Today we went to see the lighthouse being lit. The walls of the lighthouse were about five feet thick. Otherwise hurricanes might knock it over. Jeffery, the lighthouse keeper, told us it was one of only two lighthouses in that still run on kerosene.
Elbow Reef lighthouse on Elbow Cay
When we got to the top Jeffery put a flame under the main light source, he called it reheating. After he did that he opened up a valve and lit the main light.
The lighthouse gives five flashes of light and then a pause. It works that way because there are five Fresnel lenses that focus the light into five beams. The sixth lens reflects the light back to the source, that is the pause.
Fresnel lenses
To turn the lenses Jeffery had to crank up some weights on cables to keep the lenses spinning. He has to go up every two hours to wind up the weights so he sleeps during the daytime.
The lighthouse was built in 1864 and so it is 149 years old.
Logan and Cole
Truansea 
I always wondered how the old lighthouses stayed lit. Thanks for posting.
I wish I could have been there to have watched that entire process. I have visited many light houses but they were all automated. You are so lucky to have been able to experience seeing how it was done over a hundred years ago. Cool post.!! Mary Ross