Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses

T he S crewpile L ighthouse T eam

A scale model of the long gone and almost forgotten James River screwpile lighthouse inspired Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses . The model maker, financial advisor Larry Saint, created the miniature screwpile lighthouse after learning about the lighthouse from educator/artist Karla Smith, who is also chairman of the Suffolk River Heritage Foundation. The popularity of the intricately detailed model evolved into a foundation-sponsored book about screwpile lighthouses. Two other foundation members, retired news journalists John Sheally and Phyllis Speidell, agreed to work with Saint and Smith and encouraged broadening the book beyond the five original James River lighthouses. They found a retired lightkeeper, descendants of other lightkeepers, and scores of other people who are actively working to keep the story of the screwpiles alive. After creating more than a dozen books on a wide variety of subjects, Sheally, a photographer/editor, and Speidell, a writer/editor, are accustomed to winnowing down stacks of research, interviews, and photos to a workable manuscript. However, the mountains of research collected by Smith and Saint and by their own efforts were daunting. Happily, the best and most relevant of the research, images, and graphics rose through numerous edits, meetings, and tough decisions to earn a place in Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses . Larry Saint I started this lighthouse project with the simple thought, “I can do that.” Karla Smith had plans for the Nansemond River Lighthouse that she had acquired from Ron Pack after he built Smithfield Station. At a Suffolk River Heritage meeting at Karla’s house, I noticed the plans and, after the meeting, studied them in depth. I had just completed a Poquoson log canoe model and was looking for a new project. The thought of building a lighthouse model took firm hold of me.

Larry Saint with his model of the Nansemond River screwpile lighthouse

sequence. I decided interior lighting would add more interest for those viewing the model.

The build went smoothly until I carelessly dropped my model, blowing apart the completed foundation! I rebuilt that, and then continued with the deck, the house walls, the windows, and the interior details. I had some difficulty getting the lantern room and roof exactly right. My most interesting challenge was in creating the half inch-scale sixth-order Fresnel lens. I had to first turn a wood form that I would use to cast the Plexiglas lens. After numerous failures in both the turning and casting process, I finally had a good result. The lamp and lens in the model exhibit a white light and I placed red glass panels in half of the lantern windows, leaving the others clear so the viewer could see inside

“I can do that.” Ok, now what?

I settled on one-half-inch-to-the-foot scale because that would yield a model of a manageable size and detailed, accurate parts would be readily available. Some parts were hard to find, such as the scale bronze turnbuckles that tie the pilings together. I made a few sketches to help sort out some of the details as well as the building

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