The St. Marks Light is the second-oldest
light station in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. It is located on the east side of the mouth of the
St. Marks River, on
Apalachee Bay
Apalachee Bay is a bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico occupying an indentation of the Florida coast to the west of where the Florida peninsula joins the United States mainland. It is bordered by Taylor County, Florida, Taylor, Jefferson Coun ...
.
Historic background
In the 1820s, the town of
St. Marks, Florida was considered an important
port of entry
In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internati ...
. The town served as a port for the prosperous planting region of Middle Florida and some counties of South
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Growers hauled their agricultural products down to the port town in wagons by way of an early road which connected the then territorial capital of
Tallahassee
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...
to the town of St. Marks. Later, this road would be widened and improved upon by the
Tallahassee Railroad Company and would become the state's first
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
.
Once the agricultural products reached the new port town, they were loaded aboard boats for shipment to
and/or
St. Augustine. There were, however, problems in navigating both the Apalachee Bay and the St. Marks River. In many places both bay and river were shallow, and it was not too uncommon for boats to run aground and/or get mired in the muddy shallows.
Lighthouse commission
In 1828, Florida's territorial Governor
William Pope Duval
William Pope Duval (September 4, 1784 – March 19, 1854) was the first civilian governor of the Florida Territory, succeeding Andrew Jackson, who had been a military governor. In his twelve-year governorship, from 1822 to 1834, he divided Florid ...
wrote a letter to
Joseph M. White
Joseph M. White (May 10, 1781 – October 19, 1839) was a Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Florida Territory.
Born in Franklin County, Kentucky; completed preparatory studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar and ...
, a territorial delegate in which he stressed a great need for a lighthouse at the St. Marks location. White, in turn, wrote a letter to
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Levi Woodbury
Levi Woodbury (December 22, 1789September 4, 1851) was an American attorney, jurist, and Democratic politician from New Hampshire. During a four-decade career in public office, Woodbury served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U ...
, who chaired the
Senate Committee on Commerce, reiterating the importance of establishing a light at St. Marks. Eleven days later, the committee issued a report which recognized the town of St. Marks as an official port of entry and recommended the building of a
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 ...
in the area. On May 23, 1828, the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
passed an act which authorized the construction of a lighthouse at St. Marks and appropriated $6,000 for its construction.
Construction
After a survey was completed of the St. Marks area by Robert Mitchell, the
Collector of Customs at Pensacola, and a site chosen for the lighthouse, it was discovered that the initial construction sum of $6,000 would be insufficient. The
appropriation was increased to $14,000, and by mid-1829 a contract was signed with Winslow Lewis of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
for the construction of a tower in the St. Marks area for $11,765. The finished product was not accepted by the Collector of Customs for St. Marks, Mr. Jesse H. Williams, because it had been constructed with hollow walls. Williams felt that the tower should be constructed with solid walls and, therefore, refused to accept the work.
Calvin Knowlton was brought in to rebuild the tower. He oversaw its completion, and in 1831, Williams, satisfied that the light was built according to the contract, accepted the work. That same year saw the tower's whale-oil lamps lit for the first time by Samuel Crosby, who had been appointed the first Keeper of the St. Marks Lighthouse the previous year.
Threats to the lighthouse
Second Seminole Indian War
Samuel Crosby was still Keeper of the St. Marks Lighthouse in 1835, when the
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...
broke out, and soon learned of the Indian attacks on both the
Cape Florida
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area occupies approximately the southern third of the island of Key Biscayne, at coordinates . This park includes the Cape Florida Light, the oldest standing structure in Greater Miami. In 2005, it was ra ...
and
Mosquito Inlet
The Ponce de Leon Inlet is a natural opening in the barrier islands in central Florida that connects the north end of the Mosquito Lagoon and the south end of the Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean. The inlet originally was named Mosquito Inlet. ...
lighthouses. Fearing for the safety of his family, Crosby wrote authorities and requested that a small detachment of troops be quartered near his lighthouse in order to protect both it and his family against hostile attack. His request was refused. Crosby, still not satisfied with his situation, again wrote authorities and this time requested that a small boat be provided, which he could use to evacuate his family in the event of an emergency. This request was also refused. Fortunately, the
Seminole Indians
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
chose not to attack the St. Marks Lighthouse and Crosby continued in his duties as head keeper for another four years.
