Mobile Point Range Lights
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The Mobile Point Range Lights were a series of
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 ...
s at the entrance to
Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. T ...
, at Mobile Point on the tip of the Fort Morgan peninsula, near Mobile,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The first lighthouse was built as a landfall light by June 1822 at a cost of $9,995. The lighthouse was a conical brick
masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
tower, tall. It was first lit on 29 September 1822. Fort Morgan was built adjacent to the lighthouse in 1833. The lighthouse was joined by the Sand Island Light across the mouth of the bay, about away in 1858. This resulted in the Mobile Point Lighthouse being downgraded to a harbor light, at the same time a fourth order
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 ...
was installed. A period photograph (see infobox), taken prior to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, shows two shorter masonry towers standing on the beach below the main tower, they served as
range light Leading lights, also known as range lights in the United States, are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At night ...
s. The lighthouse was subsequently destroyed by
cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...
fire in the
Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...
during the Civil War. After the war, a temporary wooden tower was built and the Fresnel lens, having survived the destruction of the old tower, was transferred to this structure. A iron lattice-work tower was built, along with a new light keepers house, in 1872 as a replacement and the Fresnel lens was transferred to it. It was lit on 15 February 1872. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1966 and the lens was put on display in the Fort Morgan Museum. A radio style skeletal tower was built to replace the original structure. The new tower stands tall. The 1873 tower was dismantled in 1979 and later partially restored near the entrance to the Fort Morgan museum. In 2003 the
Alabama Historical Commission The Alabama Historical Commission is the historic preservation agency for the U.S. state of Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission of safeguarding Alabama's historic buildings and sites. It consi ...
had the lighthouse dismantled, transported and stored under contract with Robinson Iron Works, a company located in Alabama that specializes in cast iron restoration. As of August 2007, no restoration had been undertaken or funded by the Alabama Historical Commission or any state body. It is currently in storage at Robinson Iron Works awaiting restoration funding.


See also

*
Sand Island Light (Alabama) Sand Island Light, also known as Sand Island Lighthouse (and historical light station), is a decommissioned lighthouse located at the southernmost point of the state of Alabama, United States, near Dauphin Island, at the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alab ...
* Middle Bay Light


References


External links


Alabama Lighthouse Association.

Lighthouse Friends article
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1822 Transportation buildings and structures in Baldwin County, Alabama Lighthouses in Alabama 1822 establishments in Alabama