The Sanibel Island Light or Point Ybel Light was one of the first lighthouses on Florida's Gulf coast north of Key West and the Dry Tortugas. The light, 98-foot above sea level, on an iron skeleton tower was first lit on August 20, 1884 and has a central spiral staircase beginning about 10 feet above the ground. It is located on the eastern tip of Sanibel Island, and was built to mark the entrance to San Carlos Bay for ships calling at the port of Punta Rassa, across San Carlos Bay from Sanibel Island. The grounds are open to the public, but the lighthouse itself is not.
Residents of Sanibel Island first petitioned for a lighthouse in 1833, but no action was taken. In 1856 the Lighthouse Board recommended a lighthouse on Sanibel Island, but Congress took no action. In 1877 government workers surveyed the eastern end of the island and reserved it for a lighthouse. Congress finally appropriated funds for a lighthouse in 1883. The foundation for the new lighthouse was completed in early 1884, but the ship bringing ironwork for the tower sank two miles (3 km) from Sanibel Island. A crew of hard-hat divers from Key West recovered all but two of the pieces for the tower.
Punta Rassa became an important port in the 1830s and remained so up to the Spanish–American War. It was primarily used to ship cattle from Florida to Cuba. Until the railroads reached the area in the 1880s, ranchers drove their cattle from open ranges in central Florida to Punta Rassa for shipment to Cuba.
The lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The City of Sanibel now owns the Point Ybel tract and structures, although the tower is still operational under U.S. Coast Guard control.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanibel_Island_Light
Tags: Sanibel Island Light 2 Periwinkle Way Sanibel Florida USA Year first lit 1884 Tower height: 98 feet (30 m) Construction material: iron Focal height: 31 metre Fresnel lens iron pipe foundation Square pyramidal skeleton iron framework inclosing stair-cylinder and surmounted by lantern US National Register of Historic Places Sunshine State southwest Florida island nautical historic lighthouse blue sky sand Coast Guard Point Ybel Tract
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Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the north side of Hillsboro Inlet, midway between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, in Hillsboro Beach, Florida. The light marks the northern limit of the Florida Reef, an underwater coral formation on the lower east coast of the state.
Hillsboro Point was designated as hazardous for the safe navigation of ships in 1855 and federal designation was sought. A request for a lighthouse at the inlet was first made in 1884. The request was repeated yearly and rejected 17 times. In 1901, the United States Lighthouse Board persuaded Congress to authorize the construction of a lighthouse in the dark area between Jupiter Inlet Light and Fowey Rocks Light.
The official order approved on February 12, 1901 called for a "first-order light at or near Hillsboro Point...at a cost not to exceed $90,000." No appropriation of funds was made in 1901 and in 1902 $45,000 was appropriated.The full funding to build the lighthouse was appropriated on March 3, 1903.
Initially a site on the south side of the inlet was selected, however it was not feasible, so a site on the north of the inlet was chosen. The owner of the property did not want to sell at first but after beginning condemnation proceedings, an agreement to purchase the land was reached. The 3 acre (1.2 ha) parcel was purchased for $150 from Elnathan T. Field and Mary W. Osborn of Middleton, New Jersey who had bought the land for 70 cents an acre (0.4 ha) from the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund.
Soon after the light was operational unexplained reports of fires in the Everglades began to come in. The cause was the lens, when stopped in the morning at just the right position, it would focus the sunlight west towards the wetlands. A landward baffle was installed. This also shielded nearby residents from the bright light at night.
Lightkeepers would assist shipwrecks using three 12 to 20 horsepower gas boats. The wives of the lighthouse keepers would make sea grape jelly to trade for pickled vegetables from local farmers. Four Coast Guard signalmen were stationed at the lighthouse in World War I barracked in one of the storehouses.
During the 1926 Miami hurricane J.B. Isler stood a 32-hour watch, keeping the light burning while fearing the lighthouse would fall. It stood but 20 feet (6.1 m) of sand was washed out from under it, according to Mary Ella Knight Voss, daughter of a prior lightkeeper. The storm also damaged the dwellings and carried away the boathouse and wharf. Isler's son George and daughter Ruth, born in the keeper's house, were the first children of record born at the Hillsboro Inlet.
