The Anclote Keys Light is a lighthouse built in 1887 on
Anclote Key
Anclote Key is an island off the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida, the largest island in the Anclote Keys, located at near Tarpon Springs. Its name originates from the Spanish term for "anchor." The island is accessible only by boat and is ...
, the largest of the Anclote Keys. It is a skeletal square pyramidal tower, painted brown, with a black lantern. After the lighthouse was automated in 1952 the tower and other buildings at the site were often vandalized, interfering with the operation of the light. The Coast Guard determined that the light was no longer needed and deactivated it in 1984. The site was eventually turned over to the State of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and added to Anclote Key Preserve State Park. As of 2003 the lighthouse has been restored and relighted using a reproduction fourth-order
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships."
The design allows the c ...
. Anclote Key is accessible only by boat.
It is listed as ''Anclote Key Light'' number 1555 in the USCG light lists.
Head keepers
* James Gardner (1887 – 1888)
* Samuel E. Hope, Jr. (1888 – 1889)
* James M. Baggett (1889 – 1891)
* Robert S. Meyer (1891 – 1914)
* Thomas A. Moody (1914 – 1923)
* Robert S. Meyer (1923 – 1933),
* James L. Pippin (1933 – at least 1949)
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Florida
This is a list of existing and past lighthouses in the state of Florida in the United States.
See also
*Unmanned reef lights of the Florida Keys
*List of lighthouses in the United States
*List of lighthouses in the United States by height
*Marit ...
*
List of lighthouses in the United States
This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present l ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
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Lighthouses completed in 1887
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
National Register of Historic Places in Pinellas County, Florida
1887 establishments in Florida
Transportation buildings and structures in Pinellas County, Florida
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