Lighthouses of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin - Part B
Informed by a so-called “backdoor” to the Mississippi Sound from the Mississippi River by native Indians in 1699, d’Iberville traveled through what is now known as Bayou Manchac (Iberville named it the d’Iberville River at the time) into first one lake and through a pass into a second lake. He named the former, Lake Maurepas, and the latter, Lake Pontchartrain. While not named by d’Iberville, the pass became known as Pass Manchac. Ship captains used this route extensively subsequent to its discovery, but it wasn’t until 1837 that Congress appropriated $7000 to build a lighthouse marking the pass from Lake Pontchartrain into Lake Maurepas and thence into the Mississippi River. The original lighthouse, completed in 1839, was constructed as a conical tower of inferior materials that deteriorated rapidly requiring it to be rebuilt in 1842. Unfortunately, more serious stability problems began to beset the lighthouse, specifically undermining its foundation by the waters of Lake Pontchartrain. This required yet another lighthouse to be constructed at the site. This version of the lighthouse was constructed of cypress harvested from the nearby swamps and consisted of a two-story Victorian house with a 45-ft tower at its center. Unfortunately, it suffered from being built too close to the water that soon encroached on the structure requiring yet another replacement structure as of 1855. Thus, in 1856, Congress appropriated $10,000 to underwrite the cost of new construction.
In an effort to avoid problems with future flooding, a site some 200-ft northwest of the present site that had not been subjected to flooding was selected. Illustrated to the right, the new design was a 1 ½ story brick and mortar house with a connected tower of similar height and construction. Fourth order Fresnel lens were installed in the tower but were removed by Confederate forces in 1861 for safe keeping. Damage sustained during the Civil War required extensive repairs including replacement of the lantern and installation of fifth order Fresnel lens, but the lighthouse was back in service by December 1865.
Despite the previous attempts to isolate the lighthouse from flooding and undermining problems, they persisted, resulting in the construction of a 200-ft driven pile breakwater barrier. The barrier was effectively breached during the Hurricane of August 1888 requiring remedial construction including the placement of rockfill behind the breakwater barrier. A fog bell was added to the tower in 1898 to aid mariners during conditions of low visibility.
Similar to the story of the female keeper at the Port Pontchartrain Lighthouse, Mary Succow (1844-1911) served nearly 37 years as the lighthouse keeper at Pass Manchac. The Succow family lived at the lighthouse for over 50 years. Originally, Mary’s husband Anthony served as the keeper starting in 1868. Upon his death in 1873, Mary assumed the lighthouse keeper position as was consistent with the policy of the US Lighthouse Service at the time. In her letter of resignation in 1909, she touted her son Hugo as an able replacement keeper citing his efforts over the years as well as his knowledge. Apparently, the Lighthouse Board found her rationale convincing because Hugo was appointed as Mary’s replacement in that same year and remained in that position until 1921. The previous photo is of the lighthouse and dwelling as they stood in 1914. The precarious condition of the various structures is clearly evident.
The lighthouse was automated in 1941 at which time the dwelling was abandoned. In 1956, the dwelling was demolished to prevent unwelcome occupants. Efforts were initiated to stabilize and restore the lighthouse but in removing the lantern room, it broke in two. Efforts to stabilize the remaining tower were undertaken in 2002 at which time it was now located some 1,000 ft from shore. While withstanding the forces of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the tower finally toppled into the waters of the Lake during Hurricane Isaac in 2012.
On a positive note, the lantern room of the lighthouse was restored and is on display at the Maritime Museum Louisiana in Madisonville. The Pass Manchac Lighthouse is the last of the five lighthouses located on Lake Pontchartrain that are addressed in Parts A and B of the Maritime History Briefs on lighthouses. The remainder of the lighthouses to be considered are located outside of the Lake.
Two lighthouses were located in the Rigolets, one at the east end and one at the west end. Let’s consider the lighthouse located at the west end first. It should be recalled that the Rigolets is a natural channel or bayou connecting Lake Pontchartrain with Lake Borgne and subsequently with the Mississippi Sound. Its existence was revealed to d’Iberville by native Indians as early as 1699.
