Winslow Lewis: A Nineteenth Century Lighthouse Scalawag
Prior to the absorption of the U.S. Lighthouse Service by the Coast Guard in 1939, four individuals - more than any others - shaped the establishment and operation of lighthouses in the United States. For better or worse, these men are Winslow Lewis, Stephen Pleasonton, RADM William Bradford Shubrick and George Putnam. Lewis came on the scene in 1812 as contractor for the government and ultimately helped hold back our system of aids to navigation with his numerous antics.
The History of the Administration of the U.S.L.H.S. (Part 1)
The first colonial American aid to navigation, of which we have firm evidence, was the beacon erected at Nantasket (now Hull) Massachusetts in 1673. The beacon was a small stone tower erected at Point Allerton, a promontory guarding the south approach to Boston Harbor. The citizens of that community provided funds to furnish "fier-bales of pitch and ocum" in an iron basket surrounding the small beacon.