JULY DESIGN INTERVENTION – Shedding Light on Shoreline Sentinels

What possible connection could there be between the Battle of Gettysburg and lighthouses?  July 1 – 3, 2013 marked the 150th anniversary of the battle referred to by many historians as “the turning point of the American Civil War.”  Concurrently, July ushers in the traditions of summer including maritime activities and references to nautical architecture.   Lighthouses represent a unique building type in our American heritage and can be discovered along all of our coast lines and freshwater lakes in styles that represent the period of their construction and regional vernacular.  The connection between lighthouses and Gettysburg is fascinating.  Union General George Gordon Meade, as a young lieutenant with the United States Army Corp of Engineers, oversaw the construction of numerous lighthouses along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts including Barnegat Lighthouse on Long Island Beach, New Jersey.

The first North American lighthouse was in St. Augustine, Florida, followed by the Boston Harbor lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in Massachusetts.  To read more of this article, visit Lancaster Newspapers online. 

 Photo Credits:  Istockphoto.com; Wikipedia Commons