National Register of Historic Places

Five Finger Light Station

Petersburg, Wrangell-Peterburg County, Alaska
Listed
May 11, 2004
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
04000416

About this property

The Five Finger Islands Light is a lighthouse located on a small island that lies between Stephens Passage and Frederick Sound in southeastern Alaska. It and Sentinel Island Light Station were the first U.S. government lighthouses opened in Alaska, first lit on March 21, 1902. It became the last lighthouse in Alaska to be automated on August 14, 1984. In 1901, a contract of $22,500 was awarded to construct a lighthouse on the southernmost of the Five Finger Islands. Completed in 1902, it was a rectangular lighthouse with a square tower, elevated several feet above the surrounding hipped roof. Atop the tower sat a lantern room from which a fourth-order Fresnel lens produced a fixed beam of white light at a focal plane of 68 feet (21 m). The original structure burned down in December 1933. The tower was rebuilt using public works appropriations. The current structure is made of concrete, which was completed and relit in 1935. It was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1984. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Five Finger Light Station in 2004. The listing was as a historic district including four contributing buildings and one other contributing structure. The original lighthouse burned. The replacement, built in 1935, "is a good example of Modern Movement architecture, popular in the 1930s for concrete buildings, and adapted by the U.S. Lighthouse Service as the agency replaced the original wood frame lighthouse buildings at many of its sixteen staffed stations in Alaska." The light station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. 2007 U.S. postage stamp featuring Five Finger Islands Light "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Alaska" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Lighthouse Friends — Five Finger Islands Lighthouse Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Alaska". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location

Petersburg, Wrangell-Peterburg County, Alaska
57.27040, -133.63145

Categories

MARITIME HISTORYARCHITECTURETRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Questions about this property

When was Five Finger Light Station listed on the National Register?

Five Finger Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 11, 2004.

What type of historic resource is Five Finger Light Station?

Five Finger Light Station is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Five Finger Light Station?

The period of significance for Five Finger Light Station is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Five Finger Light Station?

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