Natural disasters
![USCGStmarks1840](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/USCGStmarks1840.JPG)
In 1842,
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
threatened the lighthouse and Winslow Lewis was again called in. He was given a contract to move the tower to a safer location. Lewis's contractors dismantled and removed the lantern and illuminating apparatus, then tore down the original 1829–1831 brick tower. Another site was selected farther inland, away from the water, and a new tower was constructed, then the original lantern and illuminating apparatus were reinstalled.
The new tower survived the destructive
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 ...
s of the 1840s and 1850s, including the disastrous
hurricane of September 1843, which destroyed most of the town of Port Leon and caused major damage to the town of St. Marks.
Civil War
By the 1860s, however, a new threat to the lighthouse arose: 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 ...
. In 1865,
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 ...
troops were stationed near the lighthouse to defend the area against a
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 ...
attack. The tower's lighting apparatus had been removed earlier in order to prevent the lighthouse from aiding ships of the Union
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...
, which were patrolling the Apalachee Bay. In March of that year, a Federal fleet of 16 ships appeared off the coast and began to shell the vicinity of the lighthouse in preparation for landing a force. The Confederates attempted to blow up the lighthouse during their retreat in order to deny it as a lookout for the Union forces.
Though they were unsuccessful in destroying the tower, nevertheless, the damaged inflicted was substantial, necessitating a complete rebuild of the tower immediately following the war. During this subsequent rebuild, the tower was heightened to its present
focal plane
In Gaussian optics, the cardinal points consist of three pairs of points located on the optical axis of a rotationally symmetric, focal, optical system. These are the '' focal points'', the principal points, and the nodal points. For ''ideal'' ...
of above sea level, and the original lighting apparatus was restored.
Automation and deactivation
The lighthouse was automated by 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 ...
in 1960, and in 2000 the Coast Guard spent $150,000 in 2000 to stabilize the lighthouse. In 2000
or 2001
the lighthouse's 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 ...
was deactivated and a modern solar-powered beacon was placed outside the lantern room. The historic Fresnel lens remained in place in the tower for over a decade.
In July 2005,
Hurricane Dennis
Hurricane Dennis was an early-forming major hurricane in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico during the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Dennis was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season. F ...
broke a window of the lantern, flooding the inside of the tower.
In October 2013 the Coast Guard deactivated transferred ownership of the lighthouse to the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
, which operates the
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, in Wakulla County, Florida, is one of the oldest wildlife refuges in the United States. Established in 1931 as a wintering ground for migratory birds, it encompasses 68,000 acres (280 km2) spread between ...
. The lighthouse was deactivated in 2016 and the Coast Guard's solar beacon was removed.
Financial grants from the
Florida Department of State
The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...
and
Duke Energy
Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Overview
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation in ...
in 2016, plus crowdfunded donations, were put towards repairs and restoration.
On October 31, 2019, a replica of the original fourth-order Fresnel lens was lit in the tower.
The light is now maintained as a private aid to navigation and is lit seasonally.
References
*The text of this article is taken primarily fro
http://www.fws.gov/saintmarks/lighthouse.html As a product of the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
, it is in the public domain. Article retrieved February 20, 2006.
*
*
* – retrieved February 19, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marks Light
Lighthouses completed in 1831
Lighthouses completed in 1842
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
Transportation buildings and structures in Wakulla County, Florida
National Register of Historic Places in Wakulla County, Florida
1831 establishments in Florida Territory