
Coast Guard absorbed the USLHS in July 1939, making all keepers, including Salter-the only woman employed by the USLHS at the time-civilian members of the Coast Guard. During this time, she missed the phone call from her son-in-law announcing the birth of her first granddaughter. Once, during a particularly foggy day, the fog bell mechanism failed, and Salter had to manually strike the fog bell four times per minute for nearly an hour to help a steamer safely navigate the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. In 1928, the United States Lighthouse Service (USLHS) authorized $25 per month (equivalent to $395 in 2021) for a laborer to go to the station and manually wind the fog bell striking mechanism. This charge was reduced to $15 per month in 1932 (equivalent to $298 in 2021). If the light extinguished in the middle of the night, she would immediately wake up and have it reignited or replaced by one of the emergency lamps kept onsite. Her bedroom in the keeper's quarters faced the tower, so she could ensure the light was functioning properly. She would recheck it about one hour later, and again at 10 pm before going to bed. At dusk, Fannie would fill one of the lamps with fuel, climb the 35-foot (11 m) tower, trim and light the wick, and place the lamp within the lens. Prior to being retrofit for electricity, three brass oil lamps were cleaned and filled daily. She was on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and received a salary of $1,140 her first year in service, equivalent to $17,615 in 2021.
#First female lighthouse keeper how to#
1926Īfter her official appointment, Salter was issued a manual and learned how to use a radiotelephone. United States Lighthouse Service įannie Salter at the Turkey Point fog bell, c. presidents had appointed keepers in the past, Salter was the first female keeper with a presidential appointment to that point or since. Weller then asked President Calvin Coolidge, who overruled the Civil Service's decision and personally appointed her as official keeper at Turkey Point. Salter petitioned Senator Ovington Weller to appeal the decision.

ĭespite over 20 years of assisting with day-to-day operations of a lighthouse, she was initially denied the role by the Civil Service, who cited her age as preventing her from being able to perform the necessary tasks. The Salters had been preceded by two female keepers: Rebecca Crouch, who took over following her husband's death in 1873 and served until her own death in 1895 her daughter, Georgiana Brumfield, wanting to follow in her footsteps, took over the duties from 1895 to 1919, retiring after spending 54 years on the homestead. It was customary at the time for the family of the keeper to continue operating the station. Upon his death, Fannie fully took over her husband's duties at the age of 43 and officially applied for his position shortly after.

died suddenly on February 11, 1925, following an acute attack of appendicitis. Salter served as the station keeper of Turkey Point Light, with Fannie once again assisting him with the day-to-day tasks. Turkey Point Light Station and keeper's house, 1924īeginning in 1922, C.

All of the lighthouses the family was stationed at prior to 1922 were in Virginia. Career įannie assisted her husband in maintaining and servicing several lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay area: York Spit Light (1904–1908), Old Plantation Flats Light (1908–1912), Cherrystone Bar Light (1912–1913), Hog Island Light (1915–1922), and Turkey Point Light (1922–1947). įor a brief time during the 1920s, she and her husband lived in Franktown, Virginia, where their son was born. They had three children together: Mabel, Jessie Olga, and Charles. Early life īorn Frances May Hudgins to Isaac Hudgins and Indiana Jarvis on May 20, 1882, she married Clarence Winfield Salter, also from Mathews County, Virginia, on May 24, 1904. She was one of four female lighthouse keepers who served at Turkey Point between 18, covering 86 of its 114 years of service. įor a time, Salter was the only female employed by the United States Coast Guard and was the last civilian female lighthouse keeper in the U.S. From 1922 to 1925, she worked at the lighthouse along with her husband, fully taking over the duties after his death. She served from 1925 until she retired in 1947, at which point the station became fully automated. Fannie May Hudgins Salter (– March 11, 1966) was an American lighthouse keeper and the last lighthouse keeper at Turkey Point Light in Maryland.