The lighthouse beach patrol spotted a German U-boat in 1943, during World War II. The submarine was reportedly sunk, but no wreck has been documented. Later that year a freighter, the M.S. Arcura aroused the suspicion of a lighthouse keeper. The ship was being used as a raider and was crewed by German nationals and carrying arms. The crew were transported to Port Everglades and the Arcura became a war prize.
In 1974 the lighthouse was fully automated. One United States Coast Guardsman was assigned to remain on site to maintain the light and grounds.The assistant keepers' homes were converted to guest quarters for senior coast guard and other senior military officers. The Hillsboro Inlet Light Station was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1979. The lighthouse and buildings are little altered from their original construction in 1907.
In the second half of the 20th century, this inlet became an increasingly busy waterway. Hillsboro Inlet Light is considered one of the most powerful lights in the world with a beam that can be seen for 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi).
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsboro_Inlet_Light
Tags: Pompano Beach city cityscape urban downtown skyline Broward County South Florida density central business district skyscraper building architecture commercial property cosmopolitan metro metropolitan metropolis Sunshine State real estate Fishing Pier Atlantic Ocean Hillsboro Light Hillsboro Inlet Light 2801 907 Hillsboro Mile Hillsboro Beach Florida USA Built: 1907 Focal height: 136 feet (41 m) Range: 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi)
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Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the north side of Hillsboro Inlet, midway between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, in Hillsboro Beach, Florida. The light marks the northern limit of the Florida Reef, an underwater coral formation on the lower east coast of the state.
Hillsboro Point was designated as hazardous for the safe navigation of ships in 1855 and federal designation was sought. A request for a lighthouse at the inlet was first made in 1884. The request was repeated yearly and rejected 17 times. In 1901, the United States Lighthouse Board persuaded Congress to authorize the construction of a lighthouse in the dark area between Jupiter Inlet Light and Fowey Rocks Light.
The official order approved on February 12, 1901 called for a "first-order light at or near Hillsboro Point...at a cost not to exceed $90,000." No appropriation of funds was made in 1901 and in 1902 $45,000 was appropriated.The full funding to build the lighthouse was appropriated on March 3, 1903.
Initially a site on the south side of the inlet was selected, however it was not feasible, so a site on the north of the inlet was chosen. The owner of the property did not want to sell at first but after beginning condemnation proceedings, an agreement to purchase the land was reached. The 3 acre (1.2 ha) parcel was purchased for $150 from Elnathan T. Field and Mary W. Osborn of Middleton, New Jersey who had bought the land for 70 cents an acre (0.4 ha) from the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund.
Soon after the light was operational unexplained reports of fires in the Everglades began to come in. The cause was the lens, when stopped in the morning at just the right position, it would focus the sunlight west towards the wetlands. A landward baffle was installed. This also shielded nearby residents from the bright light at night.
Lightkeepers would assist shipwrecks using three 12 to 20 horsepower gas boats. The wives of the lighthouse keepers would make sea grape jelly to trade for pickled vegetables from local farmers. Four Coast Guard signalmen were stationed at the lighthouse in World War I barracked in one of the storehouses.
During the 1926 Miami hurricane J.B. Isler stood a 32-hour watch, keeping the light burning while fearing the lighthouse would fall. It stood but 20 feet (6.1 m) of sand was washed out from under it, according to Mary Ella Knight Voss, daughter of a prior lightkeeper. The storm also damaged the dwellings and carried away the boathouse and wharf. Isler's son George and daughter Ruth, born in the keeper's house, were the first children of record born at the Hillsboro Inlet.
The lighthouse beach patrol spotted a German U-boat in 1943, during World War II. The submarine was reportedly sunk, but no wreck has been documented. Later that year a freighter, the M.S. Arcura aroused the suspicion of a lighthouse keeper. The ship was being used as a raider and was crewed by German nationals and carrying arms. The crew were transported to Port Everglades and the Arcura became a war prize.
In 1974 the lighthouse was fully automated. One United States Coast Guardsman was assigned to remain on site to maintain the light and grounds.The assistant keepers' homes were converted to guest quarters for senior coast guard and other senior military officers. The Hillsboro Inlet Light Station was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1979. The lighthouse and buildings are little altered from their original construction in 1907.
