I've been hearing about the Save Our Lighthouse effort and am curious to learn more about the lighthouse.

Kristian Sonnier

Photo by Kandace Power Graves

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places two decades ago, the New Canal Lighthouse now stands in ruins after it collapsed following the hurricanes in 2005. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation now is collecting funds to restore the structure.

Dear Kristian,

It was sad indeed when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed the New Canal Lighthouse in 2005. A few months later it collapsed entirely. Just 20 years earlier it had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. I have always admired it when at West End; there's something special about lighthouses.

When New Orleans had a new canal dug that began at present-day West End, a lighthouse was needed. So in 1837 an act of Congress authorized money for the establishment of one at the entrance of the harbor on Lake Pontchartrain. The land owned by the New Orleans Canal and Banking Company that dug the canal was transferred to the U. S. government. The first lighthouse, set on pilings about 1,000 feet offshore, was built in 1839, but was just a cypress tower with a lantern on top.

This lighthouse lasted only a short while -- the timbers began to rot -- and Congress provided more money to build a new one. The second lighthouse, a one-story square wooden dwelling, was constructed in 1855. This lighthouse served well until the arrival of the Southern Yacht Club in 1880. The club erected a building that blocked the light, so the lighthouse was sold for scrap and a third one, two stories high, was built in 1890. In the early 1900s, after several land-building projects on the lakefront, the lighthouse was moved to a newly created peninsula.

When the lighthouse was operated by civilians, several of them were women. The first keeper of the lighthouse died in 1847, and his widow, Elizabeth Beattie, was appointed in his place. In 1850 came Jane O'Driscol, who also succeeded her husband after his death. A series of women kept the lighthouse after 1870. Mary Campbell held the post for 25 years before Carolyn Riddle took over. During Riddle's watch, she kept the light lit during a hurricane, an act for which she was commended for heroism. Another heroic woman lighthouse keeper was Maggie Norvel, who replaced Riddle in 1924. She was responsible for saving 200 people when a fire broke out on an excursion boat, and she rowed them all to shore.

Over the years, the lighthouse was improved by additions and renovations, and in the 1960s became the home of the United States Coast Guard until the Eighth Coast Guard District moved its headquarters to Bucktown in 2002. Before the move, the Coast Guard announced that the lighthouse would be surplused. That's when the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) went into action.

Before Katrina, the LPBF was trying to turn the lighthouse into a center for public education that would have exhibits about the history of the lighthouse and the ecology of the Pontchartrain Basin. It is still the group's intention to restore the lighthouse and proceed with the pre-Katrina project.

The LPBF is working to restore the historic New Canal Lighthouse, and it needs money. If you donate $25 or more, you will get a membership to the organization, acknowledgement on its Web site and recognition as a "First Funder," a title that allows you to claim you were one of the first folks to help save one of our historic lighthouses. Checks should be made payable to LPBF and mailed to P.O. Box 6965, Metairie, LA 70009, Attention: Lighthouse, or you can call 836-2215 to use a credit card. You also can donate through the organization's Web site at www.saveourlake.org, where you will find information about volunteer opportunities and other ways to help, along with news about LPBF-sponsored events such as the Save Our Lake Back to the Beach Festival, the Beach Sweep clean up, the Back to the Lake Fishing Rodeo Tournament and the Save Our Lake Golf Classic.