Aransas Pass Light Station also called Lydia Ann Lighthouse is an historic light station in Aransas County, Harbor Island, just outside the city limits of

Port Aransas Port Aransas ( ) is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States. This city is 180 miles southeast of San Antonio. The population was 2,904 at the 2020 census. Port Aransas is the only established town on Mustang Island. It is located north of ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, behind San Jose and

Mustang Island Mustang Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The island is 18 miles (29 km) long, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas. The island is oriented generally northeast–southwest, with the Gulf ...

s, that protects a natural gulf pass to Aransas and

Corpus Christi Bay Corpus Christi Bay is a scenic semi-tropical bay on the Texas coast found in San Patricio and Nueces counties, next to the major city of Corpus Christi. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang Island, and is fed by the Nueces River ...

History

The Aransas Pass Light Station was one of original Texas stations of the

Lighthouse Service The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of the ...

, that was formed in 1851, and merged into the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

in 1939. The Board wrote Inspector Stevens, "…it is very important that the

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divide ...

, Aransas Pass, Shell keys, Ship Shoal, Barataria, & Timbalier Lights should be built as soon as possible." The lighthouse is the second oldest on the Texas coast and the oldest surviving structure in the Aransas Pass- Corpus Christi area. When the Aransas Pass shifted, the light station was not needed and a new light was installed on Port Aransas. The Light was extinguished and the property delisted in 1952, and the property considered surplus. It was sold at auction in 1955. The channel was renamed Lydia Ann Channel and the light station Lydia Ann Light Station.

Current

H-E-B H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 340 stores throughout the U.S. state of Texas, as well as in northeast Mexico. The company also operates Central Market, an u ...

CEO Charles Butt purchased the light station, hired a caretaker, remodeled and restored the structures after a hurricane, and put the automated lighthouse back into service in 1988. It is currently the only light station on the Texas coast to have an on-site caretaker and as of 2012, Rick Reichenbach is currently the second.

References

External links

Lighthouse Digest
''Texas's “Lydia Ann” Light Shines On'

{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1856 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Buildings and structures in Aransas County, Texas Tourist attractions in Aransas County, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Aransas County, Texas

History

Current

See also

References

External links