Congress authorized the construction of the lighthouse in 1831 but it wasn’t actually built until 1855. It was located to mark the entrance to the Rigolets from Lake Pontchartrain. It stands unique in lighthouse history as being the only lighthouse for which the keeper was murdered. At the beginning of the Civil War, the light was extinguished but relit by Union forces in November 1962 with a ship’s lantern. Two days later the keeper, Thomas Harrison, was found shot to death. Notwithstanding that tragedy, the lighthouse was renovated a year later, and its light equipped with fifth-order Fresnel lens. Similar to the other lighthouses in the Basin, the West Rigolets Lighthouse was damaged on a regular basis by hurricanes necessitating the need for repairs and new breakwaters. It was finally deactivated in either 1939 or 1945 depending on the reference source. Its condition continued to deteriorate until 2005 at which time it was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
The East Rigolets Lighthouse was located at the entrance to the Rigolets from Lake Borgne, specifically on Rabbit Island at the mouth of Pearl River. At the time, Rabbit Island was known as Pleasonton’s Island after Stephen Pleasonton who oversaw the operations of the US Treasury Department’s Lighthouse Establishment. Authorized in 1831, it wasn’t constructed until two years later. Commonly known as Pleasonton’s Light, the conical masonry tower reached some 60 ft above the elevation of the island. The lighthouse was originally equipped with ten Argand lamps with reflectors that were later replaced with fourth-order Fresnel lens. Like other lighthouses in the South, the light was extinguished at the beginning of the Civil War but was relit in 1862. A new lantern room was added in 1868 that required rebuilding the top of the existing tower. However, only a few years later the lighthouse was deemed unnecessary and permanently extinguished in 1874. It remained as a landmark for many years but was sold to private interests in 1923 and ultimately destroyed, a sad end to an iconic structure.
Constructed at the entrance to Bayou Bonfouca in 1848, the lighthouse was destroyed in 1862 by Confederate forces during the Civil War. The keeper at the time, Vincenzo Scorsa, was captured and incarcerated only to subsequently escape. As originally configured in the 30-ft tower, the light was provided by four small lamps in a 3 ft x 6 ft lantern. In 1857, the lantern was replaced by a light equipped with 5th Order Fresnel lenses. Given the location of the lighthouse in reference to the Rigolets, the major channel in the region, the light did not need to be seen from more than five miles.
It wasn’t until 1875 that a replacement lighthouse was constructed. But rather than Bayou Bonfouca, the replacement lighthouse was located at Pointe Aux Herbes (see illustration below). This action resulted in relegating Bayou Bonfouca to a secondary port. At the new location, the lighthouse could serve to guide vessels traversing either the Rigolets or Chef Menteur Pass, both of which were principal passages from the Mississippi Sound to Lake Pontchartrain. Both passages are labeled on the illustration. The light was located in a 38 ft tower and equipped with 5 th Order Fresnel lens. The light was not deactivated until 1945. A tragic accident occurred near the Pointe in 1852 when the boilers of the steam vessel Saint James exploded, and the vessel caught fire. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the death of 20 passengers. Said to be contributing to the accident was a purported race between Saint James and another vessel.
1880 saw the appropriation of $3000 for the construction of a lighthouse at the mouth of the Amite River on Lake Maurepas. Constructed was completed in 1882 at which time the lighthouse settled almost 2 ½ ft. The lighthouse was subsequently raised and provided with a satisfactory substructure support system. Cipra (1997) concluded that “The Amite River station can barely be considered a lighthouse.” He noted that the keeper “hoisted a small “Western River Lantern” on a mast over the dwelling roof, 45 ft above the lake. The lighthouse was replaced in 1934 by an automated acetylene lamp.
The commonality between the lighthouses that were identified and discussed appears to be two-fold: (1) the issue at all the lighthouses with continual maintenance usually due to the impacts of hurricanes and (2) the roles and contributions of women to lighthouse keeping. Notable, and in my judgment, under recognized and appreciated is the historic nature of the construction and operation of the Bayou St. John Lighthouse, purported to be the first lighthouse constructed outside to original 13 US Colonies. It served to guide vessels transporting goods to the French Quarter during the earliest stages of the development of New Orleans. Still to be addressed are lighthouses and lightships located along the southern coast of Louisiana.
References
Pass Manchac Lighthouse, Louisiana at Lighthousefriends.com
By USCG - http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHlA.asp, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8967459
Lighthouses, Lightships and the Gulf of Mexico. David L. Cipra, Cypress Communications, Alexandria, VA, 1997.