New Salem Guideboard Lamp History
by Mason Colby
March 22, 2025
The New Salem Guideboard was built in 1886 by Porter Eaton and sat at the five corners near the center of town. At some point it was stored in a barn for a period of time until a renovation by Herman A. Hanson occurred (Cox, 1953) in 1951. The guideboard has received multiple renovations throughout its life, first in 1906 by George Fisher, in 1951 by Herman Hanson as previously mentioned and again in 1981 by William O’Brien. I am unsure when the guideboard was moved to its current location at SRVHS, but one might expect some time around 1960 when the historical society was founded.
Last fall I inspected the lamp atop the guideboard and found it to be in an advanced state of deterioration. A photo was taken and shown to multiple lantern collectors who advised me that it was made in India or China around 1970. This import does not have a fount for kerosene but rather a candle holder. It is not a post lamp and was affixed to the post using two screws through its base. No wax was present suggesting a candle was never lit. An old photo of the guideboard with the original lantern was then shown to collectors who quickly determined it to be a Dietz No. 3 Street Lamp. “Just looking at the straight sides on the fount, the kinda coffin corners on the tubes and the extra baffles at the top, likely this is some version of the earlier Dietz No. 3 Globe Tubular Street Lamp.
The Pioneer did not appear until a bit after 1900 this does seem a significantly earlier make. Or of course perhaps an earlier SG&L always hard to tell from old pictures that aren’t super clear. Definitely not a Ham #9.” (John Chittum, Tubular Lantern Collectors Facebook Group) Lanterns That Lit Our World (Hobson, 2000) shows the three Dietz No. 3 Street Lamps that were produced between 1880 and 1944. As one can see from the photos, the 1880-1887 version had the extra baffles on the chimney and the dates fit with the 1886 construction of the guideboard.
These lamps are extremely difficult to come by, especially the earlier versions, are very costly, and would rot over time if not sealed off to the elements somehow. A lantern collector advised me that W. T. Kirkman made a reproduction, the No. 300 Frontier. From the W. T. Kirkman website: “The W. T. Kirkman No. 300 Frontier Lamp is patterned after the Dietz and C. T. Ham street lamps of 100 years ago. This type of lantern was common in the United States in the late 1800’s into the 1920’s, and could be found at railroad stations and platforms, army & calvary bases, courthouse and library entrances to name just a few. The W. T. Kirkman #300 Frontier is closer in appearance to the original 1880 patterns than any other lamp made in the past 70 years.”
Another great aspect about this reproduction is that it has a rust-proof cast aluminum base and crown, and can be ordered with a UL Wet Location rating, meaning its completely sealed off to the elements and should last a very long time if not forever. It can also be illuminated with electricity, and one choice is the Faux Flame module: “Our FauxFlame Module is the most accurate electric representation of fire, and can be seen throughout many theme parks around the world. It has two adjustments for wind and brightness and no two FauxFlames ever look alike as the algorithm is random. The FauxFlame Module is installed in the electrical box supplying power to the fixture.”
On a final note, I would like to leave a record of how the wood post was found in 2025. The post found was not original as the original would have been lathed at the top to accept a post lamp. The four brackets were attached to beveled corners on the 4 by 4 post, which were attached to the flat sections of the roof. This was the original design as can be seen in the historical photograph at the beginning of this document. The original roof was made of tin and attaching the brackets to the roof on top of the tin in this manner would not have any negative impacts on leakage.
I did find the brackets attached to the flat roof sections under the replacement wooden shakes, but I believe this may have compromised the shakes and potentially contributed to leakage. The new lathed post has beveled corners just like the old replacement where new brackets have been attached, but the post has been rotated 45 degrees so that the other ends of the brackets now attach to each of the four corners of the roof. Below are photos of the lamp, post and brackets as found in 2025. These brackets should be kept as they might be the original from 1886 and may aid in future restoration at some point in time.
References
Cox, Mrs. Florence Cogswell (1953). History of New Salem Massachusetts 1753-1953, pp. 58-59
Hobson, Anthony (2000). Lanterns that Lit our World, p. 73
