The American Shoal Light is located east of the

Saddlebunch Keys The Saddlebunch Keys are a series of mangrove islands about east of Key West, Florida. The keys are scattered between Lower Sugarloaf Key and Shark Key. U.S. 1 (or the Overseas Highway The Overseas Highway is a highway carrying U.S. ...

, just off

Sugarloaf Key Sugarloaf Key is a single island in the lower Florida Keys that forms a loop on the Atlantic Ocean side, giving the illusion of separate islands. Although frequently referred to simply and with technical accuracy as "Sugarloaf Key", this island ...

, close to

Looe Key Looe Key is a coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the south of Big Pine Key. This reef is within a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA). Part of Looe Key is designated as "Research Only," an area which pr ...

, in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States. It was completed in 1880, and first lit on July 15, 1880. The structure was built to the same plan and dimensions as the Fowey Rocks lighthouse, completed in 1878.

History

As early as 1851 plans were made for the erection of a series of great offshore lighthouses to mark the dangerous

Florida Reef The Florida Reef (also known as the Great Florida Reef, Florida reefs, Florida Reef Tract and Florida Keys Reef Tract) is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. It lies a few miles seaward of the Florida Keys, is ...

. These towers, all of skeleton iron construction, to resist hurricanes, were eventually built one at a time over a period of years, that on American Shoal completed in 1880, being the most recently constructed. American Shoal was built by a Trenton, New Jersey firm and took only 13 months to fabricate, ship, and erect on site. The site of the lighthouse was 15 miles to the eastward, on the outermost reefs, and was covered with 4 feet of water. Construction continued for about 2 years, and the tower when completed cost about $94,000. The lighthouse was first lighted on the night of July 15, 1880. American Shoal Light was built in

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

on a screw-pile foundation with a platform and a skeletal tower. The Light is above the water. The keeper's octagonal dwelling is on a platform above the water. The tower framework and dwelling are painted brown, while the enclosed circular stair to the lantern is painted white. The original lens was a first-order drum

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

, producing a flash every 5 seconds. The light was automated in 1963, and a fourth-order lens with solar-powered light was installed, the current (non-operational) light is a VRB-25 aerobeacon. The light had a nominal range of in the white sectors, and in the red sectors. The lighthouse is listed as number 1015 in the U.S. Coast Guard light list. In 1990, the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

issued a 25 cent featuring the American Shoal Light. The lighthouse was deactivated in 2015. On May 20, 2016, 24 Cuban refugees boarded the lighthouse. Elements of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

repatriated four of the refugees, and interned the other twenty at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.

Head keepers

* William Bates (1880 – 1889) * Henry P. Weatherford (1899 – 1905) * Alfred A. Berghell (1905 – 1907) * Arthur C.E. Hamblett (1907 – 1908) * John Peterson (1908 – 1910) * William H. Curry (1910 – at least 1915) * Thomas M. Kelly (1917) * William H. Pierce (at least 1919) * Richard C. Roberts (at least 1921 – at least 1936) * James O. Duncan (1939 – at least 1940)

Availability

On February 1, 2019, it was announced that the lighthouse would be given away freely to any government agencies, educational agencies, non-profit corporations, or any community development organizations who wanted to use it for "educational, park, recreational, cultural or historic preservation purposes." Eligible entities had to submit an application by April 2, 2019. In late 2021 the U.S.

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

put out an invitation for bids for the auction of the lighthouse. The lighthouse was sold for $860,000 on May 22, 2022 to an undisclosed bidder.

References

Sources

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External links