American Lighthouse Foundation to Apply for
Ownership of Delaware’s Fourteen Foot Bank Light
The American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF),
a national lighthouse preservation organization headquartered in Wells,
Maine, has announced that they will pursue ownership of Fourteen Foot
Bank Light in Delaware Bay through the National Historic Lighthouse
Preservation Act. The lighthouse,
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse
Delaware Bay, Delaware
which was excessed
by the United States Coast Guard through the General Services Administration
on June 13, 2005, is one of many lights nationwide that have been offered to
qualified nonprofit organizations or governmental entities since Congress
created the program when the Act passed in 2000.
ALF, which presently has 22 historic lighthouses under their stewardship and
operates the Museum of Lighthouse History in Wells, Maine, is dedicated to
preserving one of Delaware’s most unique historic treasures for future
generations. The distinctive Classic Revival Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse,
located approximately 3 miles off Bowers Beach, Delaware, was built in 1886
and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, possesses
national significance in engineering due to the distinction of being
America’s first offshore caisson lighthouse constructed using the pneumatic
process. The beacon remains an active aid to navigation for shipping
interests and fishermen in Delaware Bay – protecting mariners from the
dangerous nearby Fourteen Foot Bank, Joe Flogger and Brown shoals.
Today the lighthouse not only serves mariners on Delaware Bay but also the
general public as a marine research platform for the University of
Photo by Duane Perry - courtesy of UDEL
University of Delaware marine scientists
equip a lighthouse in the Delaware Bay with remote-controlled sensors to
monitor tides, salinity, temperature, and other physical properties of
bay waters.
Delaware’s
College of Marine Studies. Fourteen Foot Bank serves as the base of
operations for the University’s Delaware Bay Observing System, which
includes onsite meteorological instruments and water column measuring
systems that continuously collect weather and oceanographic data, which
is then relayed electronically from the lighthouse to the UD College of
Marine Studies.
The American
Lighthouse Foundation is committed to ensuring the University of
Delaware’s vital marine research work continues at Fourteen Foot Bank
Light upon transfer of the historic site should the U.S. Department
of the Interior
approve the organization’s application for ownership. According to ALF
executive Bob Trapani, “Our organization views the wonderful work of the
University of Delaware at Fourteen Foot Bank as key to the present and
future of the lighthouse.” Trapani goes on to say, “ALF’s commitment to
preserving Fourteen Foot Bank Light is greatly enhanced by the marine
research activities of the College of Marine Studies. The University’s
presence adds tremendous value educationally to the preservation efforts of
the historic site, a fact especially important to saving an offshore
lighthouse.”
Nancy Targett, Interim Dean, talks about the importance of working with the
American Lighthouse Foundation, saying, “The University of Delaware has made
a substantial commitment to instrumentation at the Fourteen Foot Bank Light
and would consider it a significant loss to have to relocate this equipment
to another location.”
Targett also comments on the vital location of the lighthouse, saying, “In
addition, data collection at this central point inside the Delaware
Bay is significant because the environmental parameters
change considerably offshore from their values measured on the coast.
Temporal and spatial interpolation models developed by the University of
Delaware scientists require having data points inside the Bay in order
to accurately predict the spatial
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
(L to R) Nancy Targett, College of Marine
Studies Interim Dean and ALF
Executive Director Bob Trapani
value of the
measured parameter over time. Having a continuous data stream from the
Fourteen Foot Lighthouse is essential for accuracy of the system since it
provides such needed measurements.”
By working together, the American Lighthouse Foundation and the University
of Delaware’s College of Marine Studies intend to ensure that Fourteen Foot
Bank Lighthouse continues to serve the public as both a navigational aid and
invaluable platform for education as a marine research facility. Should the
American Lighthouse Foundation receive ownership of Fourteen Foot Bank
Light, the organization will also provide Delaware lighthouse enthusiasts
and civic-minded individuals the opportunity to make a hands-on difference
with efforts to preserve this maritime treasure.
ALF president Tim Harrison comments on the effectiveness of the organization
at saving America’s lighthouse heritage, saying, “ALF has a proven track
record when it comes to lighthouse preservation. Thanks to our dedicated
volunteers and chapters, ALF has recently saved Little River, Rockland
Breakwater and Prospect Harbor lighthouses in Maine, White Island Light in
New Hampshire, Race Point Light in Massachusetts and Avery Point Light in
Connecticut to highlight just a few of our projects.” Harrison goes on to
say, “We believe this diverse experience in preserving both offshore and
land-base lights will greatly aid the preservation of Delaware’s Fourteen
Foot Bank Lighthouse.”
To learn more about the efforts of the American Lighthouse Foundation, email
info@lighthousefoundation.org or
call (207) 646-0245.
