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Alaska’s oldest original lighthouse opens for future generations, honors maritime history
- Jasz Garrett
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
The 120th anniversary of Eldred Rock Lighthouse celebrates all who volunteered to save it
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
“Restore, preserve, share” is the motto of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association. After 10 years of massive volunteer efforts, the nonprofit organization shared the restoration of Alaska’s oldest original lighthouse on May 30 for the first time.
It was also the first trip to Alaska for some visitors, including the great-grandchildren of Nils Peter Adamson, the lightkeeper when Eldred Rock first opened in 1906. The lighthouse was constructed after a shipwreck tragedy during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Doug Adamson waited eagerly to see the lighthouse with his sister aboard the M/V Seawolf, donated by Goldbelt Transportation for the journey. They traveled from Washington state to take part in the grand opening ceremony.
“This is incredibly important for our family, something that’s been part of our family story for a very long time, and something we've heard about,” Doug Adamson said. “Our whole family has a history of mariners.”
He paused as the lighthouse came into view over calm seas, his eyes filling with tears at the sight. Doug Adamson said he is hopeful the lighthouse will be something people can enjoy for years to come.
“What’s more important is a salute to all the volunteers who have kept this piece of American history preserved and going for future generations,” he said. “Something like this doesn’t happen without sweat, equity. Something like this doesn’t happen without coordination and a lot of love, and absolute love for our country and absolute peace.”
On the ride back, Doug and Tainya Adamson gifted their great-grandfather’s flag from when he was the keeper to a future planned maritime museum at Eldred Rock, along with a post lantern.
“He left Sweden when he was 14 years old, and he got on a wooden boat and sailed around the world as a mariner, and so he had done a lot of work in the sea,” Doug Adamson said. “It’s in our veins, it's in our DNA. For him to get the lead opportunity to come up here and be the lead lightkeeper when it first opened was a great privilege for him.”
He said while the lighthouse is a part of a family story, the reopening of Eldred Rock “belongs to everyone here in Alaska, belongs to everyone in the country.”
The grand opening ceremony
The siblings were among 74 people making their way to the small, isolated Eldred Rock island in Lynn Canal, about 55 miles northwest of Juneau and 17 miles south of Haines. There were also 24 people on the M/V NW Adventurer and three on the M/V Cleat, donated by the Marine Exchange of Alaska.
There was a slight hitch in plans as the dock’s gangway hadn’t arrived from Skagway yet due to weather delays, meaning only some people landed on the island for the grand opening. It was reminiscent of the biggest challenge in restoring Eldred Rock Lighthouse — getting there.
“It’s very remote, the weather can be pretty tricky there, and so really the crux is always like, ‘How can you get people safely on and off?’” said Jonathan Wood, who has been a treasurer for the lighthouse’s board for several years.
Two boat transfers donated by the Marine Exchange shuttled guests ashore for a ribbon-cutting and flag-raising ceremony. Ed Page, the founder of the Marine Exchange and president of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation, said it was the biggest group of people he shared the experience with.
“I wish we could have shared it more and wish everybody could get on it, but some things we hoped were in place were not in place,” he said. “It’s just difficult. But having that many people get excited to see a lighthouse and enjoy it and also see some whales in the process — and to be able to put the flagpole up and raise the flag was really cool.”
Page said the flags being raised mean the lighthouse has come alive.
“If the flag’s up, someone’s there,” he said. “To have the boats blowing their horn and we’re cheering, that was so cool. It was just making the dream come true. It’s a dream I had for 10 years that suddenly actually came true.”
Page danced atop the lighthouse outside its newly renovated lantern room after cutting the ribbon, officially opening it to the public. The lighthouse will be open May through September for day tours and overnight rentals, with at least one caretaker on the island at all times.
People can host special events such as weddings at Eldred Rock. An artist retreat by Rachel Levy has already been scheduled for August.
As of Thursday, the gangway still hadn't been installed due to the gantry needing to be set to avoid damage from cruise ship wakes. The M/V NWAdventurer offers a water-based tour of the lighthouse and other tours will be arranged via helicopter. Likewise, renters can charter a helicopter, landing craft, or a drop-bow drop off. Retreats will be arranged on a case-by-case basis, according to Sue York, the board's executive director.
The association continues making a boathouse safe for kayakers to rest in. The island also boasts a paint and carpenter shed.
Page saw Eldred Rock’s deteriorating condition during a kayak trip in 2008 and allocated over $100,000 of Marine Exchange finances and resources to help reopen the lighthouse. In 2016, extreme weather damaged the lantern room. The captain's deck peeled back and the railing fell apart, causing water to roll into the building all winter.
“It would have crumbled to the ground,” he said.
