The St. Augustine Light Station is a privately maintained aid to navigation and an active, working lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of

Anastasia Island Anastasia Island is a barrier island located off the northeast Atlantic coast of Florida in the United States. It sits east of St. Augustine, running north–south in a slightly southeastern direction to Matanzas Inlet. The island is about long ...

and was built between 1871 and 1874. The tower is the second lighthouse tower in St. Augustine, the first being lit officially by the American territorial government in May 1824 as Florida's first lighthouse. However, both the Spanish and the British governments operated a major aid to navigation here including a series of wooden watch towers and beacons dating from 1565. The current lighthouse tower, original first-order Fresnel Lens and the Light Station grounds are owned by the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Inc., a not-for-profit maritime museum. The museum is open to the public 360 days a year. Admission fees support continued preservation of the lighthouse and five other historic structures. Admissions and museum memberships also fund programs in

maritime archaeology Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, s ...

, traditional wooden boatbuilding, and maritime education. The non profit mission is to "discover, preserve, present and keep alive the stories of the nation's oldest port as symbolized by our working St. Augustine Lighthouse."

History

St. Augustine was the site of the first lighthouse established in Florida by the new, territorial, American Government in 1824. According to some archival records and maps, this "official" American lighthouse was placed on the site of an earlier watchtower built by the Spanish as early as the late 16th century. A map of St. Augustine made by Baptista Boazio in 1589, depicting Sir Francis Drake's attack on the city, shows an early wooden watch tower near the Spanish structure, which was described as a "beacon" in Drake's account. By 1737, Spanish authorities built a more permanent tower from coquina taken from a nearby quarry on the island. Archival records are inconclusive as to whether the Spanish used the coquina tower as a lighthouse, but it seems plausible, given the levels of maritime trade by that time. The structure was regularly referred to as a "lighthouse" in documents—including ship's logs and nautical charts—dating to the British Period beginning in 1763. In 1783, the Spanish once again took control of St. Augustine, and once again the lighthouse was improved. Swiss-Canadian engineer and marine surveyor Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres marks a coquina "Light House" on

in his 1780 engraving, "A Plan of the Harbour of St. Augustin".

Jacques-Nicolas Bellin Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703 – 21 March 1772) was a French hydrographer, geographer, and member of the French intellectual group called the philosophes. Bellin was born in Paris. He was hydrographer of France's hydrographic office, member of t ...

, Royal French Hydrographer, refers to the coquina tower as a "Batise" in Volume I of ''Petit Atlas Maritime''. The accuracy of these scholars is debated still; DesBarres's work includes some obvious errors, but Bellin is considered highly qualified. His work provides an important reference to St. Augustine's geography and landmarks in 1764. Facing erosion and a changing coastline, the old tower crashed into the sea in 1880, but not before a new lighthouse was lit. Today, the tower ruins are a submerged archaeological site. Early lamps in the first tower burned lard oil. Multiple lamps with silver reflectors were replaced by 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 ...

in 1855, greatly improving the lighthouse's range and eliminating some maintenance issues. At the beginning of 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 ...

, future mayor Paul Arnau, a local

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

n harbor master, along with the lightkeeper, a woman named Maria Mestre de los Dolores Andreu (who, in this role, became the first Hispanic-American woman to serve in the Coast Guard), removed the lens from the old lighthouse and hid it, in order to block Union shipping lanes as well as to help blockade runners remain hidden. The lens and clock works were recovered after Arnau was held captive on a ship off-shore and forced to reveal their location. By 1870, beach erosion was threatening the first lighthouse. Construction on a new light tower began in 1871 during Florida's reconstruction period. In the meantime, a

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying some ...

of coquina and brush was built to protect the old tower. A trolley track brought building supplies from the ships at the dock. The new tower was completed in 1874, and put into service with a new first order Fresnel lens. It was lit for the first time in October by keeper William Russell. Russell was the first lighthouse keeper in the new tower, and the only keeper to have worked both towers. For 20 years, the site was manned by head-keeper

