National Lighthouse Day Trivia Questions

Early lighthouses burned whale oil, then lard oil, kerosene, and finally electricity. The first electric lighthouse in the US was the Statue of Liberty in 1886.

Lighthouses come in many colors and patterns, like the black-and-white of Cape Hatteras or the solid white of Portland Head. Stripes are not universal.

Over 700 lighthouses still exist in the US, and about 400 remain active aids to navigation, though most are automated and unmanned.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina is the tallest brick lighthouse in the US at 210 feet. It was moved inland in 1999 to protect it from erosion.

Congress established National Lighthouse Day on August 7, 1989, marking the 200th anniversary of the 1789 Lighthouse Act, which placed lighthouses under federal control.

The first US lighthouse was Boston Light in Massachusetts, built in 1716, not Maine in 1790. Boston Light is still operational and automated.

Most lighthouse keepers were phased out by the 1950s due to automation. The last civilian keeper left Boston Light in 1998, but families rarely lived on-site after the 1960s.

From 1886 to 1902, the Statue of Liberty functioned as a lighthouse under the US Lighthouse Board, with its torch visible for 24 miles.