EIGHT LIGHTHOUSE DISTRICTS ESTABLISHED     In 1838, the situation was improved somewhat when Congress divided the Atlantic Coast into six lighthouse districts and the Great Lakes into two, each with a Navy officer assigned, and a revenue cutter or leased vessel made available for conducting inspections. Reports generated by this action gave evidence of large-scale mismanagement and pointed out in great detail, defects in equipment, low morale, incompetence among personnel, and irresponsible performance by contractors. Although Pleasonton was apparently displeased by these reports, he continued to sidestep any remedies and remained unduly concerned with the costs cited for improving the situation.     Due largely to the meager funds made available, lightship development continued to lag far behind progress being made in Europe. Although some standardization had been achieved, by 1842, the 30 lightships in U.S. service ranged from 40- to 230-tons burden, constructed entirely of wood, poorly rigged in many cases, and had no machinery-driven means of propulsion. Illuminating apparatus was limited to multiple-wick sperm oil lamps of poor visibility which had to be raised and lowered to the deck for servicing. Ground tackle was inadequate and hull design still failed to consider the weather and sea conditions encountered by these small vessels. Neither tenders nor relief vessels were available at the time, and, as a consequence when the vessels were frequently blown adrift, stations remained unmarked for periods measured in weeks and months.     Congress eventually became aware of the serious disarray and, using competent and qualified inspectors, carried out an investigation in 1851. A voluminous but meaningful report resulted. This report was extremely critical, pointing out that many of the lightships were extensively rotted and poorly maintained; their lighting equipment inadequate-, and that entire crew complements were often absent for lengthy periods. Also criticized was the practice of hiring farmers and other landsman as officers and crewmembers who, in some cases, hired stand-ins to perform their duty. Much was made of the fact that the published range of visibility of all lights was erro- neous; that there was no uniform system for coloring, numbering or otherwise identify- ing floating aids; that the positions of many lightships had been poorly selected; and that additional vessels were required. Recommendations were comprehensive, specif- ic and, for the most part, worthwhile. LIGHTHOUSE BOARD FORMED     The outcome of this report led to formation of the Lighthouse Board in 1852 as separate branch of the Treasury Department. This was a nine-member committee composed of officers of the Navy, Army Corps of Engineers and civilian scientists. The board, guided by conclusions and recommendations of the 1851 investigation, acted at once to take advantage of available technology, to upgrade equipment and to revise contracting procedures. The organizational structure was drastically overhauled to provide seven districts on the Atlantic coast, two on the Gulf coast, two on the Great Lakes and one on the Pacific coast - each with a Navy officer as district inspector. Feeling the need for an improved command structure and an organization capable of functioning as an entity responsive to a single civilian authority, the Lighthouse Board was disbanded in 1910. In its place was established a Bureau of Lighthouses within the Department of Commerce, having as its operating agency the U.S. Lighthouse Service. Heading up the bureau, a commissioner of lighthouses reported directly to the secretary of commerce, and also directly controlled the day-to-day operations of the service. For the first time, lightships, as well as all other aspects of navigational aids, had found a place in a service-oriented organization with an adequate command structure. Excerpted from A HISTORY OF U.S LIGHTSHIPS by Willard Flint. A United States Coast Guard publication. Flint was the official Coast Guard historian and author of LIGHTSHIPS AND LIGHTSHIP STATIONS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT published by the Coast Guard in 1989 and now considered a primary source of American lightship information. Photography and illustrations courtesy of Eastwind Publishing, the U.S. Coast Guard, The National Archives, Washington, D.C. and the Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia