'The jewel of the southeast': Alaskans join forces to restore abandoned lighthouse

Emerging from the waves at the foot of the mountains on an uninhabited island about an hour south of Haines, in southeast Alaska, stands a relic from the Klondike gold rush.

The Eldred Rock lighthouse was built in the early 20th century after the Clara Nevada, one of the many steamships that operated between the South and the Yukon, and then the interior of Alaska, headed into a winter storm on Feb. 5, 1898.

It was said to be carrying between 40 to 60 passengers, a crew of about 40, up to 800 pounds of gold and an illegal load of dynamite.

"Just over 30 miles into her journey, the ship ran aground on an uncharted rock several hundred yards north of Eldred Rock. Witnesses from nearby Seward City reported seeing an explosion and fire, and it was assumed all lives were lost," states the Association for the Preservation of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse.

Or so goes the official version.

Rumors persist to this day that the ship's sinking wasn't an accident. There are reports of crew members, including the ship's captain, being seen ashore long after the sinking, suggesting they deliberately set the ship on fire to steal gold from the prospectors returning from the Klondike.

Whatever happened, the U.S. government decided to build a lighthouse on Eldred Rock to avoid any further disasters.

In 1906, the lighthouse saw the arrival of its first keepers and in 1973, almost 50 years ago, it was abandoned.

Back to life

The Association for the Preservation of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse has been working hard to bring the lighthouse back to life, along with the history of the region.

The goal is to welcome visitors back to the island, which lies about 30 kilometres south of Haines and 90 kilometres north of Juneau. Ultimately, the group wants to host events, such as weddings, and be able to finance a human presence on the site.

In mid-July, about a dozen people were living on the island, working to restore the lighthouse.

But it hasn't been easy restoring an abandoned building on an island where winds and the ocean's current are often unpredictable.

"Weather is a challenge for planning and getting things done," says Sue York, the association's director. "Of 10 trips planned for restoration work on the island, only three have happened."

Another major challenge is the paint inside the building; it contains lead, among other things.

"When these lighthouses were built, the concerns weren't the same as they are today," said Capt. Ed Page, founder and director of the nonprofit Marine Exchange of Alaska, which is also working on the restoration of the lighthouse.

Because of the lead paint, the entire lighthouse needs to be decontaminated, piece by piece, before it can be restored.

"Funding is also a real challenge for us," he added,"but we believe that over time [the lighthouse] will be able to pay for itself when it is open to the public, when people realize its value, and will contribute to it.

"The challenge right now is to make it a safe place for people to come and then the money will follow."

The 'Coasties'

Tom Schmidt was 28 when he first set foot on Eldred Rock in September 1971. He was one of its last guardians, or "coasties," before it was automated in 1973.

The life of the guardians was unique, a sort of sailor of a stationary ship.

"Apart from your three colleagues, you had no one to talk to," Schmidt recalled. "The only time you could talk to others was when they brought us supplies, every other week, weather permitting."

But the weather didn't always cooperate. Schmidt said he and the three other guards faced "pretty extreme conditions."

"You could go from flat calm to 130 kilometres per hour of wind in an hour."

For the former keeper, his only winter at the lighthouse remains memorable.

"The heating system couldn't heat the building enough so we had to live with a coat all winter."

He explained that sometimes you even had to go out on the platform at the top of the tower to try to remove the ice that formed on the windows of the lantern when waves struck.

"When the men were there, it was maintained, but once the Coasties were gone, it was abandoned and deteriorated ...You can end up with ruins there," says Schmidt. "Sue and all these people are working hard to get her life back."

Bringing communities together

One of the objectives of restoring the lighthouse for Sue York is to unite the communities around it.

Seeing people from all the surrounding towns volunteer in different capacities to help restore the lighthouse proves the attachment.

"We are more than residents of one city or another, we are residents of Southeast Alaska, we are all interconnected and this is our highway," says volunteer David Thomas.

"This lighthouse is iconic for the region, and I think this kind of monument should be preserved and everyone should be able to access it, so I decided to participate and lend a hand."

"I love this area of Southeast Alaska. I love it the way it is and this lighthouse is part of it, so if we can restore it and be proud of it, it's well worth all the time I'll spend on it," explains Paul Graf, another volunteer.

Sue York couldn't be happier. She said all of the state conservation agencies have recognized this lighthouse as worthy of the time, funds, and effort devoted to it.

"And the communities of Juneau, Haines and Skagway too," she adds.

"It really is the jewel of the southeast."

This story was originally written in French. It was adapted in English by Michel Proulx.