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The Guard Island Light is a lighthouse on a small island near the entrance to the
Construction of the Guard Island Lighthouse began in the summer of 1903 and was completed by September 1904. The wooden tower housed a fourth order 
Lighthouse Friends — Guard Island Lighthouse
* {{authority control 1904 establishments in Alaska Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Lighthouses completed in 1904 Lighthouses completed in 1924 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska
Tongass Narrows
Tongass Narrows is a Y-shaped channel, part of Southeast Alaska's Inside Passage. The waterway forms part of the Alaska Marine Highway and as such, is used by charter, commercial fishing, and recreational vessels, as well as commercial freight b ...
, in Clarence Strait
Clarence Strait, originally Duke of Clarence Strait,Statement of f ...
in southeastern Alaska. The western entrance to the Behm Canal Behm Canal is a natural channel in the Alexander Archipelago, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alaska.
About long, Behm Canal separates Revillagigedo Island from the mainland. From the Clarence Strait, Behm Canal extends north and n ...
also lies nearby.
History
The lighthouse location was prioritized sixth in a 1901 study of 15 Alaska proposed sites. It would assist shipping along Southeast Alaska'sInside Passage
The Inside Passage (french: Passage Intérieur) is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeaste ...
, at the north end of the Tongass Narrows
Tongass Narrows is a Y-shaped channel, part of Southeast Alaska's Inside Passage. The waterway forms part of the Alaska Marine Highway and as such, is used by charter, commercial fishing, and recreational vessels, as well as commercial freight b ...
, "one of the more difficult passages along the route" of Klondike Gold Rush-related shipping to Juneau
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...
and to Skagway
The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with ...
. and
Construction of the Guard Island Lighthouse began in the summer of 1903 and was completed by September 1904. The wooden tower housed a fourth order Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships."
The design allows the c ...
that produced a fixed white light. However, the wood used for Guard Island Light Station, as well as for several other Alaskan lighthouses, soon deteriorated in the harsh weather conditions. By the 1920s, all the lighthouses except Eldred Rock
Eldred Rock (also known as Nechraje) is an island in the boroughs of Juneau and Haines, Alaska, United States. Located in Lynn Canal, it is southeast of Kataguni Island and northwest of the city of Juneau. This island is the site of the Eldr ...
were falling apart, and in 1922, Congress authorized the reconstruction of Guard Island Light. In 1924, the dilapidated light tower was replaced with a new single-story rectangular tower of reinforced concrete. The station was automated by the Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
in 1969.
The lighthouse was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2004. The listing includes one contributing building
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...
, one contributing structure, and one contributing site
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...
on a area.
See also
*List of lighthouses in the United States
This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present l ...
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska
__NOTOC__
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Ketchikan ...
References
External links
*Lighthouse Friends — Guard Island Lighthouse
* {{authority control 1904 establishments in Alaska Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Lighthouses completed in 1904 Lighthouses completed in 1924 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska