Amelia Island
Lighthouse
This is the last
lighthouse that we saw on our Florida travels.
This is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in Florida. It’s been active since 1839 at the site where
it currently sits, with the exception of the “dark” Civil War years, when most
of the lighthouses in Florida did not operate.
Amelia Island
Lighthouse from the Bridge
The lighthouse was
originally built on the south end of Cumberland Island, Georgia, where it stood
from 1820 to 1838. Amos latham, a 78 year
old veteran of the Revolutionary War, came with the lighthouse when it moved,
and died 4 years later. His remains were
buried on the site, but have been since removed to a family plot in Bosque
Bello Cemetery.
Lighthouse Hidden
by Trees
This lighthouse is
not only the oldest existing lighthouse structure in Florida, but, because of
the way the coast line along the Atlantic seaboard curves, it is almost the furthest
west lighthouse of any of the Atlantic seaboard lighthouses. The only one further west is located in the
western Florida Keys.
Lighthouse Thru the
Trees
This lighthouse was
placed on the Coast Guard Seventh District disposal list in 1998. However, The Amelia Island Lighthouse and
Museum, Inc., a non-profit preservation organization, was formed to restore the
lighthouse and rebuild one of the historic keeper’s quarters, and open it to
the public. The hours that it’s open to
the public are limited, tho, and when we were there, it wasn’t open. That’s why
I was limited to photos from either far away (the bridge coming over to it) or
from outside the fence surrounding it.
Enjoy!
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