Well, in the beginning was the Lightkeeper’s Voice, Fog Bell, Sirens, Dynamite, Cannons and other assorted methods, and then came the Hand Horn. 

First of all was the Powers Brothers Hand Horn used in the days before mechanical equipment. Many were used up until the early 1950s. and were still kept on station in case of emergencies well into the 1990s. The horn was activated when a vessel required it, usually by blowing its own horn any time of day or night, occasionally having to wake the keeper with more than one blast. Another smaller version was this Lothrop Hand Horn (right)

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