Point Bolivar Light is a historic

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

Port Bolivar, Texas Port Bolivar ( ) is an unincorporated community located on the northern shore of the western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula, separated from Galveston Island by the entrance to Galveston Bay. The Bolivar Peninsula itself is a census-designated place, ...

, that was built in 1872. It served for 61 years before being retired in 1933, when its function was replaced by a different light. The current lighthouse is at least the second structure at the site. The first lighthouse was built in 1852 of cast iron made at the Baltimore foundry of

Murray and Hazlehurst Henry R. Hazlehurst (1815-1900) was an American civil engineer. Long employed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, he also helped build the first rail link between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and points south. Hazlehurst was born in Abingdon, Oxford ...

, and was pulled down during the Civil War so that Union warships could not use it as a navigational aid.

History

During the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the lighthouse served as a shelter for at least 125 people, saving their lives. In 1915, the lighthouse also survived another hurricane, where winds of 126 miles per hour were recorded. The first lighthouse keeper, H. C. Claiborne, retired in 1918, after witnessing those two storms, and was replaced by a Captain J. Brooks. From the 1890s until the line's abandonment in 1942, the lighthouse looked down on the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway line that ran between it and Texas State Highway 87. In 1947, the lighthouse was sold and, although still standing, is not open to the public. The 1970 film '' My Sweet Charlie'', starring Patty Duke and Al Freeman Jr. was filmed at the lighthouse and adjacent caretaker's house. The War Department took possession of the lighthouse in 1935. It was transferred to the

War Assets Administration The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive Ord ...

, sold to rancher Elmer V. Boyt, and remains in the family.Lighthousefriends.com
Retrieved 2014-12-19

Current

After withstanding over 150 years of erosion, the lighthouse has rusted to a dark brown color. BolivarLighthouse

The lighthouse is adjacent to the

Houston Audubon Society Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Horseshoe Marsh Bird Sanctuary A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toen ...

References

External links

A tribute to the lighthouse
*
Houston Audubon Society
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1872 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Galveston County, Texas Buildings and structures in Galveston County, Texas History of Galveston, Texas Tourist attractions in Galveston County, Texas

History

Current

See also

References

External links