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, and 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.

Harbour Lights has recreated this piece as it stood during the reconstruction period.