Several lighthouses called Dog Island Light were constructed on the western tip of Dog Island south of Carrabelle, Florida. They marked the "middle entrance to St. George's Sound," between St. George and Dog Islands, during the nineteenth century, until its collapse by a hurricane in 1873.

History

The first lighthouse, a brick tower, was completed in 1839. A storm in 1842 destroyed the keeper's house and badly damaged the lighthouse tower. A wooden tower was completed in 1843 to replace the brick tower. This second tower was destroyed by a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

in 1851. A brick tower was built in 1851. This is the lighthouse in the photo above. The obsolete lamp and reflector system in the light was replaced by a Forward drop lens in 1856, which was more efficient. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

forces burned the stairs in the tower and damaged the lens to prevent the tower from being used as a lighthouse or a watchtower. The light was repaired and put back into service after the war. In 1872

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

undermined the tower and caused it to fall. The lantern was salvaged and was moved to the top of the keeper's dwelling. On September 18, 1873 a hurricane destroyed both the tower and the keeper's dwelling.

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

appropriated funds for a replacement in 1874, but the Lighthouse Board stated, "This light can only serve a local commerce, of which, for several years, there has been little or none; and it is therefore recommended that the new work be indefinitely postponed." The Dog Island Light was never replaced. The

Crooked River Light The Crooked River Light, also known as the Carrabelle Light, was built in 1895 to replace the Dog Island Light on Dog Island, which had been destroyed in 1875 by a hurricane. The location on the mainland allowed the light to serve as the rear r ...

(built near Carrabelle on the mainland in 1895) serves as a leading light for the same channel that was formerly marked by the Dog Island Light.

Discovery and investigations

In 1999, a team of maritime archaeologists led by

Chuck Meide Charles T. Meide Jr., known as Chuck Meide, (born March 23, 1971) is an underwater and maritime archaeologist and currently the Director of LAMP (Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program), the research arm of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Mar ...

, as part of

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

's Dog Island Shipwreck Survey, discovered the remains of the Dog Island Lighthouse using

side-scan sonar Side-scan sonar (also sometimes called side scan sonar, sidescan sonar, side imaging sonar, side-imaging sonar and bottom classification sonar) is a category of sonar system that is used to efficiently create an image of large areas of the sea ...

. The submerged brick ruins are now located on the offshore side of the island, as the island itself is slowly migrating towards land and has passed completely over the lighthouse's original position inside the island.Meide et al. 2000 Dog Island Shipwreck Survey 1999: Report of Historical and Archaeological Investigations, FSU Program in Underwater Archaeology Research Reports No. 4, pp. 60-66
(can be viewed or downloaded as 252 pages in pdf format on Academia.edu) The site was re-investigated by Florida State University archaeologists as part of a 2006 summer field school, and various features of the lighthouse—including remains of the keeper's house—were found.

References

Sources

* *
Florida Lighthouse Page - Dog Island Lighthouse History
Retrieved June 29, 2008.
Meide et al. 2000 Dog Island Shipwreck Survey 1999: Report of Historical and Archaeological Investigations, FSU Program in Underwater Archaeology Research Reports No. 4
(Can be viewed or downloaded as 252 pages in pdf format on Academia.edu) {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1839 Lighthouses completed in 1843 Lighthouses completed in 1851 Transportation buildings and structures in Franklin County, Florida Lighthouses in Florida 1839 establishments in Florida Territory 1873 disestablishments in Florida

History

Discovery and investigations

See also

References

Sources