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      • Baker Island Lighthouse, Maine
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      • Blue Hill Bay Light, Maine
      • Boon Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Browns Head Lighthouse, Vinalhaven, Maine
      • Burnt Coat Harbor Lighthouse, Swans Island, Maine
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      • Cape Elizabeth Light, Maine
      • Cape Neddick (the Nubble) Light, Maine
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      • Curtis Island Light, Maine
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      • Eagle Island Light, Maine
      • Egg Rock Lighthouse, Maine
      • Fort Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Franklin Island Light, Maine
      • Goat Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Goose Rocks Lighthouse, Maine
      • Great Duck Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Grindle Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Halfway Rock Lighthouse, Maine
      • Hendricks Head Lighthouse, Maine
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      • Indian Island Light, Maine
      • Kennebec River Range Lights, Maine
      • Libby Island Lighthouse, Maine
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      • Marshall Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Matinicus Rock Light, Maine
      • Monhegan Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Moose Peak Lighthouse, Maine
      • Mount Desert Rock Lighthouse, Maine
      • Narraguagus Island Light, Maine
      • Nash Island Light, Maine
      • Owls Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Perkins Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Petit Manan Lighthouse, Maine
      • Pond Island Light, Maine
      • Popham Beach Life Saving Station
      • Portland Breakwater Lighthouse, Maine
      • Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Prospect Harbor Lighthouse, Maine
      • Pumpkin Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Ram Island Ledge Light, Maine
      • Ram Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Robinson Point Lighthouse on Isle Au Haut, Maine
      • Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, Maine
      • Rockland Harbor Southwest Light, Maine
      • Saddleback Ledge Light, Maine
      • Seguin Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Southern Island Light, Maine
      • Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, Maine
      • Squirrel Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Two Bush Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Whaleback Light, Maine
      • Whitehead Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Winter Harbor Lighthouse, Maine
      • Wood Island Lighthouse, Maine
    • California Lighthouses
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      • Battery Point Lighthouse, California
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      • Santa Cruz Light, California
      • Table Bluff Lighthouse, California
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    • Connecticut Lighthouses
      • Avery Point Lighthouse
      • Faulkners Island Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Fayerweather Island Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Five Mile Point Light, Connecticut
      • Great Captain Island Lighthouse
      • Latimer Reef Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Lynde Point Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Morgan Point Lighthouse, Connectitcut
      • Mystic Seaport Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • New London Harbor Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • New London Ledge Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Penfield Reef Lighthouse
      • Race Rock Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Sheffield Island Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stamford Harbor Lighthouse
      • Stonington Harbor Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stratford Point Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stratford Shoal Lighthouse
      • Tongue Point Lighthouse
    • Delaware Lighthouses
      • Harbor of Refuge Light, Delaware
      • Delaware Breakwater Lighthouse, Delaware
      • Fenwick Island Lighthouse
      • Liston Rear Range Light
      • Overfalls Lightship, Delaware
      • Mispillion Lighthouse, Delaware
      • Reedy Island Rear Range Light
      • Marcus Hook Rear Range Light
    • Florida Lighthouses
      • Amelia Island Lighthouse, Florida
      • American Shoal Lighthouse, Florida
      • Cape Canaveral Light, Florida
      • Cape Florida Lighthouse, Florida
      • Crooked River Lighthouse
      • Faro Blanco Light, Florida
      • Garden Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Gasparilla Island Lights, Florida
      • Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse, Florida
      • Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
      • Key West Lighthouse, Florida
      • Loggerhead Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Pensacola Lighthouse
      • Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sand Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sanibel Island Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. Augustine Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. John's River Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. Marks Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sombrero Key Lighthouse
    • Georgia Lighthouses
      • St. Simons Island Lighthouse, Georgia
      • Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia
    • Hawai'i Lighthouses
      • Diamond Head Lighthouse, O'ahu, Hawai'i
      • Kilauea Point Lighthouse, Kaua'i, Hawai'i
      • Lahaina Harbor Lighthouse, Mau'i, Hawai'i
      • Makapu'u Light, Oahu, Hawai'i
      • Moloka'i Lighthouse, Moloka'i, Hawai'i
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      • Grosse Point Light, Illinois
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    • Louisiana Lighthouses
      • New Canal Lighthouse, Louisiana
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      • Cove Point Light, Maryland
      • Choptank River Lighthouse
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      • Fishing Battery Light, Maryland
      • Hooper Strait Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Piney Point Light, Maryland
      • Point Lookout Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Sandy Point Light, Maryland
      • Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Turkey Point Lighthouse, Maryland
    • Massachusetts Lighthouses
