Historic lighthouses of the Bahamas

Elbow Reef Lighthouse in Hope Town

Historic lighthouses of the Bahamas is the title of a cultural site that the American island state of Bahamas has put on its list of proposals for UNESCO World Heritage . The site includes eleven lighthouses that were built between 1836 and 1887 by the British Imperial Lighthouse Service (ILS).

background

The Bahamas were settled by English settlers in the 17th century and became a crown colony in 1717 . During the American Revolutionary War , the islands were a haven for British loyalists who had fled America. At this time, the numerous islands were often shipwrecked . To improve the safety of shipping, lighthouses were built. They were planned by Trinity House in London, built by the British colonialists on site. In the first half of the 20th century, the lighthouses were modernized by the Imperial Lighthouse Service (ILS). Among other things, they received a Fresnel lens , a mercury bath rotating mechanism from Chance Brothers and a petroleum vapor burner with a jacket-burning hood. The ILS carried out the maintenance until the Bahamas became independent in 1973, after which the lighthouses were taken over by the Bahamas Port Department and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force. Eight of the eleven lighthouses were converted to solar and battery operation between 1973 and 1995, and another was automated in 2012.

registration

Bahamas ratified the World Heritage Convention in 2014. In 2015, the first two sites were entered on the Bahamas' tentative list, one of which was Bahamas Historic Lighthouses .

In order to justify the outstanding universal meaning, among other things, the following is given:

British Imperial Lighthouse Service lighthouses have been a constant in the Bahamas' maritime history for over 150 years. They are sources of pride and visible symbols of a maritime nation's unique heritage as well as the nation's colonial past. … These lighthouses embody the country's rich cultural and historical past and play a vital role in the development of the Bahamas and the surrounding colonies.

Entry in the World Heritage List based on criterion (iii) is sought.

(iii): The sprawling array of Imperial lighthouses throughout the Bahama Archipelago testifies to the use of lighthouses in the past and the Bahamas as a maritime nation. The lighthouses are evidence of the continuity of the Bahama Canals as shipping lanes and routes for all nations in and out of the New World.

Lighthouses

The following table lists the individual lighthouses that are part of the cultural site.

Surname	location	built	Tower height	Fire height	Remarks	image
The Elbow Reef Lighthouse	Hope Town Elbow Cay Abaco Islands ( geographic coordinates )	1864	27 m	37 m	With a round tower with gallery painted with horizontal red and white ribbons, a lantern with a gray metal dome, equipped with a rotatable Fresnel lens of the first order. Still operating, the most visited lighthouse in the Bahamas.
Hole-in-the-Wall Lighthouse	Great Abaco Abaco Islands ( geographic coordinates )	1836	23 m	51 m	First lighthouse built by ILS in the Bahamas, red and white round tower, the name referred to a limestone arch near the lighthouse. Still in operation, automated in 1995.
Great Isaac Lighthouse	Great Isaac Cay Bimini ( geographic coordinates )	1859	42 m	46 m	Round tower made of cast iron, painted white, with lantern and gallery.
Great Stirrup Cay Lighthouse	Great Stirrup Cay Berry Islands ( geographic coordinates )	1863	17 m	25 m	White painted brick round tower with lantern and gallery.  Still in operation.
San Salvador Island Lighthouse	Dixon Hill San Salvador Island ( geographic coordinates )	1887	22 m	50 m	White painted round, conical brick tower with lantern and gallery. Still in operation, powered by kerosene and refueled by hand.
Bird Rock Lighthouse	Crooked Island ( geographic coordinates )	1876	30 m	34 m	Round tower painted white with lantern and gallery
Castle Island Lighthouse	Castle Island Acklins ( geographic coordinates )	1868	34 m	40 m	White painted round brick tower with lantern and gallery, equipped with a first-order Fresnel lens.
Cay Sal Lighthouse	Elbow Cays Cay Sal Bank ( geographic coordinates )	1839	18 m	?	Out of service since 1934.
Cay Lobos Lighthouse	Cay Lobos Jumentos Cays ( geographic coordinates )	1869	45 m	44 m	Round cast iron tower painted white with lantern and gallery. Still in operation, automated and solar powered.
Southwest Point Lighthouse	Matthew Town Great Inagua Inagua ( geographic coordinates )	1870	34 m	37 m	White painted brick round tower with lantern and gallery. Still in operation, powered by kerosene and turned with a hand crank mechanism.
Gun Cay Lighthouse	Gun Cay Bimini ( geographic coordinates )	1836	23 m	24 m	Round stone tower in the old style, upper half painted red, lower half painted white, surmounted by a short, square, pyramidal skeleton tower.

See also

• List of lighthouses in the Bahamas (English)

Web links

Commons : Lighthouses in the Bahamas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Historic Lighthouses of The Bahamas on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website for tentative lists.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Historic Lighthouses of The Bahamas. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed June 12, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Tentative List of the Bahamas. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed June 10, 2017 . 

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap