Project funded through a grant from Colonel Timothy Pickering Chapter DAR and successful Kickstarter

Essex National Heritage Commission (Essex Heritage), a non-profit that manages and provides numerous programs preserving and enhancing Essex County’s historic, natural and cultural sites, is pleased to announce the completion of restoration of the exterior of the 1821 Bakers Island Lighthouse.  This project was made possible through a special projects grant from the Colonel Timothy Pickering Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.  The DAR grant provided Essex Heritage with the impetus to launch an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign to raise the matching funds.

The restoration entailed:

  • Cleaning the exterior and removing the lichen and mold

  • Patching and re-stuccoing all the areas where the stucco was missing – especially on the north side where the winter storms had pummeled the tower with rocks tossed up by the sea

  • Replacing two rotten windows that had been installed in 1996

  • Removing the rust and patching the pitted surface of the lantern room on top of the tower

  • Repainting the lantern room

  • Resurfacing the entire masonry surface of the granite stone tower with Keim mineral stone coating – which has restored the tower to its original white appearance

“We are extremely honored to receive this very generous donation from the Daughters of the Revolution.  We realize that there is competition from every state for these significant historic preservation grants, and are thrilled that the lighthouse was selected in this very competitive process,” said Annie Harris, CEO of Essex Heritage.

Visit www.EssexHeritage.org/Bakers to learn more about Bakers Island Light Station. 

About the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and support better education for our nation’s children. Its members are descended from patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With 178,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations. To learn more about the work of today’s DAR, visit www.DAR.org. For more about applying for a Special Projects Grant from DAR, visit www.dar.org/grants.