Established 1820, 58 feet
present tower built 1859.

Though deeply endangered, White Light shines on at the nine rocky Isles of Shoals just 10 miles out from Portsmouth Harbor in New Hampshire. Difficult to reach, it depends now on the fundraising abilities of local kids.

Jeremy's Lighthouse Guide #3

SEE: Update on White Light, Summer 2004

This brick tower stands on the highest part of the southernmost rocky isle in the storied Isles of Shoals. It is best known as the childhood home of poet/author Celia Thaxter, whose father Thomas Laighton was keeper from 1839 to 1847. In Among the Isles of Shoals, Celia described evening on White Island. "High above, the lighthouse rays streamed out into the humid dark," she wrote, "and the cottage windows were ruddy from the glow within. I felt so much a part of the Lord's universe, I was no more afraid of the dark than the wave or the winds."

The last Coast Guard crew left the largely inaccessible when the light was automated in 1986, and the station became the property of the State of New Hampshire. Over the years a spidery network of cracks has developed in the brick exterior, widening and spreading as each winter stages a new assault of wind, waves and ice.

In 2000, North Hampton School teacher Sue Reynolds started an effort to restore the lighthouse. The Lighthouse Kids are a seventh grade community service group, and also a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation. Each year’s seventh graders have given presentations to potential donors as well as selling t-shirts and other items to raise funds. To find out more, visit the Lighthouse Kids web site. Visitors to the Shoals can see this lighthouse best from cruises offered by the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company or Island Cruises, Sue Reynolds’ company in Rye. Fundraising cruises held by the Lighthouse Kids and the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse also pass by.

for much more HISTORY visit Lighthouse.cc
Copyright 2004 by Jeremy D'Entremont, New England Lighthouses
Pictures courtesy of Lighthouse.cc