Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses

CHAPTER FIVE DEMISE OF THE SCREWPILE LIGHTHOUSES

Screwpile lighthouses and steamboats, after years of faithful service, gradually became obsolete in the twentieth century. The steamboats, once a major mode of transportation, had almost disappeared after World War II, while automobiles grew more plentiful. Roads and highways improved to meet the demands of a growing population. By the 1950s, passenger steamers and passenger trains faded into nostalgia as both individuals and (to some extent) commerce turned to travel by road. With the advent of improved roads and bridges in the 1920s and 1930s, commercial traffic on the James River declined dramatically even as the improved James River Bridge system enabled the Lighthouse Bureau to better maintain aids to navigation. The majority of light stations had electric service, reducing the number of staff necessary to operate the station and rendering ancillary buildings at many stations, especially shore stations, unnecessary. The makeup of the light station began to change. Improved aids to navigation as well as the widespread use of electric lights and acetylene-fueled lights enabled automation and encouraged the commissioner of lighthouses to reduce costs by replacing staffed lighthouses with automated lights.

In the Fifth District, from 1915 to 1934, 19 lighthouses met their fate—razed, replaced with automated lights, or completely removed. Many shore stations and post lanterns fared similarly as they were discontinued or automated. The savings totaled $101,445 during that period, including $93,000 in salaries for the 66 lightkeepers no longer needed.

Ice floes hastened the demise of screwpile lighthouses

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