On October 17, 1804, a plantation owner on St. Simons Island, Georgia, deeded four acres of his land at the south end of the island for one dollar to the Federal government for the construction of a lighthouse. The first lighthouse and a one-story frame residence were built in 1810 at a cost of $13,775. The lighthouse tower stood 85 feet high and was in the shape of an octagonal pyramid. It was 25 feet in diameter at the base and gradually narrowed to 10 feet in diameter at the …

The St. Augustine Lighthouse sits on the north end of Anastasia Island in St. Augustine, Florida. The current tower, which was built in 1874, rises to 165 feet above sea level. The original lighthouse, built in 1824, was approximately 500 yards northeast of the current lighthouse. Due to the receding shoreline, it fell into the ocean back in 1880.
Throughout its early history, the lighthouse employed up to three lightkeepers at a time. There was a head keeper and two assistants. In 1955, when the lighthouse was automated, there was no …

Way up in the northeastern corner of the U.S, perched high on its own little barren island made of rock, sits Sequin Island Lighthouse. This lighthouse, located at the mouth of the Kennebec River in Georgetown, Maine, is the second lighthouse that was ever built in Maine and is one of the oldest in the U.S. The little island of rock, located in an area that is frequently shrouded in fog — an average of 2,734 hours of fog every year — and hammered with cold, high winds, seemed almost …

Located on the land protruding from the eastern shore of Lake Huron in Michigan, you’ll find the Presque Isle Lighthouse. The name Presque Isle comes from the French term that means “almost an island.” Congress appropriated $7,000 to fund the construction of the lighthouse in 1838 and construction started shortly thereafter and the lighthouse was completed in 1840.
The original Presque Isle Lighthouse tower stood 30 feet high with four foot thick walls at the base. Inside was a hand-cut stone stairway that spiraled around the interior wall of the tower …

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Named for the Spanish sailor Don Bruno Heceta who discovered the location in 1755, the Heceta Head Lighthouse sits in a beautiful location on the coast of Oregon just north of Florence. Formerly known as Devil’s Elbow State Park, the arrea includes the cove south of the lighthouse and the lighthouse itself, the area was renamed Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint. From the head keepers house, perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, you get a magnificent view of the water and the beach below. Because …

The Queen Mary has been a permanent feature in Long Beach, California for a couple fo decades and is one of the most famous cruise ships of all time. The ship has become a hotel, museum and popular tourist attraction, and the historic ship is internationally recognized and attracts thousands of visitors every year. Besides the living guests, the ship is said to play host to several ghosts. It has been speculated that the Queen Mary might be one of the most haunted places in the world. Reports say that …

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Located in San Francisco Bay with a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco, you’ll find perhaps the most famous prison in the world. Alcatraz, nicknamed “The Rock”, was originally known as “La Isla de los Alcatraces” or “The Island of the Pelicans” because of its appearance as a barren white rock. The white was caused by pelican droppings, hence the name. It served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal prison until …