      • Annisquam Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Baker's Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Bass River Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Bird Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket
      • Butler Flats Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Boston Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Cape Poge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Chatham Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Clark's Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Deer Island Light, Massachusetts
      • Derby Wharf Light, Massachusetts
      • Dog Bar Breakwater Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Duxbury Pier Light, Massachusetts
      • East Chop Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Eastern Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Gay Head Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Graves Light, Massachusetts
      • Great Point Lighthouse, Nantucket, Massachusetts
      • Highland Lighthouse, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
      • Hospital Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Lewis Bay Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Marblehead Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Mayo's Beach Lighthouse
      • Minots Ledge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Monomoy Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Nantucket Lightship, Massachusetts
      • Nauset Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Ned's Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Newburyport Harbor Range Lights, Massachusetts
      • Nobska Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Palmer Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Plum Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Plymouth Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Race Point Lighthouse, Cape Cod Massachusetts
      • Sandy Neck Lighthouse
      • Sankaty Head Lighthouse
      • Scituate Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Stage Harbor Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Ten Pound Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Thacher Island Twin Lights, Massachusetts
      • Three Sisters of Nauset Lighthouses, Massachusetts
      • West Chop Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Wings Neck Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Winter Island Lighthouse
      • Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket MA
    • New Hampshire Lighthouses
      • Isles of Shoals Light, New Hampshire
      • Portsmouth Harbor Light, New Hampshire
    • New Jersey Lighthouses
      • Absecon Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Barnegat Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Brandywine Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Cape May Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Chapel Hill Rear Range Light, New Jersey
      • Conover Beacon Front Range Light, New Jersey
      • East Point Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Finns Point Lighthouse
      • Fourteen Foot Bank Light, New Jersey
      • Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, North Wildwood, New Jersey
      • Miah Maull Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Sandy Hook Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Sea Girt Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Ship John Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Twin Lights of Navesink, New Jersey
      • Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse, New Jersey
    • New York Lighthouses
      • Ambrose Lightship, New York
      • Big Sodus Light, New York
      • Blackswell Island Light, New York
      • Buffalo Main Lighthouse, New York
      • Cape Vincent Breakwater Lighthouse, New York
      • Clayton Memorial Lighthouse, New Yrok
      • Coney Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Crossover Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Dunkirk Light, New York
      • Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, New York
      • Execution Rocks Lighthouse, New York
      • Fire Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Horton Point Light, New York
      • Montauk Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Ogdensburg Harbor Lighthouse, New York
      • Old Field Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Rock Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Rondout Creek Lighthouse, New York
      • Saugerties Lighthouse, New York
      • Selkirk Lighthouse, New York
      • Sister Islands Lighthouse, New York
      • Staten Island Light, New York
      • Stepping Stones Lighthouse
      • Stony Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Sunken Rock Lighthouse, New York
      • Tarrytown Lighthouse, New York
      • Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, New York
    • North Carolina Lighthouses
      • Bodie Island Light, North Carolina
      • Ocracoke Light, North Carolina
      • Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina
    • Ohio Lighthouses
      • Fairport Harbor Light, Ohio
      • Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light, Ohio
      • Marblehead Light, Ohio
    • Oregon Lighthouses
      • Cape Meares Light, Oregon
      • Cleft of the Rock Light, Oregon
      • Coquille River Lighthouse, Oregon
      • Heceta Head Light, Oregon
      • Umpqua River Light, Oregon
      • Yaquina Bay Light, Oregon
      • Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Oregon
    • Pennsylvania Lighthouses
      • Presque Isle Lighthouse, Pennsylvania
      • Presque Isle North Pierhead Light, Pennsylvania
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      • Beavertail Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Bristol Ferry Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Castle Hill Lighthouse, Rhode Island
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      • Gannet Rock Lighthouse, Grand Manan, New Brunswick
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      • North Rustico Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
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    • Lighthouse Trips
      • 2012-06-22 Penobscot Bay Cruise, Maine
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American Shoal Lighthouse, Florida

The American Shoal Lighthouse in the Florida Keys was the sixth and last major reef lighthouse built to help ships travel the Florida Straits. The lighthouse was built to mark a dangerous shoal and a dark area between the Sombrero Key and Sand Key Lighthouses.
