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Despite the light towers, fog continued to cause nautical disasters. Some
engineers attempted to solve the problem with various fog alarms. In 1801, a
minute gun was installed to help ship navigators, and was replaced by a 1000
lb. bell in 1831. Neither method proved a success. Over a one hundred year
period, close to two dozen ships had been lost off the shores of Partridge
Island.
In 1852, Robert Foulis patented the Illuminating Gas Apparatus, and
the next year he, along with his gas maker William Murdoch, were working to
convert the light from oil-burning to gas-burning. As his work progressed, he
was inspired to construct a fog alarm using a steam whistle. He submitted his
plans to the Lighthouse Commissioners in 1858 and didn't get a response.
The next thing he knew, a local engineer
named T. T. Vernon Smith built the the world's first steam operated fog alarm,
based on Foulis' plans. While Foulis sought legal action, the alarm was being
praised by local pilots and skippers.
"...on the whole coast of America there is not another alarm equal to
the one spoken of ... in making the harbour on Tuesday, a dense fog prevailing
at the time ... eight miles below the island we heard the Whistle, and without
the least difficulty entered the harbour." -- Captain Winchester of
the steamer Eastern City, 1860.
Foulis received his deserved recognition in 1864.
This is the world's first steam fog alarm
circa 1865. It is a water color sketch created by J.C. Miles.
"Item #25 on Map"
In 1942, a concrete whistle house was built. This structure housed the fog
alarm, diesel generators, and the beacon and radio equipment until the
station's automation in 1989.
"Item #28 on Map"
( Hear the fog alarm blast... )
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