[2] The Board had hired a number of civilians and many of these experienced people took over the roles that the military officers had been playing.

[2] President William Taft selected George R. Putnam to head the new bureau and he gained the title "Commissioner of Lighthouses."

[2] During World War I and the period following, several technological advances contributed to the automation of lighthouses, rendering human occupancy unnecessary.

A device for automatically replacing burned-out electric lamps in lighthouses was developed and placed in several light stations in 1916.

A bell alarm warning keepers of fluctuations in the burning efficiency of oil-vapor lamps was developed in 1917.

After the sinking of the SS Merak by the German submarine U-104 near Diamond Shoals, North Carolina LV-71 rescued the survivors but was sunk as well shortly thereafter.

As a result of the improved roadways, the Bureau was able to better maintain aids to navigation, benefiting the service economically.

The extension of electric lines into remote sections of the country provided a reliable power source for operating aids to navigation.

[2] In 1935, Putnam was followed in the Commissioner's position by a career Lighthouse Service employee, H. D. King, a former district superintendent.

[2] On 1 July 1939, the Service merged with the United States Coast Guard, which has since taken over the maintenance and operation of all U.S. lighthouses and lightships.