Review | The Beacons Are Lit: The Lighthouse Keepers of Bakers Island (MA)
While planning day trips to the Essex National Heritage Area, I stumbled upon The Beacons Are Lit: The Lighthouse Keepers of Bakers Island. I was intrigued by the bizarre juxtaposition of a late 18th century lighthouse in Salem, MA and a line from Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King, so I had to further investigate this short online exhibit.
The exhibit begins with a quick review on the history and importance of lighthouses with a special focus on the Pharos of Alexandria in Ancient Greece. Then the exhibit dives right into the importance of the lighthouse on Bakers Island. The current lighthouse is “Pa”, as it was the “husband” of “Ma”, a slightly older and shorter lighthouse next door that was torn down in 1926. Lighthouses have been on the island since 1798, and a keeper was needed to run them. This work was incredibly risky, as third keeper Nathaniel Ward and his assistant Marshall (with no clarity in the exhibit over whether this was a first name or last name) drowned in 1825. A variety of oil paintings and watercolors in this section showcased late 18th century Salem Harbor, while scanned documents included the first commission to construct lighthouses in the United States and the diary of a lighthouse visitor.
Famous boats made their appearance in the exhibit. The USS Constitution, affectionately called “Old Ironsides” had a close call during the War of 1812 just outside Salem Harbor, as a pair of British warships chased her through the water. The lighthouse keeper of Bakers Island, Joseph Perkins, assisted in guiding the boat into the harbor. The merchant ship Union was not so lucky. Its captain was not informed of a change to the light station on Baker Island, replacing a pair of lighthouses with a single lighthouse, and he thought he was landing near Boston Light. Fortunately, Joseph Perkins was still around to help out the crew, and all survived. The peppercorn in the ship’s cargo hold was not so lucky, and I imagine local Salemites had free table pepper for quite some time afterward.
After the American Civil War, Bakers Island became a trendy place for summer relaxation and what we would now call wellness resorts. Keeper Walter S. Rogers was evidence of the health benefits, as in his time as keep, he went from being a sickly 101 pound Civil War veteran to a robust 216 point civil servant. The exhibit included an old photograph of Rogers and a scanned newspaper article including his picture, and he certainly looked bigger and stronger in the later image. The lighthouse went back to its twin light structure, and Rogers added a fog siren in 1907. A few year later, during World War I and the tenure of keepers Arthur L. and Mae Payne, a Naval Reserve unit guarded against German submarines from Bakers Island. The lighthouse and keeper home received electricity in 1938, when the Paynes were still keepers and the Sampson family served as their assistance.
While men were always listed as the keeper, their entire family had a role in running the station. This section contained cute old photographs of lighthouse keeping families, along with a note that Flying Santa dropped presents to lighthouses with children during Christmas. A quick search revealed that this organization began in 1929 and continues to this day, a fun fact that I wish had been included in the exhibit.
The lighthouse was automated in 1972, so a keeper no longer had to live there. By 2014, the U.S. Government did not want the lighthouse and its ten acres of island property and instead gave the entire package to the Essex National Heritage Commission, one of the sponsors of this exhibit. Other sponsors included the Colonel Timothy Pickering Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Salem and the Baker Island Light Station itself.
This was a fun, quick, and relaxing online exhibit about a lighthouse, which is one of my many favorite things. I never figured out why the exhibit curators chose the title that they did, but the actual history and artifacts presented in the scrolling webpage were perfectly edited. I had no difficulty navigating the page or reading the materials. However, none of the images had alt text, so a person using a screen reader could not enjoy this otherwise wonderful exhibit.