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10 Year Anniverary & New Releases Winners: Carrie Fancett Pagels' Butterfly Cottage - Melanie B, Dogwood Plantation - Patty H R, Janet Grunst's winner is Connie S., Denise Weimer's Winner is Kay M., Naomi Musch's winner is Chappy Debbie, Angela Couch - Kathleen Maher, Pegg Thomas Beverly D. M. & Gracie Y., Christy Distler - Kailey B., Shannon McNear - Marilyn R.

Friday, July 27, 2018

Great Lakes Lighthouses

What does The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides Collection have to do with Colonial America? Nothing. But ...

Founding CQ author, Carrie Fancett Pagels and I are both authors in this upcoming collection that releases in November. 

Carrie and I both love the Great Lakes and there is a lot of Colonial history here. However, the first Great Lakes lighthouse was not erected until 1825 in what would become the state of Michigan at Fort Gratiot.

Faster, cheaper, and free from attacks by Natives, shipping on the Great Lakes was the answer to moving a lot of people and materials in and out of the northern Great Plains. But it wasn't necessarily safer. Rocks, shoals, islands, and other obstacles - many of them difficult or impossible to see in the dark or during bad weather -  ripped open the hulls of unsuspecting ships.

Lighthouses were the answer, and they popped up along the shorelines of the Great Lakes in amazing numbers from 1850 - 1860. Construction slowed during the Civil War, only to increase with even more lighthouses build between 1870 - 1925. 

Along the shorelines, on riverbanks, and on islands that dot our great inland seas, many of these lighthouses still stand tall and strong and still guide vessels along their way. New technology has replaced the lonely lighthouse keepers, but many of the buildings are open to tourists and include an intriguing glimpse into the past.

If you're roaming around the Great Lakes, take time to visit one of these lighthouses. You won't regret it!














Pegg Thomas
Writing History with a Touch of Humor

20 comments:

  1. Maybe we can get Carla to write some posts about the earliest lighthouses in North America, during colonial times! Glad to be in this collection, Pegg!

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  2. One of the best covers I've seen. Lighthouse keepers are a fascinating lot!
    thanks Pegg.

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  3. I love lighthouses and their history.
    This looks like another good book.

    https://apudiem.wordpress.com/

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    1. So far I've only read two of them, but with this cast of authors, it's bound to be great!

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  4. I have just visited some great lighthouses and would love to read this wonderful book. Keeping my fingers crossed! mauback55 at gmail dot com

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  5. The mid-Atlantic region and the Chesapeake Bay area has some beautiful lighthouses. This looks like a good read.

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    1. I've never been there, but I bet it's beautiful.

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  6. I love the cover! Looking forward to reading the book. I have always found lighthouses fascinating.

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  7. Looking forward to this collection. I love lighthouses and would someday like to do a lighthouse trip - there are so very many beautiful ones!

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    1. Several of the lighthouses in Michigan have been made into bed & breakfast inns. Visiting a couple of them is on my bucket list.

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  8. This looks like an illuminating collection! �� Seriously, I can't wait to read it! I've been to one real light house and one made to look like a light house on a very much inland small lake.

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  9. I love lighthouses and always wanted to live in one when I was growing up. I so want to read these.

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