This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 3 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Aiken Standard
Location
Aiken, South Carolina, United States of America
Date
Jul 14, 1997
Page
11
A historical note describes how early lighthouses guided ships before motorized boats. The beam warned sailors to steer clear of rocks in fog, night, or storm, with the lighthouse standing for years and ultimately shutting down in 1957.
Before radios and radar sailors relied on daymarks from lighthouses along the East Coast and Great Lakes to determine location. Night signals used specific flash patterns such as Minot's Ledge where one flash four dark periods and three flashes formed I Love You. Modern ships favor electronic navigation, while smaller boats still rely on these markers.
The text traces early lamp fuels from whale and fish oils to olive oil and animal fat, noting kerosene oil derived from coal as a key fuel. It highlights how reflectors behind the flame intensified brightness, foreshadowing modern flashlights with a bulb and reflector.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.