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FloridaKeysTrip20131685updateFlorida Keys Trip 2013

  • During the 19th century an area near Looe Key was known to mariners as a dangerous locale shoaling to depths of five feet with unpredictable tides driving oblivious ships onto the coral reef.   After the completion of a survey of the Florida reefs in 1846, the area known as American Shoal was designated by the U.S. Lighthouse Board to receive a navigational marker.
  • In 1852 a 36 foot white screwpile structure was erected on the shoal as a day beacon.  The pile was surmounted by a red latticework hoop with the letter “B” painted on black vane.
  • Although the day beacon proved helpful, the Lighthouse Board wanted to build a proper lighthouse on American Shoal.  In 1874 it petitioned Congress to provide funding for lights at Fowey Rocks (to replace the Cape Florida Light) and another tower for the lower Keys, but only $100,000 was appropriated for the Fowey Rocks project.  The Board renewed its request again in 1876 and finally in 1878 Congress designated $75,000 to build the American Shoal Lighthouse.
  • Four acres of underwater land was transferred from the State of Florida to the Federal government.  The Lighthouse Board decided to use the same plans used for the iron screwpile light erected at Fowey Rocks for the American Shoal Lighthouse, the one difference would be the use of a more traditional lantern top at American Shoal rather than the decorative bell-shaped dome utilized at Fowey Rocks.
  • A $47,000 contract for the iron work was awarded to the Phoenix Iron Works of Trenton, New Jersey.  The lighthouse was assembled at the factory to assure all parts fit faultlessly, and then it was disassembled and shipped to the Lighthouse Depot in Key West, where it arrived in late 1879.
  • The building site was prepared by driving wooden piles into the reef and constructing a work platform.  Divers then leveled the coral for the foundation piles.
  • Eight iron piles forming an octagon and one central pile were sunk ten feet into the coral reef for the lighthouse foundation.  The 109 foot iron skeleton tower was built atop the piles.  A brown two story octagonal iron Keepers dwelling was constructed 40 feet above the water line for the Keeper and his two Assistant Keepers.  An enclosed cylindrical staircase from the house led to the lantern and was painted white.
  • A flashing 1st Order Fresnel lens constructed by Henry-Lepaute of Paris was installed in the 12 foot diameter lantern room.  An additional $50,000 appropriation in March 1880 was made to complete the lighthouse.  On July 15, 1880 Head Keeper William Bates, who had transferred from the Sombrero Key Light, lighted the American Shoal Lighthouse for the first time.
  • Several changes took place at American Shoal over the ensuing years.  In April 1893 red sectors were added to the lantern room to mark the location of treacherous reefs.  An oil house was constructed under the dwelling in 1899 and the kerosene lamp was replaced by an IOV lamp in 1912.
  • The American Shoal Lighthouse was automated by the Coast Guard in 1963 and the lighthouse began to deteriorate.  In 1980 extensive repairs were made to the lighthouse so that Coast Guardsmen could live there and use the lighthouse as an observation station for a few months during the Cuban refugee exodus.  The 1st order lens was removed and shipped to the Aids to Navigation School in Yorktown, Virginia for restoration.
  • In 1990 the American Shoal Light was chosen to be on a U.S. postage stamp in a series honoring the nation’s lighthouses.  In 2015 the lighthouse was decommisioned and it duties were assumed by a 30 foot tower built nearby.  The Florida Keys Reef Lights Foundation (www.reeflights.org) is working to preserve the lights of the Florida Keys and periodically runs trips to visit the reef lighthouses.  In February 2019 the lighthouse was declared excess and offered to qualified  organizations, its fate is soon to be decided.
  • Old postcard view of the American Shoal Lighthouse
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