Serving in the Shadows

11x17 inch matted print with narratives.

The Lighthouse Service fell short on documenting the history of non-whites. Enslaved and free people of color served as light keepers on a limited basis during the 1800s without recognition and sometimes without compensation.

In 1836, an elderly African American woman assisted in the keeping of St. Simons Lighthouse. She served while the lighthouse keeper was incapacitated with grout. She remains nameless but James Gould was the Head Light Keeper during that time. He was the builder and first keeper at St. Simons Lighthouse.