Amelia Island Lighthouse - Fernandina Beach, FL
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Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Biologist Marine
N 30° 40.389 W 081° 26.548
17R E 457615 N 3393463
Amelia Island Lighthouse, the oldest, still operational lighthouse in Florida, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Waymark Code: WM8VAM
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 05/15/2010
Views: 6

An historical marker located at the lighthouse provides the following information:

"Standing at the highest point on the island, the Amelia Island Lighthouse was built from bricks re-used from the Cumberland Island Lighthouse in 1839 on land purchased from Mary Fernandez. The 67 foot tall lighthouse has walls four feet thick at the base tapering to two feet at the top. It is the only dual-wall construction lighthouse remaining from Florida's territorial period. First lit by whale oil, the light is now a third order Freshnel Lens made in Paris and visible 15 miles. This lighthouse is the oldest, still operational lighthouse in Florida and is the westernmost lighthouse on the east coast of the United States. The first keeper, Amos Latham, was a Corporal in the 1st Connecticut Regiment in the Revolution."

The following information about the Amelia Island Lighthouse is from Wikipedia:

"The Amelia Island Light is a lighthouse located on the north end of Amelia Island at the mouth of the St. Mary's River. It was built in 1838 using materials taken from the former Cumberland Island lighthouse in Georgia. The Cumberland Island lighthouse had been built in 1820. The lighthouse marks the entrance to Nassau Sound and the harbor for Fernandina Beach, Florida."

"The lighthouse was originally equipped with 14 lamps each with a 14-inch (360 mm) reflector. The reflector size was increased to 15 (460 mm) inches by 1848. This arrangement was replaced by a third-order Fresnel lens in 1903, which is still used in the lighthouse."

"The original tower, moved from Cumberland Island, Georgia was 50 foot (15 m) tall, placed on a hill. In 1881 a lantern was installed on the tower, increasing the tower height to 64 feet (20 m), with the focal plane of the light 107 feet (33 m) above see level."

"The next-to-last civilian keeper of the Amelia Island lighthouse was Thomas J. O'Hagan, who was the son of the previous keeper, Thomas P. O'Hagan, and was married to a direct descendant of the first keeper, Amos Latham."

"The lighthouse was transferred from the United States Coast Guard to the City of Fernandina Beach in 2001."

"It is listed as number 565 in USCG light lists."
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