Sanibel Lighthouse History
Written by: lazyCachers
Publicized in:
Waymark
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
The Sanibel Island Light is the first lighthouse on
Florida's Gulf coast north of
Key
West and the
Dry
Tortugas. 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.
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 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 Coast Guard leases the light station site to the city of
Sanibel, Florida
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