Personnel Problems under the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment 1790 - 1852

Early keepers of lighthouses were often chosen for political reasons and so were not always very good at their jobs. There were no age limits, nor any specific qualifications for the appointment. Responding to a letter criticizing the keeper of Cape Henry Light at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, constructed in the 1790s, President Thomas Jefferson stated, "I think the keepers of lighthouses should be dismissed for small degrees of remissness, because of the calamities which even these produce. "