rate is based on a 15 or 20 year fixed-rate program wilb a maximl!ID Loan to Valne of 80%. Rates subject to change wilbout notice. Page 6 RACE ROCK Light Continued from page 3 of the pier are a cistern and a cellar. On the north side is a boat slip to provide a landing place. The entire pier is sun'ounded by riprap. To this day, to the credit of its two liule.known builders, Race Rock Light has a high degree of his- toric integrity of which they would be proud. The strUcture is virtually unaltered, and its foundation, walls and roof retain their original form and with the ex.ception of the roof, original materials as well. The original 4th-order Fresnel lens was removed in 1979 and replaced with a DCB.24 rotating nero beacon which, in turn, was replaced by the current solar.pow- ered VEGA Rotating Beacon. The VEGA displays a Flashing Red Light every 10 seconds and is lighted 24 hours; its range is 16 miles. the light's modern fog signnl emits two blAsts every 30 seconds. The beacon was automated in 1978. Keepers Second Keeper (c. 1880-1886) Thomas S. Carroll usually rowed across Long Island Sound from the lighthouse to his home in Noank, Connecticut and returned in me same manner. During a severe storm in early January 1886, after being marooned ashore for several days, he believed it was his dut)' to return to his station even though the storm continued unabated and waves on the Sound were high and dangerous. Keeper Carroll started out bravely, but was soon lost to sight. On TtIucsday, January 14, 1886, his body washed ashore at Groton Long Point, Connecticut. He was 53 years old. When he was a young man, he stowed away on a ship embarking from Dublin~ Ireland and was raised by !he Yankee sea captain of the ves- sei whose home port was Noank. When he was older, Carroll worked as a seaman for several years before joining the Light-House Service. Significance of the Light Race Rock Light ranks among the" most significant of American lighthouses, not only because of the formidable odds against which it was buill and me great expense in its building, but also because it repre- sents the last period of masonry con- struction for wave-swept ~tes. The enormous difficulty of the construc- tion project and its ex.pense moved the Light-House Board to develop the iron caisson foundation, a technique which. by the end of the 1870's, had superceded masonry in marking sllch sites. Th~ lighthouse also represents one of the last aids to navigation pro- jects to follow closely a popular con- temporary architectur<il style, in mis case Gothic Revival. Race Rock Ligh( marked the climax of 19th century masonry lighthouse construction. In addition. Race Rock Light has significance in the history of the eastem Long Island Sound region. Prox..imity [Q the abundant fisheries of the New England coast, as well as the location between the early cemer of population in New England and the middle Atlantic states, had resulted in a rich maritime heritage for this region. Ruce Rock Light figures large- ly in that tradition. because the danger- ous winds, tides and currents around the submerged rock fanned a major naviga~ tiona! problem. Dozens, and perhap.s hundreds of ships were lost at Race Rock before the erection of the light with wrecks averaging one per year in the 1830's, the peak ofwind-powererl trclnS-- ponation.1k prOOigious etfon thm went into building it testilY to me Ught's nav- igational im~la11Ce and to the exrraor- dinary demands of this difficult sUe. ~ ught is one of my castles on ~ Sound. Race Rock Light has ye[ lUlOth. er claim to fame. 11 is significant lIS un example of the stylized lighthouses built in the 18605 and 1870s. However, new lighthouses often 1'01+ lowed a popular contempor'o:U"Y archi- tectural style, ret1ecting the int1uence of the newly.eswblished Light-House Board in 1850. Most of me lighthous- es of that period followed me Second Empire style, such as Stepping Stones Light in western Long Island Sound. The Gothic Revival style of Race Rock Light and Stratford Shoal, Middleground, Light were exceptions. Thus, Race Rock Light was one of the last lighmouses to portray the intlu- ence of a popular contemporary style. Race Rock Lighthouse remains as mute testimony to the heroic efforts of two men, who accomplished the impos!Oible task of building a light+ house on a location where most peo- ple said it could nOl be done. Although the lighthouse is included in (he Inventory of Historic Light Stations, published by me National Park Service, it is still not listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It should be. . Harlan Hamilton.has leclured widely on the lighthouses of Long Island Sound ulld is the author of Lights & LegelUh, 11 guide 10 (hese lights. Autographed copies of his book and information about his emcnaining und informative slide i lecmres may be had b) i calling hin1 at; (212) 535-56~O. I j Sept 2000, S.E.B.W.