When the United States took possession of Florida in 1821,
the waterways around the peninsula were among the busiest on the
continent. Unfortunately, the Spanish had neglected to build permanent
aids anywhere along the hazardous Florida coast. Congress quickly moved to
remedy the situation.
Florida’s busiest port at this time was the beautiful city of St.
Augustine. Founded by Spanish settlers in 1565, it is the oldest city in
the United States. Determined to quickly establish a lighted aid at St.
Augustine, officials at first attempted to place a lantern in an old
watchtower. Built sometime in the 17th Century, the tower was structurally
unsound. A local customs collector convinced George Washington to provide
funds for a solid brick light tower. Completed in 1824, the new lighthouse
was only useful as a harbor light. Rising 73 feet above sea level, the
tower was eventually outfitted with a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens.
Like most southern lighthouses, St. Augustine was darkened
during the Civil War. By 1867 the sentinel was threatened by a more
formidable foe. Steady erosion brought the sea to within forty-eight feet
of the tower base. The Lighthouse Board soon found a secure location for a
new light on Anastasia Island, a half mile away. Although construction of
the new tower began in 1872, funding soon ran out. While officials waited
for more money from Washington, the sea was quickly encroaching upon the
old lighthouse. Makeshift jetties, quickly erected by a determined work
crew, temporarily saved the sentinel from disaster.
After funding finally resumed, construction at the new
site moved rather swiftly. A conical brick tower, reminiscent of stations
on the North Carolina Outer Banks, was erected on an octagonal foundation.
Rising 165 feet, the solid brick tower was painted with the familiar
barber stripes of Cape Hatteras Light. Completing the new station was a
handsome brick keeper’s duplex, one of the most splendid ever built at a
Southern light station. On October 15th, 1874 keepers lit the new lamps,
powered by a state-of-the-art First Order Lens. Projecting its beacon from
a 161-foot focal plane, ships could see the new light from 19 nautical
miles.
After automation in 1955, the grounds and keeper’s house
gradually fell into disrepair. In 1980 the Junior Service League of St.
Augustine signed a 99-year lease with the county and Federal governments,
ad began the painstaking process of restoring the historic site. Over a
ten-year period, tremendous amounts of volunteer effort and money were
poured into renovating the stately Victorian dwelling. Currently serving
as one of the finest lighthouse museums in the south, the elegant keeper’s
quarters is an absolute must see for visitors to St. Augustine. In 1992,
six years after vandals almost destroyed the classic Fresnel Lens, the
State of Florida released funds for its costly and difficult repair. On
May 22, 1993 the beautiful lens was back in active service guiding
mariners safely to their destinations once again.
