Pass Manchac Light was 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 ...

Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Tangipahoa Parish (; French: ''Paroisse de Tangipahoa'') is a parish located in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 121,097. The parish seat is Amite City, while the largest city is ...

, which was originally established in 1838, to mark the north side of the entrance to Pass Manchac, the channel between

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from west ...

and

Lake Maurepas Lake Maurepas ( ; french: Lac Maurepas) is located in southeastern Louisiana, approximately halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, directly west of Lake Pontchartrain. Toponymy Lake Maurepas was named for Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, comt ...

. The fourth and last tower on this particular site was constructed in 1857 and was in service for 130 years. The first three had been built in 1838, 1842, and 1846, in each case requiring replacement due to poor construction and/or encroaching lake waters.

History

The 1857 lighthouse, a brick cylinder with attached house, was damaged in 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 ...

and during tropical storms in 1888, 1890, 1915, 1926, and 1931. The station was automated in 1941, and the keeper's house was removed in 1952, by which time the light was on an island instead of a peninsula. Pass Manchac Light was added to 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 v ...

in 1986. The light was functionally replaced in 1987 by the

U.S. 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, mul ...

, which established a skeleton tower on the south side of the pass entrance. On August 28, 2012, Louisiana was struck by Hurricane Isaac, destroying the lighthouse. It was removed from the National Register in January 2019. However, since February 2008 its lantern room – which was removed from the tower in 2002 for restoration – has been located at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum, in

Madisonville, Louisiana Madisonville is a town in St. Tammany Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 748 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 857 at the 2020 U.S. population estimates program. It is not part of the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner met ...

.Pass Manchac at LighthouseFriends.com
accessed 25 Mar 2015.

Gallery

References

External links

Pass Manchac at Lighthouse Friends
detailed history
1996 video of the Pass Manchac LightWebsite of Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum
in

Lighthouses completed in 1838 Lighthouses completed in 1842 Lighthouses completed in 1846 Lighthouses completed in 1857 Buildings and structures in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Buildings and structures demolished in 2012 Tourist attractions in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Transportation in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana 1838 establishments in Louisiana {{US-lighthouse-stub

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links