In the second half of the 20th century, this inlet became an increasingly busy waterway. Hillsboro Inlet Light is considered one of the most powerful lights in the world with a beam that can be seen for 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi).
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsboro_Inlet_Light
Tags: Pompano Beach city cityscape urban downtown skyline Broward County South Florida density central business district skyscraper building architecture commercial property cosmopolitan metro metropolitan metropolis Sunshine State real estate Fishing Pier Atlantic Ocean Hillsboro Light Hillsboro Inlet Light 2801 907 Hillsboro Mile Hillsboro Beach Florida USA Built: 1907 Focal height: 136 feet (41 m) Range: 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi)
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Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the north side of Hillsboro Inlet, midway between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, in Hillsboro Beach, Florida. The light marks the northern limit of the Florida Reef, an underwater coral formation on the lower east coast of the state.
Hillsboro Point was designated as hazardous for the safe navigation of ships in 1855 and federal designation was sought. A request for a lighthouse at the inlet was first made in 1884. The request was repeated yearly and rejected 17 times. In 1901, the United States Lighthouse Board persuaded Congress to authorize the construction of a lighthouse in the dark area between Jupiter Inlet Light and Fowey Rocks Light.
The official order approved on February 12, 1901 called for a "first-order light at or near Hillsboro Point...at a cost not to exceed $90,000." No appropriation of funds was made in 1901 and in 1902 $45,000 was appropriated.The full funding to build the lighthouse was appropriated on March 3, 1903.
Initially a site on the south side of the inlet was selected, however it was not feasible, so a site on the north of the inlet was chosen. The owner of the property did not want to sell at first but after beginning condemnation proceedings, an agreement to purchase the land was reached. The 3 acre (1.2 ha) parcel was purchased for $150 from Elnathan T. Field and Mary W. Osborn of Middleton, New Jersey who had bought the land for 70 cents an acre (0.4 ha) from the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund.
Soon after the light was operational unexplained reports of fires in the Everglades began to come in. The cause was the lens, when stopped in the morning at just the right position, it would focus the sunlight west towards the wetlands. A landward baffle was installed. This also shielded nearby residents from the bright light at night.
Lightkeepers would assist shipwrecks using three 12 to 20 horsepower gas boats. The wives of the lighthouse keepers would make sea grape jelly to trade for pickled vegetables from local farmers. Four Coast Guard signalmen were stationed at the lighthouse in World War I barracked in one of the storehouses.
During the 1926 Miami hurricane J.B. Isler stood a 32-hour watch, keeping the light burning while fearing the lighthouse would fall. It stood but 20 feet (6.1 m) of sand was washed out from under it, according to Mary Ella Knight Voss, daughter of a prior lightkeeper. The storm also damaged the dwellings and carried away the boathouse and wharf. Isler's son George and daughter Ruth, born in the keeper's house, were the first children of record born at the Hillsboro Inlet.
The lighthouse beach patrol spotted a German U-boat in 1943, during World War II. The submarine was reportedly sunk, but no wreck has been documented. Later that year a freighter, the M.S. Arcura aroused the suspicion of a lighthouse keeper. The ship was being used as a raider and was crewed by German nationals and carrying arms. The crew were transported to Port Everglades and the Arcura became a war prize.
In 1974 the lighthouse was fully automated. One United States Coast Guardsman was assigned to remain on site to maintain the light and grounds.The assistant keepers' homes were converted to guest quarters for senior coast guard and other senior military officers. The Hillsboro Inlet Light Station was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1979. The lighthouse and buildings are little altered from their original construction in 1907.
In the second half of the 20th century, this inlet became an increasingly busy waterway. Hillsboro Inlet Light is considered one of the most powerful lights in the world with a beam that can be seen for 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi).