William A. Harn William A. Harn commanded a New York artillery battery in the American Civil War. Pre war William Harn was born in 1833/34. Formation of the 3rd New York Battery The 3rd New York Battery began its existence as Company D of the 2nd New York State ...

of Philadelphia. Major Harn was a Union war hero who had commanded his own battery at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. With his wife, Kate Skillen Harn, of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, he had six daughters. The family was known for serving lemonade out on the porches of the keepers' house, which was constructed as a Victorian duplex during Harn's tenure. On August 31, 1886, the Charleston earthquake caused the tower to "sway violently", according to the keeper's log, but there was no recorded damage. In 1885, after many experiments with different types of oils, the lamp was converted from lard oil to

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

. During World War II, Coast Guard men and women trained in St. Augustine, and used the lighthouse as a lookout post for enemy ships and submarines which frequented the coastline. In 1907, indoor plumbing reached the light station, followed by electricity in the keeper's quarters in 1925. The light itself was electrified in 1936, and automated in 1955. As the light was automated, positions for three keepers slowly dwindled down to two and then one. No longer housing lighthouse families by the 1960s, the keepers' house was rented to local residents. Eventually it was declared surplus, and St. Johns County bought it in 1970. In that year the house suffered a devastating fire at the hands of an unknown arsonist.

Restoration

In 1980, a small group of 15 women in the Junior Service League of St. Augustine (JSL) signed a 99-year lease with the county for the keeper's house and surrounding grounds and began a massive restoration project. Shortly after the JSL adopted the restoration, the League signed a 30-year lease with 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 ...

to begin a restoration effort on the lighthouse tower itself. The lighthouse was subsequently 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 ...

in 1981 due to the efforts of local preservationist and author Karen Harvey. The antique lens was functional until it was damaged by rifle fire in 1986, and 19 of the prisms were broken. Lamplighter Hank Mears called the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

to investigate this crime. As the lens continued to weaken, the Coast Guard considered removing it and replacing it with a more modern, airport beacon. Again championed by the JSL, this plan was dismissed and the -tall lens was restored, with the help of retired Coast Guardsmen Joe Cocking and Nick Johnston. This was the first restoration of its kind in the nation. Cocking and Johnston continue to work with Museum staff and care for the lens. Volunteers from

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

Corporation and

Florida Power & Light Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. (formerly FPL Group, Inc.), is the largest power utility in Florida. It is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility company serving roughly 5 million customers ...

clean and inspect the lens and works every week. Today, the St. Augustine Light Station consists of the 1874 tower, the 1876 Keepers' House, two summer kitchens added in 1886, a 1941 U.S. Coast Guard barracks and a 1936 garage that was home to a jeep repair facility during World War II. The site is also a

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

weather station.

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum

St Augustine lighthouse visitor center sign

In 1994, the Lighthouse Museum of St. Augustine opened full-time to the public. A community-based board of trustees was created in 1998. The men and women of the volunteer board are charged with holding the site in trust for future generations. In 2002, under the direction of current Executive Director Kathy Fleming, ownership of the tower and historic Fresnel lens was transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard through the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

to the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, Inc. This was the first such transfer of a U.S. lighthouse to a non-profit organization. The Museum keeps the light burning as a private aid-to-navigation. In 2016 the museum changed its name to the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum aims to preserve local maritime history, keep alive the story of the nation's oldest port, and connect young people to

marine science Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dyna ...

s. The museum board and staff also work to help save other lighthouses in Florida and across the nation, coordinating efforts with several federal agencies and volunteer groups such as the Florida Lighthouse Association. The Lighthouse employs close to 50 individuals, and is visited annually by over 200,000 people including 54,000 school-aged children. The museum maintains an active archaeological program (Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, or LAMP) that researches maritime archaeological sites around St. Augustine and the

First Coast Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...

