{"id":113,"date":"2026-05-20T20:37:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=113"},"modified":"2026-05-20T20:37:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:37:50","slug":"alaskas-oldest-original-lighthouse-will-soon-open-to-the-public-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=113","title":{"rendered":"Alaska\u2019s oldest original lighthouse will soon open to the public for the first time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On a blustery morning in mid-May, some two dozen people transferred from a large boat to a smaller one and then onto a rocky island in the middle of Lynn Canal.<\/p>\n

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Left on the boat were stacks of wood meant for building bunk beds in the red-and-white lighthouse perched high above the shore.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to get this lumber off from Haines,\u201d said Sue York, who was leading the group. \u201cIt\u2019s just too rough and too dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

York is the executive director of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association. The non-profit is working to restore the facility, which is the oldest original lighthouse in Alaska.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the other lighthouses, like Sentinel, that you pass going to Juneau, they were all rebuilt,\u201d York said. \u201cThey’re now just these concrete block towers. And the actual keeper quarter house, the house where the keepers live, were all burnt down.\u201d<\/p>\n

York and volunteers from Haines and Juneau made the journey to the rock last weekend to build beds and tackle other projects before a long-awaited grand opening ceremony at the end of the month. The event will mark the first time the lighthouse has ever been open to the public.<\/p>\n

The ceremony is the culmination of six years of work by the group, which first leased the property from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2020. Since then, they\u2019ve fundraised and spent upwards of $600,000 restoring the lighthouse and making sure it’s safe for visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just feel a part of history, staying here and touching the walls and using the kitchen, and reading the books, and playing games,\u201d said York.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think it’s important for every human to understand the trials that people before us endured to allow us to enjoy what we have now,\u201d she added. \u201cI don’t want to take that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lighthouse was first commissioned in 1906. Its construction was kickstarted after a steamship named the Clara Nevada ran aground near Eldred Rock in 1898 with dozens of people on board. \u201cIt was assumed all lives were lost,\u201d according to the lighthouse preservation group website.<\/p>\n

Keepers lived and worked on the rock until 1973, when the U.S Coast Guard started automating lighthouses across the state.<\/p>\n

Among them was Ralph Crane. Reached by phone on Monday, Crane said he hasn\u2019t been back since he packed up and left more than five decades ago.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s 75 and lives in Homer, but Crane worked at Eldred Rock in 1969 and 1970, when he was just 19 years old. He spent his days operating the light and radio beacon, making weather reports, and doing everyday chores.<\/p>\n

When Crane was off duty and the weather cleared, the keepers and their two dogs \u2014 Kenmore and PP \u2014 would take the boat out to set crab pots, fish and comb nearby beaches.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was the best and worst time of my life, and a lot more best than worst,\u201d Crane said,<\/p>\n

He sees the restoration effort by local volunteers as a true \u201clabor of love\u201d that amounts to \u201ckeeping history alive.\u201d He\u2019s planning to drive to Haines from Homer with his daughter for the opening ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of history to see crumble into disrepair,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was heartbreaking for me, knowing how we kept that thing, and then to have it literally abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of keepers worked at Eldred Rock after Crane. But since then, York said, the only longer-termresidents, at least that we know of, were of a different breed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSea otters came in and spent the winter up in the attic. And they crapped everywhere,\u201d York said. \u201cAnd so the first job that some of the volunteers did was put on a respirator and Tyvek to clean up otter crap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving forward, the space will be used largely for educational events, including artist, writer and family retreats \u2013 all organized by the preservation group. There will also be tours offered by a local operator, which will help fund ongoing restoration efforts.<\/p>\n

Allowing that meant dealing with widespread lead contamination.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal has been to get rid of the source of the contaminants, which is lead paint falling off every single surface you see,\u201d York said.<\/p>\n

The soil on the island is also contaminated. York said a federal contractor is set to start remediating that problem this fall.<\/p>\n

The ordeal has been a major feat of logistics, fundraising and collaboration. It\u2019s been made more complicated by the reality that doing any work at Eldred Rock requires hauling people and equipment to the island, often in bad weather.<\/p>\n

The most recent trip was cut short when York had to ask most volunteers to pack up and quickly get off the rock to avoid getting stuck there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the worst weather in the north Lynn Canal,\u201d she said. \u201cOur challenge has always been transportation and safety coming on and off the island.\u201d<\/p>\n

York and a handful of volunteers stayed behind. They\u2019ll spend the week there, making sure the lighthouse is ready for visitors in a few weeks\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

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A grand opening ceremony on May 30 will mark the culmination of six years of work by the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAlaska\u2019s oldest original lighthouse will soon open to the public for the first time - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=113\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alaska\u2019s oldest original lighthouse will soon open to the public for the first time - 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