Constructing Cape St. Elias: Tinkham Tales

Arriving in Ketchikan, Alaska, headquarters of the 16th Lighthouse District, in April, 1915, I assumed my new position of Superintendent, making me the district engineering officer and second ranking official. My chief, the district Lighthouse Inspector, was Captain W. C. Dibrell, formerly of the US. Coast and Geodetic Survey where he acquired the title of Captain. Our first conference indicated that the most urgent problem confronting the district was the establishment of a lighthouse and fog signal station on Cape St. Elias in the Gulf of Alaska.