region. Staff archaeologists have discovered a number of historic shipwrecks and investigated many others, along with other maritime sites such as breakwaters, plantation wharf remains, and the nearby remains of St. Augustine's original lighthouse. The museum also researches other aspects of maritime heritage including boat building and the history of the local and regional shrimping industry, and maintains a growing collection of

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 ...

artifacts focusing on the history of the U.S. Coast Guard in St. Augustine. The Keeper's house is used to display a series of exhibits related to these various aspects of St. Augustine's maritime history. The Lighthouse also hosts a volunteer-driven heritage boat building program, which has built a number of traditional wooden boats from various time periods in the port's history. In early 2010, the First Light Maritime Society was established as the support organization for the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum and LAMP. The use of this fundraising organization was discontinued by the Lighthouse & Maritime Museum with its re-branding in 2016.

Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP)

The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, as part of its ongoing mission to discover, present, and keep alive the maritime history of America's oldest port, has funded

in St. Johns County waters since 1997. In 1999, the Lighthouse formalized its research program, creating the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, Inc. (LAMP). LAMP is one of the few research organizations in the nation employing full-time professional marine archaeologists and conservators that is not a part of a university or government entity. LAMP's founding Director was William "Billy Ray" Morris, who oversaw archaeological research and educational programs until his departure in 2005. In March 2006,

underwater archaeologist Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has ...

Chuck Meide took over control of the organization as its new Director, with the assistance of then Director of Archaeology Dr. Sam Turner. Today, LAMP maintains four archaeologists on staff and works with a team of archaeological conservators, and regularly employs a large number of volunteers and student interns. To date, the oldest identified shipwreck discovered in St. Augustine waters is the sloop ''Industry'', a British supply ship lost on May 6, 1764, while attempting to make port with munitions, tools, and other equipment for the garrisons in Britain's recently acquired colony of Florida. Artifacts from the wreck site—including eight cast-iron

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

, an iron swivel gun, crates of iron shot, iron mooring anchors, millstones, and boxes of tools such as axes, shovel blades, knives, trowels, files, and handsaws—were well-preserved, and provided an unprecedented glimpse into the needs of British soldiers and administrators on the Florida frontier. Many of these items were recovered and conserved by LAMP archaeologists, and have been on display in the maritime museum in the Lighthouse keeper's house. Diver&shipsbell

In 2009, LAMP archaeologists discovered the second oldest shipwreck in northeast Florida waters, an unidentified colonial sailing vessel known as the "Storm Wreck". The wreck site, completely buried when initially discovered, has been subject to excavations each summer from 2010 to 2012, and seems to consist of scattered remnants of cargo, ship's equipment and components, military hardware, and personal possessions. LAMP archaeologists, along with volunteer and student divers, have documented and recovered a wide range of well-preserved artifacts, including numerous iron and copper cauldrons, pewter spoons and plates, an iron tea kettle, ceramic and glass fragments, belt and shoe buckles, a brass candlestick, bricks, a flintlock Queen Anne pistol, three

Brown Bess "Brown Bess" is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army's muzzle-loading smoothbore flintlock Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. The musket design remained in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its ...

muskets (two of which were loaded, one with

buck and ball Buck and ball was a common load for muzzle-loading muskets, and was frequently used in the American Revolutionary War and into the early days of the American Civil War. The load usually consisted of a .50 to .75 caliber round lead musket ball t ...

), thousands of lead shot, military buttons (including one from a Royal Provincial unit and one from the

71st Regiment of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders The 71st Regiment of Foot was a regiment of infantry raised in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War and unofficially known as Fraser's Highlanders. It was disbanded in 1786. History Formation The regiment was raised at Inverness, Sti ...

), a cask of nails, tools and navigational equipment (including a sight from an octant), ship's hardware and rigging elements, the ship's lead deck pump, a bronze

ship's bell A ship's bell is a bell on a ship that is used for the indication of time as well as other traditional functions. The bell itself is usually made of brass or bronze, and normally has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. Strikes Timing of s ...

