Lying 70 miles west of Key West, Florida is a group of islets, shoals and reefs which mark the entrance to the treacherous Florida Straits from the Gulf of Mexico. In 1513 after capturing 160 sea turtles Ponce de Leon named the island group ‘Las Tortugas’. Later the name was changed to the Dry Tortugas to denote the lack of potable water in the 80 square mile area. Although a light had been established on Garden Key in the Tortugas as early as 1826, mariners complained the light could not be seen beyond the shoals approaching the islands from the Gulf. To address this, the Light House Board drew up plans to establish a first order light on Loggerhead Key in the 1850’s.