Guard Islands

Guard Islands light stood in a square, white wooden tower with a separate keeper's house nearby. In 1922, a reinforced concrete building replaced the old light tower, and a second house was built so two keepers could live there with their families. The island's small size and isolation fueled differences between the families. In the early years of the 20th Century, an assistant keeper killed his wife because he thought she was romantically involved with the head keeper. During Prohibition, the keeper and his assistant saw a troller drifting nearby with no one at the helm, and when they rowed out to investigate, they found the bodies of two men stuffed inside a locker; the murder was blamed on bootleggers. In a gentler episode, early keepers rescued an orphan fawn that became a pet, lived at the lighthouse for many years, greeted visitors, and accompanied the keepers on boat rides. The original Fresnel lens's location is unknown. The site stands at the east entrance to Tongass Narrows, nine miles north of Ketchikan, was first lighted on September 15, 1904, was automated in 1969, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is managed by the Coast Guard.

Juneau, Alaska · United States