The Matagorda Island Light is located on Matagorda Island in Calhoun County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Once under the jurisdiction 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 ...

, the lighthouse is now managed by the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitat (ecology), habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state park, state's parks and historical ar ...

History

Building of a lighthouse to guide sea-going vessels into

Matagorda Bay Matagorda Bay () is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, east-southeast of San Antonio, south-southwest of Houston, and south-southea ...

through Pass Cavallo was authorized by the

Congress of the Republic of Texas : ''For the current Texas legislative body, see Texas Legislature.'' The Congress of the Republic of Texas was the national legislature of the Republic of Texas established by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836. It was a bicameral ...

in 1845 . When President James K. Polk signed the

Texas Annexation The Republic of Texas was annexation, annexed into the United States and Admission to the Union, admitted to the Union as the List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union, 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas Texas ...

documents on December 29, 1845, it became the responsibility of the

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. In 1847, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

authorized $15,090 to build the lighthouse. Legislative red tape caused a series of delays, and the contract to build the lighthouse was finally awarded to Murray and Hazlehurst of

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in 1851. The new

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

lighthouse became functional on December 21, 1852. Gulf storms and subsequent

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward r ...

caused the lighthouse to be rebuilt on higher ground. The light tower was raised in 1857 to enable the beam to be seen from a greater distance. A new lens was installed in 1859. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

tried to blow up the lighthouse to keep it out of Union hands. Damage inflicted by the Confederate troops necessitated rebuilding of the lighthouse at a new site in 1873 at a cost of $32,000. A new iron conical tower was added, with the lens above sea level. The 1886 Indianola hurricane destroyed most of the town, and caused the water to rise inside the tower. The resulting structural swaying caused the lens to fall out. In 1956, the tower was automated by the United States Coast Guard, making it the first time the tower was not operated by human keepers.

Renovation

The

, which manages the lighthouse, installed a new rotating solar-powered marine lantern in 1999. After having been out of commission since 1995, the light was re-lit at Midnight as the year turned over to 2000, to celebrate the new millennium. The lighthouse underwent a renovation completed in 2004, at a cost of $1.23 million. The renovation was made possible through private donations through the Matagorda Island Foundation, and with a grant from the United States government.

Cemetery

The resting place for lighthouse keepers and their families can be found near the lighthouse.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matagorda Island Lighthouse Lighthouses completed in 1873 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Buildings and structures in Calhoun County, Texas 1852 establishments in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Calhoun County, Texas

History

Renovation

Cemetery

See also

Further reading

References