, a 4-pounder

, and a 9-pounder carronade, believed to be the second oldest in the world. After three seasons of excavation and laboratory analysis of artifacts, it is believed that this vessel was a ship involved in the December 18, 1782, evacuation of Charleston at the end of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, carrying Loyalist refugees and troops to St. Augustine, which was a loyal British colony at the time. This was the final British fleet to leave Charleston, and when it arrived between December 24 and 31, 1782, as many as sixteen vessels were lost on the sandbar in front of the St. Augustine inlet. In 2015-2016 LAMP discovered three additional historic shipwrecks, and is currently excavating one of these that appears to date to the second half of the 18th century, the so-called "Anniversary Wreck." LAMP has also excavated two historically significant 19th century wrecks: a wooden-hulled steamship, and a centerboard schooner. The identities of both wrecks remain unknown, but the study of their remains has led to a greater understanding of the economic and technological evolution of St. Augustine at the dawn of modernity. The latter shipwreck carried a cargo of cement in barrels which was probably intended for the city's late 19th century building boom, associated with industrialist entrepreneur Henry Flagler. In addition to these and other shipwrecks, LAMP has investigated a wide variety of archaeological sites in St. Augustine and the greater Florida

region representing Florida's French, Spanish, British, and Early American periods. These include British plantation landings, community boatyard foundations, ferry and steamboat landings, ballast dump sites, colonial wharves, and inundated terrestrial sites. Current work includes the implementation of the First Coast Maritime Archaeology Project, a comprehensive program of research and outreach focusing on the waters around St. Augustine and elsewhere in northeast Florida. This project was partially funded from 2007 to 2009 and from 2014 to 2019 by historic preservation grants awarded by the state of Florida.

Ghost stories

The location is the subject of numerous ghost stories and supernatural legends, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum offers tickets for a number of "Dark of the Moon" ghost tours and ghost-themed private events to the public. According to ghost hunters, the lighthouse and surrounding buildings have a history of

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

activity. The lighthouse has been featured in episodes of the Syfy television

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

'' Ghost Hunters'', and also on the paranormal TV program ''

My Ghost Story ''My Ghost Story'' is an American television series on the paranormal, which premiered on July 17, 2010, on the Biography Channel. The series features ghost stories told from a person's own supposed experience with the supernatural. Each episode ...

''. Researcher

Joe Nickell Joe Nickell (born December 1, 1944) is an American skeptic and investigator of the paranormal. Nickell is senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and writes regularly for their journal, ''Skeptical Inquirer''. He is also ...

who investigated has written that there is no credible evidence the lighthouse is haunted. He noted that supposed spooky noises or sounds from the tower have mundane explanations such as seagulls or the wind. St. Augustine Lighthouse was featured as one of the haunted locations on the

paranormal TV Paranormal television is a genre of reality television that purports to document factual television, factual investigations of the paranormal rather than fictional representations seen in traditional narrative films and tv. Over the years, the ge ...

series ''

Most Terrifying Places in America ''Most Terrifying Places in America'' was an American paranormal documentary television series that premiered on October 9, 2009 on the Travel Channel as a stand-alone special. The special was subsequently broken down into an episodic series. Ea ...

'' on an episode titled "Restless Dead", which aired on the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

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. .

External links

St. Augustine Lighthouse and MuseumLighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP)The Keeper's Blog
the official blog of the St. Augustine Lighthouse
Aerial Video Lighthouse St Augustine Florida Stock Footage Video (100% Royalty-free) 5948636
Aerial footage of lighthouse {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Augustine Light Lighthouses completed in 1874 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Museums in St. Augustine, Florida National Register of Historic Places in St. Johns County, Florida Maritime museums in Florida Lighthouse museums in Florida Reportedly haunted locations in Florida

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...

1874 establishments in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in St. Johns County, Florida