Sand Island Light, also known as Sand Island Lighthouse (and historical light station), is a decommissioned

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 ...

located at the southernmost point of the state of

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 ...

, near

Dauphin Island Dauphin Island, formerly Massacre Island (French language, French: ''Île du Massacre'') is an island town in Mobile County, Alabama, Mobile County, Alabama, United States, on a barrier island of the same name, in the Gulf of Mexico. It incorpora ...

, at the mouth of

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 ...

, United States. It is located roughly offshore from the primary Mobile Bay entrance, bounded on the east by Mobile Point and on the west by

. The lighthouse is high.

History

The first lighthouse on Sand Island, constructed by

Winslow Lewis Winslow Lewis ( Nathaniel Winslow Lewis; 11 May 1770 – 20 May 1850) was a sea captain, engineer, inventor and General contractor, contractor active in the construction of many American lighthouses during the first half of the nineteenth centur ...

in 1837, was a structure completed in 1839. The lighting was provided by 14 lamps in 16-inch reflectors and a first-order lens, known as the

Lewis lamp Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

, which was a poorly designed version, or Argand-style lamp. Lewis enjoyed a monopoly through his relationship with

Stephen Pleasonton Stephen Pleasonton (1776? – January 31, 1855) was the first "Fifth Auditor" of the U.S. Treasury Department; he is historically significant for his role in saving early American government documents from possible destruction, but is chiefly rem ...

that lasted until 1853. Sandisland-light

In 1859 a new lighthouse was completed but was destroyed during the Civil War, on February 23, 1863, by Confederate John W. Glenn. After the Confederates at Fort Morgan observed U.S. Army soldiers in the lighthouse reconnoitering the fort, the guns of the fort fired upon the island, destroying the lighthouse. In 1864 a wooden tower was built that lasted until 1873.

Construction

By September 1864, the current lighthouse was completed, which included a two-story

Lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

s dwelling, and the land at the time was approximately . The base is in diameter and thick, constructed on 171 interconnected wood pilings covered with of concrete, and with a focal height.

Issues

Sand Island faced continuous erosion to the point where granite blocks were being added to the island to try and stave off the deterioration and loss of the lighthouse. Restoration efforts primarily stabilized the island through 2008. Sand Island Lighthouse's dire situation is similar to its "sister light", the

Morris Island Light The Morris Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Morris Island in South Carolina. The light stands on the southern side of the entrance to Charleston Harbor, north of the City of Folly Beach. At 161 ft (49 m), it is the tallest lighthouse in ...

house, near

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. Both lighthouses were on eroded sandy islands, leaving the towers surrounded by water.

Recent

In December 2011, the construction of a new island was completed. of sand was dredged from the sea floor and deposited around the lighthouse creating a by , or approximately , island. Less than a year later the $6,000,000 restoration of the island was washed away by

Hurricane Isaac The name Isaac (or the variant Isaack) has been used for six tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean and for one in the South Pacific Ocean, and has been used for one extratropical european windstorm. In the Atlantic: * Tropical Storm Isaac (1988) ...

. The Dauphin Island Foundation (founded in 1991) works with the Alabama Lighthouse Association and acts as an agent and administrator for the Sand Island Restoration Project. There are seven general directors, nine directors at large, and also includes as directors: *Mayor, Town of Dauphin Island *President, Dauphin Island Property Owners Association *President, Dauphin Island, Alabama Chamber of Commerce *President, Dauphin Island Water and Sewer Authority *President, Dauphin Island Park & Beach Board The Sand Island Lighthouse is on the

Lighthouse Digest ''Lighthouse Digest'', a specialty magazine from FogHorn Publishing in East Machias, Maine, is about maritime history with particular attention to the preservation of lighthouses and their past. Though it is geared toward enthusiasts and an ...

Doomsday List ''Lighthouse Digest'', a specialty magazine from FogHorn Publishing in East Machias, Maine, is about maritime history with particular attention to the preservation of lighthouses and their past. Though it is geared toward enthusiasts and ant ...

, as one of the most endangered lighthouses in the country, It, and the Mobile Bay lighthouse, was damaged by

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane, and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic h ...

in 2004 and

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in 2005. Repairing that damage will further delay restoration efforts. The image of this lighthouse was used as a stamp cancellation.Lighthouse Stamp Society, Sand Island Light cancellation.
/ref>

References

External links

* *
Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Sand Island Lighthouse

Gordon Vernon, 2006 photograph.Sand Island Preservation Group.

Sand Island Lighthouse
Photos (1859–2004) and information on the Sand Island Lighthouse {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1838 Houses completed in 1838 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Transportation buildings and structures in Mobile County, Alabama National Register of Historic Places in Baldwin County, Alabama