The Gasparilla Island Lights are on

Gasparilla Island Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park. The island has been an ...

Boca Grande, Florida Boca Grande is a small residential community on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. Gasparilla Island is a part of both Charlotte and Lee counties, while the actual village of Boca Grande, which is home to many seasonal and some year-roun ...

. The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse is on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island (located in Gasparilla Island State Park), and marked the Boca Grande Pass entrance to Charlotte Harbor.

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse was first lit on December 31, 1890. It is a two-story frame dwelling raised on iron screw-piles, with the lantern placed in a cupola at the peak of the roof. The keeper lived in the lighthouse. A similar house (without a lantern) built next to it was the assistant keeper's dwelling. The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse originally served ships transporting cattle from ports on Charlotte Harbor to

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Phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

ore from the

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

area became an important cargo in the 1890s, and the construction of the

Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway is a historic railroad line that at its greatest extent serviced Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor (estuary), Charlotte Harbor and a major shipping port that once operated there. The railroad's princi ...

to Port Boca Grande in 1909 resulted in increased traffic. Ship traffic to Port Boca Grande peaked at more than 30 ships a day during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when Port Boca Grande served as a safe harbor for shipping in the Gulf. The Gasparilla Island Light was deactivated in 1966, and abandoned by 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 1969. The buildings quickly deteriorated, and by 1970 beach erosion had exposed the screw-piles supporting the building, with waves breaking under the building at high tide. Two rock groins were built to protect the lighthouse, and sand was pumped in to build up the beach. Lee County took title of the lighthouse in 1972. On February 28, 1980, the lighthouse was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Restoration work began in 1985, and in 1986 the light was recommissioned. In 1988 the building and surrounding property were turned over to the State of Florida and became Gasparilla Island State Park. In 1999 the Historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse and Museum opened to the public and is operated by the Barrier Island Parks Society The light is considered an Aid to Navigation and the lamp room is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg Aids to Navigation Team.

Gasparilla Island Light

The Gasparilla Island Light was originally constructed in 1885 to serve as the Delaware Breakwater Range Rear Light. Due to erosion, the light was decommissioned in 1918. The tower was disassembled in 1921, and reassembled on Gasparilla Island in 1927. However, the light was not lit until 1932, when it began service as the rear entrance range light for Port Boca Grande, with the front entrance range light approximately one mile off shore in the Gulf of Mexico. When the two lights, which flashed at different rates, lined up, the ships' navigators knew it was time to turn to enter Boca Grande Pass. Though the front range has been removed, the Boca Grande Rear Range Light remains in service today as the Gasparilla Island Light. It is an Aid to Navigation and is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg Aids to Navigation Team. The Gasparilla Island Light was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 2014, and the lighthouse was transferred to the Barrier Islands Parks Society in 2016. The society commissioned a restoration of the lighthouse, including the installation of a replica of its original fresnel lens. The light was switched on again in 2018.

Notes

References

* McCarthy, Kevin M. (1990). ''Florida Lighthouses'', Paintings by William L. Trotter, Gainesville, Florida:

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Press. .
National Park Service Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Florida Lighthouses
- retrieved January 20, 2006

a
National Register of Historic Places
*
Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
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Lee County listings
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Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum

- retrieved June 29, 2008 *

- retrieved February 4, 2006

External links

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum
- Barrier Island Parks Society {{Authority control , additional=Q31431727,Q34157194 Museums in Lee County, Florida Lighthouse museums in Florida Gasparilla Island Lighthouses completed in 1890 Lighthouses completed in 1885 1932 establishments in Florida 1885 establishments in Florida Lighthouses completed in 1932 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Lee County, Florida