Working at the Lighthouse

The work of a lighthouse keeper was never easy nor was it ever done. Lighthouse keepers had many duties and regulations to follow. Although these changed somewhat over the years, others remained the same: welcoming visitors, tending buoys and channel markers, painting, maintaining a daily log book, recording the weather, aiding shipwrecked vessels, and keeping the entire light station neat and clean. In order to handle these duties lighthouse keepers had to be able to read, write legibly, keep records and be in sound physical shape.

The St. Augustine lighthouse had up to three lightkeepers on site. Each keeper took an eight hour shift throughout the day to make sure that everything was done. There was always a keeper on duty, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. During the day, they would spend much of their time painting, cleaning, polishing the brass and making general repairs around the light station. The head keeper also filled out many records, papers and forms for the Lighthouse Service.

At night, the primary duties of the keeper involved the light. In the early years, the lightkeeper carried thirty pounds of hot lard oil (pig fat) up 224 stairs to the light. The keeper placed the lard oil in the oil reservoir, opened the protective curtains around the lens, trimmed the wicks, and lit the light at sunset. The keeper on duty also had to crank a 275-pound weight for the clockworks system. This system was in the center shaft of the tower and it rotated the lens before electricity. With the coming of electricity, the lives of the keepers became somewhat easier although they still had much to do to keep the light station in order.