National Lighthouse Day is celebrated annually in the United States on August 7th. This holiday marks the day in 1789 when Congress approved an act to establish and support lighthouses, buoys, beacons, and public piers. Since that time, the United States has constructed more than a thousand lighthouses, light stations, range lights, and pier head lights. … Continue reading Shining a Light on Montauk Point Lighthouse in Honor of Lighthouse Day
Co-written with Amy Edwards The Cartographic Branch holds a wide variety of materials. While working with these documents for reference requests, projects, or research room requests, our staff comes across some very cool and significant documents. Today, we are featuring a few of our favorite records that we've come across this year. We hope that … Continue reading Cartographic’s Favorites of 2017
Many different factors are considered when selecting a series for digitization. Records that are particularly fragile or have high intrinsic value might be digitized to help preserve the originals by reducing the amount of physical handling each item receives. Records that are of high historical value might be digitized for posterity in order to ensure … Continue reading The Digitization of 26-LG
National Lighthouse Day is August 7 and to celebrate, we’re highlighting some architectural drawings and maps relating to lighthouses from our holdings of the Records of the United States Coast Guard, Record Group 26 (NAID 592785). Among these drawings are plans for the lighthouse at Alcatraz Island (NAID 731005). Yes, there's more than a prison … Continue reading Lighthouse Drawings in celebration of National Lighthouse Day
The photographs featured this week come from the series 26-LG "Lighthouses, 1855-1933". Local Identifier: 26-LG-24-8, Photograph of Point Lookout Light Station and Depot in Maryland, July 2, 1885, Photograph by Major Jared A. Smith Local Identifier: 26-LG-22-82B, Photograph of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina, May 20, 1893 Local Identifier: 26-LG-63-2, Photograph of Alcatraz Island Light … Continue reading Images of the Week: Lighthouses 1855-1933
