LIGHTHOUSES & LIGHTSHIPS

BACKGROUND INFO

LOTS OF LINKS

SPECIFIC LIGHTHOUSES

BACKGROUND INFO

The first lighthouse in the Jacksonville area was authorized to be built at the mouth of the St. Johns River during the 1820s.  This structure was constructed by 1830, but its  service was discontinued in 1833.  The lighthouse no longer exists.

A second lighthouse was built in 1835, and its service was discontinued during the 1850s.  This lighthouse also no longer exists.

A third lighthouse was constructed at the mouth of the St. Johns in 1858, and it was commissioned for use in 1859.  Service from the lighthouse was discontinued in 1929.  This lighthouse still stands.  It is often referred to as the "Old St. Johns Lighthouse."  

In 1929, a lightship was stationed off the mouth of the St. Johns.  The ship's service was discontinued in 1954.  

In 1954, the St. Johns Light Station or Lighthouse opened within the naval base at Mayport.  This structure is still in use.  

Another structure, called the Dames Point Lighthouse, was located at Dames Point on the St. Johns River, between downtown Jacksonville and the Atlantic Ocean.  The lighthouse was first lit in 1872.  It operated until 1893.  The lighthouse was destroyed by fire in 1913.  

(NOTE: Much of this info came from the following link: DAMES POINT LIGHTHOUSE .  Some of the info also came from page 326 of Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage, by Wayne Wood, et. al., Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida, 1996).  

LOTS OF LINKS

• MANY LINKS TO LIGHTHOUSE WEBSITES -- From Historic Lighthouse Publishers.

• FLORIDA LIGHTHOUSE ASSOCIATION -- Website for the Florida Lighthouse Association.

• VARIOUS FLORIDA LIGHTHOUSES -- Florida Lighthouses, from "Lighthouse Getaway."

SPECIFIC LIGHTHOUSES -- BY TIME PERIOD

• EARLY ST. JOHNS RIVER LIGHTHOUSES -- From MidwestConnection.com.

• EARLY ST. JOHNS RIVER LIGHTHOUSES -- From Midwest Connection.

• ST. JOHNS RIVER LIGHTHOUSE (1858) -- From Historic Lighthouse Publishers.  

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1858) -- From "Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey."

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1858) -- From "Florida Lighthouses: A Cruising Guide."

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1858) -- From the artist/author Roger Bansemer.

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1858) -- A nice photo, from US-Lighthouses.com.

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1858) -- Florida Times-Union article from October, 2000, entitled "Lighthouse Debate is Back -- Issue: Should Old Structure be Moved?," by Caren Burmeister.  

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1858) & ST. JOHNS LIGHT STATION (LIGHTHOUSE) (1954) -- Daytona Beach News-Journal article entitled "Two Towers Tame St. Johns," by Jim Tiller.  

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1958) & ST. JOHNS LIGHT STATION (LIGHTHOUSE) (1954) -- Webpage entitled "Welcome To The First Coast Sentinels: Lighthouses of Northeast Florida." 

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1954) -- From "Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey."

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1954) -- From "Florida Lighthouses: A Cruising Guide."

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1954) -- From Historic Lighthouse Publishers. 

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTHOUSE (1954) -- From the artist/author Roger Bansemer.

• ST. JOHNS LIGHT STATION (LIGHTHOUSE) (1954) -- From the State of Florida.

• DAMES POINT LIGHTHOUSE -- Info about the Dames Point Lighthouse (first lit in 1872; operated until 1893;  destroyed by fire in 1913).

• ST. JOHNS RIVER LIGHTSHIP (1929) -- A boatload of info, from Historic Lighthouse Publishers.

• ST. JOHNS LIGHTSHIP (1929) -- From the State of Florida.