Our Tour of Rock Island Lighthouse

© by Mark Wentling, 6 October 2001              please read copyright notice

The Dwelling: Interior                        (click on any image to view a full-size version)

 We entered the house through the easterly entrance of the rear wing into a room with a large wooden table, shown through the doorway in this photo. Although early correspondence indicated this wing was part of the original design, the window in this photo plainly seems meant for the exterior, suggesting the rear wing was a later addition.
Immediately to the left of the rear entrance lies the kitchen, which still contains appliances from the mid-1900's.
The stove sits in the extreme southeast kitchen of the corner; not shown in the picture, to the right of the stove is a set of what appeared to be built-in wooden cupboards.
To the right of the entryway is a door into the first living area (partially seen in the photo above). In the living area can be seen this south-facing window with tattered curtains still clinging to the frame.
Across from the living room entrance pictured above is the door to the cellar. As I descended the stairs and examined the stone walls I remembered that the present dwelling was built on the foundation of the early 1848 structure, and I wondered which stones belonged to the original.

The coal-burning furnace may be the same one installed in the late-1800's.

[Photographer's disclosure: this image is a digital composite of two photographs.]
The floor of the room adjacent to the furnace shows clearly why the island is named 'Rock'!
Coal was stored in the room next to the furnace—this was a tough shot to get, because in order to get the proper angle I had to squeeze into the crevice between the bedrock jutting up from the floor, and the joists in the ceiling above me.
Back upstairs in the rear living area, next to the cellar doorway, is the bathroom—complete with U.S. Coast guard-issued claw-foot bathtub!
Each of the downstairs living areas is equipped with a fireplace. The ceilings above the fireplaces are each fitted with a grate, like this one, which lets the heat radiate upwards to warm the second story bedrooms.
The fireplace in the "blue room" (so called in keepers' logs as long as 100 years ago) is typical of all the others in the house.
This switchbox in a closet off the blueoom is connected by wire to the generator house; one touch of the button used to supply electricity to the house.
Like the others, the yellow room is furnished with a fireplace. The front entrance to the house is located in this room.
The stairway to the second floor can be accessed from both the yellow and blue rooms.
Here Grandma stands in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
A small closet in the bedroom leads to a tiny crawlspace under the roof above the summer kitchen.
This bedroom is equipped with a fireplace too.
A patriotic view from the front bedroom, which was probably occupied by the keeper so that he could judge the condition of the lantern at any hour of the night.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT: All photographs, text, and electronic files comprising this tour website are the exclusive property of the creator, Mark A. Wentling, and all rights to reproduction are wholly reserved. No part(s) may be reproduced in part or in whole, in any format (print, electronic, or otherwise) for any purpose without prior written consent. To inquire about permission for re-using these materials, please send an email to Mark A. Wentling at keeper@rockislandlighthouse.org

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