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsboro_Inlet_Light
Tags: Pompano Beach city cityscape urban downtown skyline Broward County South Florida density central business district skyscraper building architecture commercial property cosmopolitan metro metropolitan metropolis Sunshine State real estate Fishing Pier Atlantic Ocean Hillsboro Light Hillsboro Inlet Light 2801 907 Hillsboro Mile Hillsboro Beach Florida USA Built: 1907 Focal height: 136 feet (41 m) Range: 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi)
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The Jupiter Inlet Light is located in Jupiter, Florida, on the north side of the Jupiter Inlet. The site for the lighthouse was chosen in 1853. It is located between Cape Canaveral Light and Hillsboro Inlet Light. The lighthouse was designed by then Lieutenant George G. Meade of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Meade's design was subsequently modified by Lieutenant William Raynolds. The Jupiter Inlet silted shut in 1854, forcing all building supplies to be shipped in light boats down the Indian River. Work was interrupted from 1856 to 1858 by the Third Seminole War. The lighthouse was completed under the supervision of Captain Edward A. Yorke in 1860 at a cost of more than $60,000.
The lighthouse was built on a hill once thought to be an Indian shell mound or midden (and sometimes falsely rumored to be a burial mound), but which is now determined to be a natural parabolic sand dune.[4] The top of the 105-foot (32 m) tower is 153 feet (47 m) above sea level. The light can be seen 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) at sea. The lighthouse structure is brick with double masonry walls. The outer wall is conical, tapering from 31.5 inches (800 mm) (eight bricks thick) at ground level to 18 inches (460 mm) (three bricks thick) at base of lantern. The inner wall is cylindrical and two bricks thick throughout. Circumference at base is about 65 feet (20 m) and at the top about 43 feet (13 m). The lighthouse was painted red in 1910 to cover discoloration caused by humidity. Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 sandblasted the paint from the upper portion of the tower, and the tower was repainted using a potassium silicate mineral coating.
The point of land which sits at the junction of the Indian River and Jupiter Inlet for thousands of years had been a meeting place for ancient Indian tribes. This strategic site did not go unnoticed by US Army surveyors who in 1849 recommended the Jupiter Inlet area as a suitable place for military defenses. President Franklin Pierce signed the order to set aside a 61½-acre site on the Fort Jupiter Reservation for a lighthouse in 1854.
The lighthouse was initially designed by Lieutenant George Gordon Meade. Later, Lt. William Raynolds, who succeeded Meade as head of the 4th and 7th Lighthouse Districts, improved the strength of the lighthouse with a double wall design. The lighthouse and oil house construction was accomplished by Captain Edward Yorke, who arrived December 31, 1859 and completed the tower in May 1860. It was lit July 10, 1860.
A Weather Bureau station and signal station were established on the lighthouse grounds in 1889. Passing ships were signaled during the day by semaphore (flags) and at night by flares. In 1890 the Naval wireless telegraph station was established on the Reservation. It was not until 1925 that it was discovered that a mistake had been made on the original survey; the Lighthouse Reservation actually covered 113.22 acres. In 1930 the acreage was increased to 121.95 and held the tower, a keeper's house, a radio beacon, power house and several outbuildings.
The US Navy acquired 8.4 acres of the Reservation from the US Government and by 1936 the Navy was operating a Radio Compass Station at Jupiter as an aid to navigation. The station broadcast weather information and monitored distress signals as well as naval ship-to-shore and aircraft frequencies. On July 1, 1939 all US lighthouses became the responsibility of the US Coast Guard. In the same year, the US Navy established an Intelligence Listening Post at the Naval Radio Station and constructed the barracks building for naval personnel and their families.
By July 1940, the Navy's Radio Detection Finding Station, known as "Station J", came online. This secret installation was designed to intercept German U-boat radio messages and warn Allied ships and help US forces attack enemy vessels. Station J was able to pinpoint the names and locations of the submarines. In May 1943, 30 German submarines were destroyed, and in June another 37. Most had been located by the men of Station J
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_Inlet_Light
Tags: Jupiter Palm Beach County city cityscape urban downtown skyline South Florida density central business district skyscraper building architecture commercial property cosmopolitan metro metropolitan metropolis Sunshine State real estate high-rise Jupiter inlet Lighthouse Harbourplace Cato's Bridge Jupiter Inlet Colony Jupiter Inlet Light 500 Captain Armour's Way Florida USA George Meade Completed: 1860
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