The Trinity Shoal Light was a planned

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

meant to be constructed on Trinity Shoal in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, off the coast of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Had it been completed, the skeleton tower would have been among the most exposed lighthouses in the United States. Funds were appropriated for the lighthouse by the

U. S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

in 1871, but construction progressed slowly. The site was some away from the nearest land, and contractors had great difficulty in laying the foundation for a tower. It was decided that workers would be housed in a shelter on a platform on the site; this was finally completed in 1873 and work began in earnest. On November 16, 1873, the site was struck by a strong

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

. The

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. The work is often carried out by ships which also act as buoy tenders. In ...

attached to the site, which was carrying most of the materials needed to build the tower, was wrecked; her crew were rescued by a nearby steamer. Although it was decided that the workmen should remain on station, on November 18 the continued rough weather destroyed their quarters and scattered the 16 men into the sea. Remarkably, all 16 were saved by the same steamer that had rescued the tender's crew two days previously. As a result of the weather troubles, the Lighthouse Board decided that a tower was no longer needed on the shoal, and called off construction. Some of the materials were later salvaged and used in the building of the Southwest Pass Light. Trinity Shoal was marked with a

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

which was eventually replaced by a small automatic light.

References

External links

"Trinity Shoal - The Lighthouse That Never Was"
''Lighthouse Digest'', December 1995 {{coord missing, Louisiana Lighthouses in Louisiana Cancelled transport infrastructure 1873 in Louisiana