The Pass Christian Light, in

Pass Christian, Mississippi Pass Christian (), nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,307 at the 2019 census. History Pre-European history ...

, was one of the first lighthouses built in

the state A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "stat ...

. First lit in 1831, it was deactivated in 1882 and later demolished.

History

The Pass Christian Light, along with the

Cat Island Light The Cat Island Light was a lighthouse located on Cat Island (Mississippi), Cat Island off the coast of Mississippi. Originally built to guide shipping through the Mississippi Sound, it was discontinued as traffic moved further south. History The ...

, was built by

Winslow Lewis Winslow Lewis ( Nathaniel Winslow Lewis; 11 May 1770 – 20 May 1850) was a sea captain, engineer, inventor and contractor active in the construction of many American lighthouses during the first half of the nineteenth century. Life and career ...

, constructor of many early lighthouses. The tower was originally and equipped with an array of eight lamps and reflectors, first lit in 1831; in 1857 this was replaced with a fourth-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

. The lighthouse and keeper's dwelling sat in the center of town on the main street on a half-acre (0.2 ha) plot purchased for $250 from Senator

Edward Livingston Edward Livingston (May 28, 1764May 23, 1836) was an American jurist and statesman. He was an influential figure in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, a civil code based largely on the Napoleonic Code. Livingston represented both ...

of Louisiana. The obscuring of the beacon by obstructions became a theme of the history of the light. In 1860, for example, complaints were registered as to a cupola on an adjoining store; proposal was made to increase the height of the tower in order to clear the obstruction. At the same time consideration was made of selling the property and building a new light at a different site, as the current site had become more valuable as a result of its central location in town. This came to naught amid 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 ...

, for Confederate forces took the lens from the tower, and the light went dark until 1866. Restoration of the beacon came at the behest of citizens of the town, and the old lens (which had been located at war's end) was returned to the tower. At this time it appears that the tower was raised by two feet. In 1878 the dilapidated keeper's house was replaced with a much larger dwelling. By this time obstruction of the beacon had become an issue again, but this time the culprit was trees which had grown up on a neighboring lot. The owner refused to remove or trim the trees, and the lighthouse board concluded that the light was not useful and should be discontinued. Although objections were raised by shippers and local residents, they were to no avail: the light was extinguished in 1882 and the property sold the year after. The lighthouse itself was demolished.

References

{{authority control Lighthouses in Mississippi Lighthouses completed in 1831 Buildings and structures in Harrison County, Mississippi 1831 establishments in Mississippi