During the Grand Turk Historic Lighthouse's first forty years of use, shipwrecks continued along the northern coast as captains complained that the light was too dim or not lit at all. Some believed the light was intentionally dimmed to cause wrecks so cargo could be looted. In March 1878, Captain Huehl of the S.S. Tybee reported that when approaching Grand Turk at 2 a.m., he found himself in white water off the Northeast Reef yet saw no light burning. On May 21st, the brig Lydia Coles, bound from New York to Cuba, struck the reef and became a total loss after wreckers salvaged her valuable cargo. Such incidents were common throughout the 1880s and 1890s, when several ships each season were wrecked, and rumors spread that Turk Islanders were profiting from the reef through ready salvage operations. Most wrecks caused substantial property loss but no loss of life. In 1894, the local Government applied to the Trinity Imperial Lighthouse Service at Nassau for annual maintenance and inspection, and the frequency of wrecks was reduced, though the treacherous Northeast Reef nevertheless continued to claim ships.

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Linda Stroud

Photo: Mike Stroud