Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

After more than 20 years of advocacy, the restoration of Eldred Rock lighthouse is finally poised to begin.

On Thursday, April 2, the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association (ERLPA) announced it had reached a 5-year lease agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard, renewable for up to four terms. The lease will give the organization access to the lighthouse so volunteers can begin rehabilitation "of this breathtaking piece of Alaska maritime history," ERLPA said in a press release.

Eldred Rock lighthouse, located between Haines and Juneau in Lynn Canal, is the oldest lighthouse structure still standing in Alaska, said Haines resident Pam Randles, who served on the ERLPA board from 1999 to 2019. On Feb. 5, 1898, the Clara Nevada, a vessel carrying gold miners between Skagway and Seattle, ran aground at Eldred Rock and caught fire, killing most on board. The incident drew national attention, prompting the construction of a dozen federally funded lighthouses in Alaska between 1902 and 1906, including Eldred Rock's.

In 1973, Eldred Rock lighthouse was automated, eliminating the need for a keeper, and in the ensuing years, the building fell into disrepair. In the late 1990s, a group of advocates at the Sheldon Museum began working to gain access to the building for restoration purposes, Randles said. This group later separated from the museum and became the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association.

With passage of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act in 2000, which allowed the federal government to transfer lighthouses to nonprofits free of cost, it had looked like the organization might finally become steward of the building, Randles said. However, land conveyance issues and hazardous environmental conditions derailed the process, according to a press release from ERLPA.

It wasn't until another act of Congress put the Eldred Rock lighthouse under the control of the Coast Guard that leasing became feasible, Randles said. And it took another several years for ERLPA and the Coast Guard to sort out the logistics of the lease. "No one really knew how to do it," she said.

Now that ERLPA has the lease, members will begin applying for grants to cover project costs The first step is to obtain a grant to fund an assessment of repair needs, Randles said. The final goal is to get the facility in shape to receive visitors, including establishment of a maritime museum and visitor center.

Because Eldred Rock lighthouse is on the National Registry of Historic Places, it must be restored according to historic standards. While the organization will not know the full extent of the facility's restoration needs until after the initial assessment, Randles said a few known needs include updating the kitchen and bathrooms and removing hazardous materials such as asbestos, lead paint and sea otter droppings. Over the years, otters have used the building for shelter during the winter. Randles said she thinks it is likely the entire restoration, including a dock, could cost roughly $1 million.

Coronavirus permitting, Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association plans to send volunteers to the site as soon as this spring or summer to begin restoration work, Randles said. Those interested can contact the organization through its website.