Bygone Beacons: The James River Lighthouses and their Lightkeepers.
Imagine the anguish of receiving this telegram, “Your child Gertrude burned yesterday. No chance of recovery.” That was the telegram received by John Filmore Hudgins, Assistant Lightkeeper at Nansemond River Lighthouse in January 1896. When he received it, the telegram was at least a couple of days old, having traveled from its origin in Port Haywood Virginia, near Mobjack Bay, to West Point, then Norfolk and finally via Lighthouse tender to him on station. It would be at least another day before he could get home to be with his family. The good news is that Ellen Gertrude survived her burns and lived to be 96.
We uncovered many stories about the Lightkeepers serving in the lower Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina sounds. They lived on remote stations and were on duty 24 hours a day with only occasional chances to be home. They were dedicated men and women, living in often harsh conditions always dutifully maintaining their light while attending to their unending chores.
The James River lighthouses played an important role in our county’s history, first exhibiting their lights in 1855 in response to increasing steamship traffic. They continued in service until changing technology and declining river commerce forced their demise starting in the 1930’s. Their design was unique at the time, using a newly invented screw pile foundation supporting a cottage style residence and cupola to house the light.
The James River was an important route for commerce by 1860, making possible 15 to 20 steamship landings per day at Richmond. Our presentation will include details about the James River lighthouses, their design, where they were located and why those sites were chosen. We will talk about their vital importance during the golden age of steamship travel.
We will share insights of the Lightkeepers lives, gained from research of their records and correspondence, exhibiting their dedication, their daily routines and their many fascinating stories. We will also present a demonstration of lighthouse lamps and lenses.
Larry Saint is a retired registered investment advisor and a licensed life insurance specialist working with Walls Insurance. who has a love of maritime history, boats and boat modeling. He is a member of several civic organizations, including the CE&H Ruritans, Smithfield Rotary and SmithfieldVAEvents.
He is a member of Suffolk River Heritage, a nonprofit group and publisher of local history books. He is coauthor of their most recent book, Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses. This was a 4-year project involving extensive research, interviews and writing about the lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay, James River and North Carolina Sounds. The book stemmed from research Larry conducted while creating a model of the Nansemond River Lighthouse. He used original plans from the National Archives and he spent many hours there gathering lighthouse records, correspondence, plans and documents.
He and coauthor Karla Smith have given talks about their research at museums and various organizations. Their books were selected for the 2019 Virginia Humanity’s Book Fare in Charlottesville and the Williamsburg Book Fare.
Larry and Karla and Suffolk River Heritage are now working on digitizing all the records they have gathered so they can be housed online and accessible to anyone interested in the lighthouses and lightkeepers. Larry and Nancy Saint have been married 50 years and have a daughter living in Richmond.
Karla Smith is a lover of history, maps, charts, and vintage photographs. She is a retired educator, having taught history, geography and environmental science for more than 40 years. Karla founded Suffolk River Heritage in 2006 with the purpose of gathering local history and stories about the people of Crittenden, Eclipse and Hobson, Virginia. The result was the new organization’s first book; The River Binds Us.
Two more cultural history books followed: Peninsula In Passage and Truckin’ on the Western Branch. Karla’s love of the water, boats and navigation led her to collaborate with Larry Saint and others to produce a fourth book, Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses. That book highlights the history, stories, maps, and documents of the lighthouses of the James River and lower Chesapeake Bay.
“Sailing voyages on the Chesapeake Bay have taken me north to Baltimore and back, often through the night. The lighthouses and buoys were our guide as my shipmates, and I used a compass, lead line, and log line along with NOAA Charts to navigate. We followed the string of lighthouses from Thimble Shoals to Thomas Point matching them “dot to dot” on our chart. We verified our location with a handheld GPS but still relied on NOAA charts and the steadfast lighthouses to mark the way grateful for the blinking beacons in the distance.”
