Crooked River of the Florida variety

The Crooked River Lighthouse, just west of Carabelle, Florida, has seen many mariners safely home for the 100 years it was lit and used. It was built in 1895 to replace one on Dog Island that was destroyed in a hurricane in 1873. Authorities decided it would be better to have a lighthouse on the secure mainland rther than the exposed Dog Island. After construction delays, the Crooked River Lighthouse, flanked by two identical keeper's houses was completed. The twin houses, one for the keeper and the other for the assistant keeper were sold in 1964 and moved from the site. A fire destroyed one of the houses and the other remains in private ownership.

Electricity came to the lighthouse in 1933 and it became automated in 1952. The lens was built in 1894 by Henri LaPaute in Paris France. The lens currently is on display at the US Coast Guard District 8 headquarters in New Orleans. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1995.
In 1999, the lighthouse belonged to the US Coast Guard, but was inoperable and deemed surplus property. The Carrabelle Lighthouse Association was formed and in August 2001 the deed was transferred to the city of Carrabelle. The following February, the CLA reached an agreement with the city to care for and restore the lighthouse.

On December 8, 2007, with the restoration of the light complete, the park was opened to the public and the Coast Guard recommisioned the light as a private aid to navigation.
Tower Height: 103 feet

Construction: cast iron skeletal tower with cement foundation

Number of steps: 138

Original light apparatus: 4th order open bivalve revolving lens (Henry Lepaute 1894)

Modern light apparatus: 4th order open bivalve with 190mm rotating lantern

Light: two-group flashing white, flashes every twelve and a half seconds

Currently the CLA and the city of Carrabelle are in the process of building a replica of the Light Keeper's house to be located in the park to serve as a museum. When completed the museum, lighthouse, and recreational conservation site will be open to the public.

History and information from park brochure at the site.

This is a playground that was not here in 2003. I sure wish I had a pirate ship when I was growing up!!

Cape San Blas

This is a lighthouse on the Gulf coast that I visited in 2003, and decided to come see again. When I was here before, only one of the dwellings had been restored, while the other was in terrible condition. I had read that it had since been restored as well, which is my I came back to see it.

As it turns out, somehow I lost most of my pictures from the 2003 trip, which kinda upset me. I was going to do this great before and after sequence and blah blah blah.... Anyway, so this picture is not mine, it is from Lighthouse Friends. But it shows how the second dwelling looked when I was here before.

Now the second dwelling is fully restored and serves as a gift shop that is, naturally, not open on Sundays, which is when I was here.

The site has no markers or brochures, so no locally available information. This small building is also there and was probably associated with operation of the lighthouse.

A brief overview of the light's history, thanks again to Lighthouse Friends. To read the full story, go to their site. I don't want any kind of copyright snafu.

A lighthouse here was originally built in 1836, further north, near the tip of the St Joseph cape. From 1847-48 it was dismantled and rebuilt at the current location near the southern end. This light was destroyed by wind in 1851. A second brick tower was built in 1855, but was destroyed by a hurricane less than a year later. In 1857 the third brick tower was built, which lasted until 1882, when the beach around it had completely eroded away.

Following the loss of the third tower, it was decided to replace it with an iron skeleton tower that could easily be moved if needed. It was built in 1885, after the ship carrying it, ironically, sank. The iron skeleton proved to be a good idea in 1918, when the light was moved inland to protect it from the eroding shoreline. The light remained active until 1996, and in 1999 was placed under care of the Air Force.

A short walk takes you to the beach

The light is also clearly visible from the beach

The light is on Air Force property, part of the Eglin Air Force Base, seen above. It is accessible to the public, unless special AF testing is occurring. There is also a state park a few miles up the road.

St Mark's Lighthouse

This is the St Mark's River Wildlife Refuge, which I came to, in order to see the lighthouse here. It would be my luck they were having some kind of festival that day, and not wanting to deal with the fiasco, I decided to take a few photos from the parking lot and call it a day.

One of the NWR waterways

Looking upriver towards San Marcos de Apalache

The current light tower was built in 1842 when the older tower was threatened by erosion. It rests on a bed of limestone taken from fort San Marcos de Apalache and was originally 65 feet tall. The light had survived two hurricanes by the outbreak of the Civil War, when both sides used the light. It was bombarded by Union ships in 1862 and in 1863 Union troops landed to burn the stairs so the Confederates could not use the tower. In 1865 when the Union army landed to march towards Talahasee, they found several explosive charges planted in the tower by retreating Confederate soldiers. Fortunetly the charges did little damage and the tower was soon repaired.

And with a little telephoto...

