The Tchefuncte River Range Lights are a range that was first established in 1838 to aid vessels entering the Tchefuncte River from the north side of Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. The lighting apparatus was supplied by Winslow Lewis and consisted of nine lamps with several fourteen-inch reflectors. The original rear tower suffered during the Civil War and was replaced with the current tower in 1868. The new tower, ten feet taller than the first, was built on the same foundation, using some of the same brick. It was given a lantern which had been removed from Cat Island Light in Mississippi.
 | |
| Location | St. Tammany Parish, US |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 30°23′N 90°10′W / 30.38°N 90.17°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1838  |
| Tchefuncte River Range Rear Light | |
 | |
| Construction | brick (tower), stone (foundation) |
| Automated | 1952 |
| Height | 16 m (52 ft) |
| Shape | conical |
| Markings | white (tower), black (vertical stripe), black (lantern) |
| Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| Fog signal | none now, bell in past |
| First lit | 1868 |
| Focal height | 49 ft (15 m) |
| Lens | 5th order Fresnel lens (original), 9.8 inches (250 mm) (current) |
| Range | 15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) |
| Characteristic | Iso W 6s |
Tchefuncte River Range Rear Light | |
| Nearest city | Madisonville, Louisiana |
| Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
| Built | 1867 |
| NRHP reference No. | 86001684[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 14, 1986 |
| Tchefuncte River Range Front Light | |
| Shape | Skeleton tower |
| Markings |  KRW |
| Focal height | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Lens | fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Characteristic | Q W |
The rear tower has a black vertical stripe to serve as the range line in daytime.[2][3][4] It sits on a spit of land, but is accessible only by boat. The front tower is marked with a standard USCG KRW daymark, with a red stripe between two white stripes. It is a skeleton tower and sits in open water.
The rear tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The Maritime Museum Louisiana is making efforts to restore and stabilize the light.[5]
-
1937 -
1918 -
1905 -
The original tower, c1860
See also
edit- West Rigolets Light former lighthousd also in St. Tammany Parish
- National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
References
editThe Light List [2] spells the river name "Tchefuncta", but that's in conflict with the U.S. Board on Geographical Names [6]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b Light List, Volume IV, Gulf of Mexico (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 84.
- ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Louisiana". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ (2010-01-06). "Lighthouses of Louisiana". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ "The Tchefuncte River Light Station". Maritime Museum Louisiana. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
- ^ "Feature Detail Report for: Tchefuncte River". USGS Geographic Names Information System. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
External links
edit
Media related to Tchefuncte River Range Lights at Wikimedia Commons
