Lighthouses - Inspiration of American oil painter Jeff Starr. I have been enamored with lighthouses for most of my life. Hard to say what it is exactly, but I think it's a combination of things. Part of it is the old-world feel of it. It's a reminder of a less hectic time. Also, there is the architecture- the tower, the accompanying house, variations and combinations thereof...really unique and beautiful.

Most of all is the Romantic aspect. The image of the lonely lighthouse keeper, perched out there on his own (maybe even on an island), preserving the safety of strangers. It's a really cool scenario. So I guess all of these things together make me love lighthouses, and I really really enjoy painting them. I really don't think I'll ever tire of it.

Lighthouse development accelerated in the seventeenth century with national lighthouse services established in Denmark (1650), and Britain's Trinity House constructing its first in 1601. The first Eddystone Lighthouse was lit in 1698, though its third incarnation was the most enduring, designed by John Smeaton and finished in 1759. As Britain became the dominant seapower, lighthouses constructed by the Stephenson family for the Northern Lighthouse Board began to appear in Scotland.

The first lighthouse in America was Boston Light on Little Brewster Island (1716). The first keeper was George Worthylake who drowned, along with his wife and daughter, when returning to the island in 1718. The original tower was destroyed by the British during the evacuation of Boston and eventually reconstructed in 1784. The oldest existing lighthouse in America is Sandy Hook Lighthouse, NJ (1764), which is still in operation. By the end of the 19th century, the United States, with its long coastlines had the most lighthouses of any nation.

The US Bureau of Lighthouses was created in 1789 by the 9th Act of the first Congress which placed lighthouses under federal control. Over the years, lighthouses were placed under the direction of Department of Revenue (this department was disbanded in 1820), Department of Treasury (until 1903), then the Department of Commerce. The Lighthouse Board (of the U. S. Lighthouse Establishment) held sway from 1852 to July 1, 1910, when Commerce created the Lighthouse Service. The United States Coast Guard took over on July 7, 1939.

After 1852 the US was divided into Lighthouse Districts; originally eight, they eventually numbered 19. Each District was run by a Naval Officer appointed by the Lighthouse Board as the District Inspector. He ran the district in tandem with an Army Corps of Engineers' officer who was in charge of engineering projects. In 1910, civilians started replacing the military officers.