Kalaupapa Lighthouse I
by Craig Wood
Title
Kalaupapa Lighthouse I
Artist
Craig Wood
Medium
Photograph - Scenic
Description
In 1880, the long, narrow island of Moloka‘i had only one lighthouse, located in Kaunakakai. Yet by 1900, hundreds of vessels of the Pacific Coast trade annually passed through the channel between O‘ahu and Moloka‘i’s north side -- where the Hansen’s Disease Settlement was located. This disease was so greatly feared that only after annexation, when the Islands became a sub-district of the 12th U.S. Lighthouse District, was a temporary light set up. A permanent light station was completed in June 1909. On Sept. 1, lighthouse keeper James Keanu put the light with its special Fresnel lens -- a rare giant of a crystal-like jewel -- into operation. Two-hundred-thirteen feet above the water, it was the brightest light in the Pacific and flashed twenty-one miles out to sea. Houses for lighthouse keepers and their families and other buildings formed a tiny community amidst the spectacular natural beauty of the Kalaupapa peninsula. To the Hansen’s Disease settlement’s patients, just two miles away, the light rhythmically sweeping over the pali and across the black lava rocks was a part of their lives. An early morning walk to the far side of the airport yielded this beauty. Photograph is the sole property of Craig Wood and cannot be copied without permission. FAA watermark will not appear on prints purchased.
Uploaded
July 20th, 2013
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