And here on the loooong drive out, you can see smoke from the many control burns occuring around the state recently. Apparently the fire season these last couple years have left Florida officials feeling a little "burned!" (Oh that was bad!)

This big light of mine

Ok, so this is Tybee Island, just southeast of Fort Pulaski. Like much of the southeast, the island was tossed between several cultures including French, Spanish, British, Us, Confederates, and Pirates. The first lighthouse was built here in 1736 by the settlers of Savannah to mark the entrance of the river. A new one was built of stone in 1742 when the old wooden one washed away. In 1773 a third lighthouse was built, further from the shore which now threatened the second one. This lighthouse and grounds became Federal property in 1790. During the War of 1812 the lighthouse was used as a signal tower, and Martello Tower fortress was built nearby for defense. Although the lighthouse survived the Civil War and the siege of Fort Pulaski, in 1866 the top 40 feet of it was removed and the lower 60 feet used as a base for a new light, the current one. Visitors can climb the light tower, which I did five years ago, but due to time constraints and the long line outside I chose not to this time. I do highly encourage anyone to do so though, because the views of Fort Pulaski and Fort Screven are amazing.

Fort Screven was built in 1897 north of the lighthouse as part of the modern system of coastal defenses. If you recall the Fort Pulaski post, brick forts and canon balls were long outdated now, and modern forts were smaller concrete structures covered with earth in front to disguise them. They contained several large, separated disapearing guns that would fire and then duck down behind the fort wall. And these new forts were often spread out around or along a harbor to provide a greater field of fire and minimize damage to the fort. Fort Screven, like many of these forts, served through WW2 and was closed in 1947. Also like many of these forts, part of it is preserved as a musuem.
Pirate artifacts in the Fort Screven museum
an old rifle and pistol
Uniforms and accesories from WW1 era
Atop Fort Screven looking back at the lighthouse

Here is one of the spots where one of the large 12 inch guns would have sat.
Due to the parts of the modern forts being so spread out, many of the parts had individual battery names as well. The modern museum is in Battery Garland.
A collection of old rifles
Some nostalgic carnival type attractions from yesteryear
Looking up a chute that would have carried ammunition from inside the fort up to the guns on top.

This little light of mine

Ok, on the eastern end of Cockspur Island, where Fort Pulaski is, stands the Cockspur Island Lighthouse. When I was here before, there was no good way to view the light. Now there is a short trail that leads out to where it stands. The first light here was built in 1837, and was unlit. In 1848 John Norris, a New York architect who designed several Savannah buildings including the Custom House and the Hug-Mercer house, was contracted to build a light station. This first lighthouse was commisioned in 1849 and destroyed by a hurricane in 1854.
The new tower was built in 1856 on the same foundation using local gray brick. The light was exstinguished during the Civil War to hinder the Union blockade. Despite being in the direct line of fire between Tybee Island and Fort Pulaski, the lighthouse suffered very little damage. The light was re-lit following the war and painted white to make it more visible during the day. Another hurricane in 1893 destroyed the keeper's house, forcing them to build a new house atop the nearby fort. The light was finally extinguished June 1, 1909 because the northern channel of the river became the preferred shipping route, while the light was on the southern channel.
Today, the lighthouse is maintained by the National Park Service as part of the Fort Pulaski National Monument. The Park Service took it over on August 14, 1958 and in 1972 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is also now open to anyone with a boat. The National Park Service is also accepting donations to help preserve the lighthouse, which continually needs to be repaired and repainted. The wooden foundation is also currently threatened by shipworm infestation and will cost nearly $1,000,000 to repair. Donations for this small but beautiful light can be sent to:
Eastern National
In care of Fort Pulaski NM
PO Box 30757
Savannah, GA 31410

Looking back at Fort Pulaski in the distance
One of the local crabs that constantly scurry across the path by the water
A flower. Don't know what it is, but it was pretty.

We'll leave the light on for you

Ok, this is the St Simon's Lighthouse, located on the island's southern end, in the St Simon's village. This was originally the site of Fort St Simon's, built by Oglethorpe's men to defend this end of the island. When the Spanish Fleet sailed by the fort, receiving very little damage, the fort was abandoned and the men returned to Fort Frederica. This was also the other end of the Military Road seen in the last post. In 1804, this land was purchased by the government to build a lighthouse. During the Civil War, the Confederate Fort Brown was built on the property, and when it was abandoned in 1862, its soldiers blew up the lighthouse. The current light was built in 1872.


So, since I got to play with the new camera for this, I tried out some of my favorite photo techniques and ideas. So this blog is interactive! Your job is to tell me which photo you like best!

Sydney Lanier Bridge again