Calhoun County Calhoun County is the name of several counties in the United States of America named after U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun:
* Calhoun County, Alabama
* Calhoun County, Arkansas
* Calhoun County, Florida
* Calhoun County, Georgia
* Calhoun Count ...
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 ...
. Once under the jurisdiction of the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
Building of a lighthouse to guide sea-going vessels into
Matagorda Bay
Matagorda Bay () is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, east-southeast of San Antonio, south-southwest of Houston, and south-southeast ...
Congress of the Republic of Texas : ''For the current Texas legislative body, see Texas Legislature.''
The Congress of the Republic of Texas was the national legislature of the Republic of Texas established by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836. It was a bicameral l ...
Texas Annexation
The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845.
The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico on ...
documents on December 29, 1845, it became the responsibility of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. In 1847, the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
authorized $15,090 to build the lighthouse. Legislative red tape caused a series of delays, and the contract to build the lighthouse was finally awarded to
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 ...
of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
in 1851. The new
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
lighthouse became functional on December 21, 1852. Gulf storms and subsequent
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 ...
caused the lighthouse to be rebuilt on higher ground. The light tower was raised in 1857 to enable the beam to be seen from a greater distance. A new lens was installed in 1859.
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 ...
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
hands. Damage inflicted by the Confederate troops necessitated rebuilding of the lighthouse at a new site in 1873 at a cost of $32,000. A new iron conical tower was added, with the lens above sea level.
The
1886 Indianola hurricane
The 1886 Indianola Hurricane was a powerful tropical cyclone that destroyed the town of Indianola, Texas in August 1886, remarkably impacting the history and economic development of Texas. It was the fifth and strongest hurricane of the 1886 Atlan ...
destroyed most of the town, and caused the water to rise inside the tower. The resulting structural swaying caused the lens to fall out. In 1956, the tower was automated by the United States Coast Guard, making it the first time the tower was not operated by human keepers.
Renovation
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which manages the lighthouse, installed a new rotating solar-powered marine lantern in 1999. After having been out of commission since 1995, the light was re-lit at Midnight as the year turned over to 2000, to celebrate the new millennium. The lighthouse underwent a renovation completed in 2004, at a cost of $1.23 million. The renovation was made possible through private donations through the Matagorda Island Foundation, and with a grant from the United States government.
Cemetery
The resting place for lighthouse keepers and their families can be found near the lighthouse.