This lighthouse dates from 1858. It is the oldest structure still used for its original purpose, and believed to be the oldest structure of any sort, in the Tampa Bay area.
When the first Lighthouse was built in 1848, it was the only lighthouse on the Gulf coast of Florida between Key West and St. Marks. In September 1848 a hurricane covered the island with six feet of water and damaged the new lighthouse. The keeper and his family rode out the storm in a small boat tied to a tree. When the keeper saw the damage to the lighthouse, he rowed off to Tampa and never returned. Another hurricane a few weeks later caused more damage, and beach erosion threatened to topple the tower. A hurricane in 1852 again threatened to topple the tower by undermining it. In 1857 work was begun rebuilding the tower. It apparently was moved 90 feet (27 m) inland at that time. The reconstruction was completed in 1858, and the lighthouse was placed back in service with a new third order Fresnel lens. The lens was removed by Confederates during the Civil War to frustrate the Union Navy efforts to blockade Tampa Bay but was restored after the war.
In 1944 the lantern was removed from the lighthouse tower and replaced with an aerobeacon. The Coast Guard continued to man the lighthouse until 1990, when it became one of the last lighthouses in the United States to be automated. Beach erosion has again threatened the lighthouse, and sand was pumped into the beach in front of the tower in 2000. In 2001 the Coast Guard announced plans to deactivate the light, but as of the end of 2011 has not done so. The Coast Guard has declared the lighthouse surplus property, and turned it over to the General Services Administration to be sold.
Year first lit: first tower, 1848; second tower, 1858
Automated: 1990
Foundation: stone
Construction: brick
Tower shape: conical
Height: 85 feet (26 m), 87 feet (27 m) above sea level
Original lens: 1858 tower, third order Fresnel lens
Characteristic: white flash every 15 s
In order to get the correct coordinates, please choose which lighthouse this is:
A) Fort McRae Range Lighthouse - N29° 21.078 W81° 47.586
B) Amelia Island North Range Lighthouse - N29° 21.378 W81° 47.386
C) Egmont Key Lighthouse - N29° 20.523 W81° 47.500
To learn more about Florida Lighthouses, please visit the link below:
Lighthouse Friends, Florida Lighthouses: http://www.lighthousefriends.com/fl.html
Unless noted otherwise, all source material is from Wikipedia.