Katherine Walker

Katherine Walker (née Katharina Görtler; November 25, 1848 – February 5, 1931) was a German-American lighthouse keeper.

Walker tended the Robbins Reef Light in New York Harbor for more than 30 years after the death of her husband, Captain John Walker, who had been appointed keeper of the light in 1885. Katherine Walker was appointed the official keeper of the light by President Benjamin Harrison in 1890, four years after her husband's death. During her tenure she rescued 50 or more sailors from shipwrecks.

Early life Walker was born in Rumbach, Germany, to Friedrich and Susanna Görtler.

Sandy Hook

Walker settled in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where she got a job as a cook in a boarding house. There she met Captain John Walker, a retired sea captain who was the keeper of the Sandy Hook Light. He offered to give Katherine English lessons, though his own English was not perfect. In 1884, the couple married, and settled into their new home in the Sandy Hook lighthouse. She quickly learned how to assist her husband with his duties, but in 1885 Captain Walker was transferred to Robbins Reef Light. Shortly after, Katherine gave birth to their daughter, Mary. The light was to be lit each night immediately following the gunfire from Governors Island that signaled sunset. Until dawn, the light would shine every six seconds and on a clear night it could be seen twelve miles away. If the night was foggy, Walker would descend into her basement where she would start an engine that would send out loud siren blasts at three second intervals. Walker and her assistant keeper, her son Jacob, would not attempt sleep on foggy nights. If the siren were to malfunction, Walker would ascend to the top of the tower and manually hammer on a bell. This hammering was a signal to the mainland that the siren was in need of repair, and officials would make the trip as soon as the weather permitted. She also had to keep detailed notes regarding her duties to submit to the government each month. She is interred in Ocean View Cemetery.

Legacy USCGC Katherine Walker, the United States Coast Guard coastal buoy tender named after Walker. A United States Coast Guard coastal buoy tender is named for her.

In 2009, the government declared Robbins Reef Light "surplus property", and although the Bayonne Economic Development Corporation expressed interest in the structure, only the Noble Maritime Collection submitted a proposal. The museum was granted stewardship in 2011 by the U.S. General Services Administration. The Noble Collection has plans to restore the lighthouse. Eventually, Robbins Reef will be turned into a museum to educate people about Walker and her life as a lighthouse keeper.

In 2019, SheBuiltNYC a New York City effort which was created to honor the achievements of female leaders and to increase the amount of statues in the city that are of women (currently there are 150 statues, and only 5 are of women), announced that a statue of Walker will be erected at St. George Terminal of the Staten Island Ferry, in Staten Island.