The Marine Exchange installed an extensive Automatic Identification System vessel tracking system and weather stations at several Alaska lighthouses, including Eldred Rock.
“This one we saw nobody was paying attention to, no one’s protecting it, and we thought, ‘It has an opportunity to be restored,” Page said. “Some are too far gone — but this one has the opportunity to be restored. So it’s worth the effort — we think we can pull it off.”
And they did. But not without help.
Page estimated that in the last decade, almost a million dollars went into supplies and transportation — plus thousands of hours of volunteer effort. He said several people who helped fundraise have passed away, including his friend, retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brian Peterman.
“It really makes it feel like we followed through with what he did for us,” he said, adding the names of Peterman’s grandchildren will be on the replaced windows.
Page said the common mission of making the lighthouse safe to visit tied communities together in northern Lynn Canal.
“It’s our lighthouse,” he said.
Natural rewards for volunteers willing to brave the wild
Sky Skiles from Haines was one of the last people leaving the island on May 30, even though she had been there the longest of any grand opening guest.
Her 10-day volunteer stint was full of final tasks to ensure the lighthouse was ready, including painting, cleaning and working on concrete walkways. Most of those days were cold and windy, but the day of the ceremony, sunlight shone into her bedroom window.
“This is a rather unique lighthouse in that the light and the housing and the mechanical is all in the same building, so that’s what made it really special, and something really to be saved,” she said.
Lutak Lumber and Supply Inc. in Haines and Valley Lumber in Juneau each donated enough wood for four bunk beds. Skiles sanded, sawed and filled the wood for the beds available for those renting rooms overnight. She said benches will be built with the remaining wood.
Kyle Bishop joined Skiles in finishing preparations for the opening day. He spent a week on the island painting and cleaning, assembling dock panels, and installing three composting toilets.
“It’s just been really overwhelming to see how much passion and how much enthusiasm there is for this place all over Southeast Alaska,” he said. “A very deep volunteer pool and a lot of people really excited to see it, and excited to help out too.”
Bishop has spent two and a half years on the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association’s board of directors as the Gustavus representative. He said it has been his dream to volunteer since his first kayak trip in 2012.
Bishop said his motivation to help came from a combined affinity for the lighthouse and historic preservation work with the National Park Service. As a bonus, the trip offered a lunch break with a view of orcas.
“It's been exhausting, rewarding, and everything I hoped it would be,” Bishop said. “I want to come back out here with the family, spend a couple weeks out here every summer, keep chipping away at the ever-long to-do list.”
Eldred Rock has electricity and a rain catchment system to supply water to three tanks. The remote lighthouse even has Starlink. But donations and volunteers are still needed for ongoing maintenance.
Bishop said while the lighthouse is livable and clean, there are possible solar and generator upgrades planned, along with improvements to plumbing, safety guardrails, and more painting and carpentry.
“We’re fully done with remediation, so the asbestos is all clear and remediated, which is a huge, monumental achievement,” Bishop said.
Eldred Rock Lighthouse still functions as an aid to navigation, but was decommissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1972 as technology evolved. Dave Seris, who works for the Waterways Management Branch of the Arctic District, said about 1,300 navigation aids are maintained in Alaska.
“For decades, the Coast Guard has been looking to get out of the lighthouse business because they're really expensive to maintain,” he said. “So we're actually very excited to see the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Society and the Marine Exchange working together to take care of some of the maintenance that we can’t keep up with.”
He said after the lighthouse cleared its safety and environmental inspections, the Coast Guard officially began transferring ownership to the Haines-based nonprofit organization. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation also had to sign off.
“From seeing this and comparing to what it looked like 15 years ago, I’m fantastically pleased with seeing what a good job they're doing,” Seris said. As a civilian, he joined two active Coast Guard members and many retirees on the trip.
Pyramid Abatement had five crew members remediating asbestos and lead paint over the past four years in week intervals. Quaid Vinje and his 12-year-old son, Elias Vinje, recalled packing mishaps on their way back. They advised future overnight guests to dress in warm layers.
“The challenges that were given in the situation, you couldn't prepare for, and then it just ended up always working out perfect,” Quaid Vinje said. “It got easier every time we went out. Getting to see all the wildlife that was out there was pretty interesting. I mean, you’d be sitting there watching the sunset, and then all of a sudden whales would go whizzing by.”
He said the highlight from this spring was the aurora making an unexpected appearance.
“It’s quiet. I like the view of the mountains,” Elias Vinje chimed. “The sunset’s also pretty nice.”
After working more than a dozen hours, Skiles said she’d relax by watching the sunset from the lantern room. She took one last gaze at the ocean before leaving, trying to spot the bald eagle she had become acquainted with. Instead, she spotted an oyster catcher and two seals before saying goodbye.
“Until next time,” Skiles said.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
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