Back in the spring of 2023, I was fortunate enough to take a roadtrip to Walt Disney World. This was a "bucket list" trip to say the least! Driving nearly straight through to get to the well appointed accommodations at Disney's Polynesian Resort, with an impeccable view of Cinderella Castle and the spectacular fireworks, It was easy to forget that I had a whole second vacation waiting for me just on the other side of my week in Disney World! My first of three locations (Stay tuned for those blogs!) on the ride back to Rhode Island was none other than America's oldest City, St. Augustine, Florida!
While spending the day in this quaint, old city I decided to learn more about the history and spent the first part of my day at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, a Spanish built fortress that dates back to the 17th century and the later part of my day at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum. While at the lighthouse I learned of it's rich history and it's invaluable contribution to the history of this beautiful city.
Located at the north end of Anastasia Island stands the St. Augustine Lighthouse. The 14 story black and white tower is 165 feet tall, has 219 steps, and a bright red lantern. Construction on the lighthouse was started in 1871 and completed in 1874, however, it wasn’t the first tower to stand guard at this location.
The current structure is actually the third structure at this location. The first documented account of a building was in a map published in 1589 by Italian cartographer Giovani Battista Boazio. His map of the 1586 raid by Sir Francis Drake on the city of St. Augustine references a wooden watchtower found at both the north and south ends of the island. These original towers were erected by the Spanish crown during the construction of the Castillo de San Marcos, which was a fort built for the purpose of keeping enemy ships from gaining control of the Spanish territory.
By 1737 a new watchtower had been constructed by the Spanish, replacing the wooden building with a 30 foot tower made of coquina (rock and shell) and wood.
At the end of the French and Indian War in 1763 Britain gained control of Florida after defeating both the French and Spanish forces. This made East Florida, which St. Augustine was the capital of, and West Florida the 14th and 15th British colonies in North America. Once under British rule, they wasted no time enlarging the 2nd watchtower by adding an additional 30 feet to the existing structure.
Even with the improved, taller watchtower, shipwrecks still continued to plague the surrounding waters. On New Year’s Eve 1782 during a nor’easter, sixteen ships were wrecked while trying to enter the harbor.
After the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, St. Augustine was ceded back to Spain and the city was once again designated a military outpost for Spain’s colonies.
During the American Civil War America was able to take control of St. Augustine including the lighthouse. In 1871, Congress appropriated $100,000 in funding and the U.S. Lighthouse Service started construction on the 165 foot tower that stands there today.
On October 15, 1874 the lighthouse keeper, William R. Russell, lit the oil lamp in the 9 foot tall Fresnel (pronounced fruh-nel) lens for the fist time. The jewel-like lens was handmade in Paris and represented height of the Victorian engineering. The new light gave off three fixed flashes from three bullseye panels and depending on weather conditions it can be seen from 19 to 24 nautical miles.
From 1874 to 1885 lard oil was the energy source for the lamp, changing over to kerosene from 1885 to 1936. In 1936 the lamp went to electricity and in 1956 the lighthouse became fully automated, no longer requiring a keeper to be on-site.
In 1970, St. Johns County was planning on purchasing and developing the property as condos, however that plan stalled and the land sat unused for the next decade. In 1980, as the development plans started to be put into motion, the Junior Service League stepped in to restore the property and open it as a museum.
Over the next decade, the Junior Service League raised over $1.2 million to not only restore the lighthouse tower, but also the lightkeeper’s house that was nearly destroyed due to a suspicious fire and the Fresnel lens that had been shot, damaging 19 of the prisms in the lens.
Today, you can visit the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum year round, weather permitting. I, admittedly, was not brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tower, although I did try (It’s always coming down thats the hardest for me!), but I wish I had made it, the view must be spectacular!
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