Beacon Light at Sherman Hill, Wyoming, to Guide Transcontinental Air Mail Pilots, 1924
Add to SetSummary
Early pilots depended on visual landmarks, preventing reliable nighttime navigation. When the postal service took to the skies with transcontinental mail delivery, a lighted pathway was formed to guide pilots at night. Throughout the 1920s, a series of powerful light beacons was built, eventually stretching from New York to San Francisco. This Wyoming beacon is the mid-point of the route.
Early pilots depended on visual landmarks, preventing reliable nighttime navigation. When the postal service took to the skies with transcontinental mail delivery, a lighted pathway was formed to guide pilots at night. Throughout the 1920s, a series of powerful light beacons was built, eventually stretching from New York to San Francisco. This Wyoming beacon is the mid-point of the route.
Artifact
Photographic print
Subject Date
1924
Collection Title
On Exhibit
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
2001.0.107.29
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Technique
Gelatin silver process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 5 in
Width: 7 in
Inscriptions
at bottom printed in image: The highest light in the world-- this 5,000,000 Candle Power beacon is located in the Rock Mountains on the top of Sherman Hill between Cheyenne & Laramie, Wyo. 8,600 feet above sea level-- It's used to guide Air Mail Pilots on Transcontinental route-- on their night flights.
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