date: c.2017 (based on information surrounding Old Baldy's 200th Birthday Celebration April 15, 2017)
condition: Good. Pin holes at the corners. Minor edge wear and handling impressions. Tape and skinning on the back.
published by: Old Baldy Foundation
Photograph collection of William E. Boyd
"Sedgwick Springs was 61 years old when Thomas Jefferson appointed him keeper of the lighthouse on Bald Head Island. He was still the keeper in 1817, when “Old Baldy,” as the lighthouse would come to be known, was erected by the United States government at a cost of $15,915.45.
Springs was a veteran of the American Revolution, having fought under General George Washington for multiple battles.
Every evening for 20 years, Springs -- who was more than 80 years old when he retired -- climbed the 108 steps to the pinnacle of the lighthouse carrying five gallon buckets of whale oil, the equivalent of ascending a 10-story building hefting a 40-pound load." - Dean Blaine StarNews Correspondent, April 11, 2017 / Updated April 12, 2017
