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      • Baker Island Lighthouse, Maine
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      • 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
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      • Goat Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Goose Rocks Lighthouse, Maine
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      • 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
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      • Moose Peak Lighthouse, Maine
      • Mount Desert Rock Lighthouse, Maine
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      • Nash Island Light, Maine
      • Owls Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Perkins Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Petit Manan Lighthouse, Maine
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      • 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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      • 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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      • 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
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      • Cape Meares Light, Oregon
      • Cleft of the Rock Light, Oregon
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      • Presque Isle Lighthouse, Pennsylvania
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      • Beavertail Lighthouse, Rhode Island
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    • Lighthouse Trips
      • 2012-06-22 Penobscot Bay Cruise, Maine
      • 2011-09-10 Boothbay Lighthouse Cruise with NELL
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Sombrero Key Lighthouse

Marking the perilous Florida Straits and the submerged reefs of the Florida Keys was one of the major projects of the Light House Board during the second half of the 19th century. After completion of the Carysfort Reef Lighthouse in 1852 amd rebuilding the destroyed Sand Key Lighthouse in 1853 and the next step was to build a new lighthouse to mark the dark area between these two sentinels. The man who had completed the two lights, George Meade who would later lead Union troops at Gettysburg, suggested erecting a light in the vicinity of Vaca Key. This led to the construction of the Sombrero Key Lighthouse seven miles offshore of the City of Marathon.
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In 1857 delivery of the lighthouse parts was made to Duck Key which served as the construction headquarters.  Meade sank the eight outer iron piles through 8 foot diameter pads 10 feet into the coral for the foundation of the structure.  A final pile was sunk in the center of the piles.  Each pile could support up to 64 tons.  Six additional levels of piles were built atop the foundation tapering from 56 feet at the bottom to 15 feet at the top of the structure.
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In 1857 delivery of the lighthouse parts was made to Duck Key which served as the construction headquarters. Meade sank the eight outer iron piles through 8 foot diameter pads 10 feet into the coral for the foundation of the structure. A final pile was sunk in the center of the piles. Each pile could support up to 64 tons. Six additional levels of piles were built atop the foundation tapering from 56 feet at the bottom to 15 feet at the top of the structure.

Florida Keys Trip 2013 1906

FloridaKeysTrip20131906Florida Keys Trip 2013

  • When Captain George Meade wrote to the Light House Board in 1854 to propose a lighthouse, he planned for a masonry tower similar to several Scottish sea swept lighthouses.  However, the estimated high cost of $300,000 to $400,000 persuaded the Board to consider building a skeleton tower like those at Sand Key Lighthouse and Carysfort Reef Lighthouse.
  • Meade drew up plans to build a wrought iron tower 156 feet tall which would make it the tallest lighthouse in the Florida Keys. Meade’s concern over the corrosion caused by sea water on iron initiated a search on methods of protecting the metal.
  • A new method of treating metal had been developed in Europe known as galvanizing, where iron would be bathed in zinc.  This severely retarded the corrosion of the iron.  Meade found a company in Philadelphia which provided this service and submitted the plans for the lighthouse to them for an estimate of the cost.  For an additional $10,000 I.P. Morris and Company agreed to galvanize the 12 inch diameter iron foundation piles of the screwpile lighthouse.
  • While the lighthouse sections were under construction in Philadelphia, Meade set out to survey the area and choose a construction site.  Coffin’s Patch was an area where a day beacon had been erected in 1852.  The beacon was red and white barrel atop a 36 foot iron pole.  Temporary construction works were set up that summer to begin building the lighthouse; however a hurricane in August 1856 destroyed the site and postponed construction.
  • Since Congressional funds were now expended, Meade used the time until a new appropriation was made by looking for a new construction site.  An area known locally as ‘Dry Banks’ was selected by Meade.  Officially known as Sombrero Key, it was formerly the site of a sandy island which had washed away and was now shallow coral reefs.
  • In 1857 delivery of the lighthouse parts was made to Duck Key which served as the construction headquarters.  Meade sank the eight outer iron piles through 8 foot diameter pads 10 feet into the coral for the foundation of the structure.  A final pile was sunk in the center of the piles.  Each pile could support up to 64 tons.  Six additional levels of piles were built atop the foundation tapering from 56 feet at the bottom to 15 feet at the top of the structure.
  • A Keepers dwelling 30 foot square was constructed within the second section of pilings.  The house was made of one quarter inch boilerplate metal with wood interior walls 40 feet above sea level.  The dwelling had four rooms with a 133 step enclosed staircase to the lantern room.
  • Since both Carysfort Reef and Sand Key Lights exhibited flashing lights, a fixed First Order Fresnel lens was purchased for the Sombrero Key lantern for $20,000 from Henry Lepaute of Paris.  This lens was installed and lit for the first time on March 17, 1858.
  • Joseph Bethel was transferred from Garden Key Light in the Dry Tortugas to serve as the first Keeper at Sombrero Key.  His wife was the daughter of the Mabrity’s who tended the Key West Lighthouse   Bethel's son William would later also serve as the Key West Keeper.
  • The keepers led a lonely and solitary life out at Sombrero Key Lighthouse with periodic trips to Key West for mail and visits from passing ships.  In October 1893 Keeper Rudolph Rieke and his assistant Michael Eichoff were alone on the light when Eichoff suffered a stroke and was found dead by Rieke.  Rieke flew a distress signal and waited for assistance.  He kept the body in the lighthouse the first night, but moved it to the platform outside the dwelling the next day.  Three days later a ship stopped by and Eichoff was sewn into a hammock and buried at sea.  Rieke had to wait another 9 days until the second assistant returned to the light.
  • During the 1890’s red sectors were added to the lantern room of Sombrero Key to warn of shoals in dangerous sections of the reef leading to the lighthouse.  In 1912 the kerosene lamp was replaced with an incandescent oil vapor (IOV) lamp.
  • **Sign entering the City Of Marathon**                                            Another fatal accident occurred in 1959 when Seaman Willis Parker was killed when he was attempting to secure a line to the station boat after returning from Key West.  A rogue wave lifted the boat and Parker was left dangling holding the line.  He swung into the ironwork, smashed his head and fell into the waters below.  The Coast Guard decided to automate the light a year later and removed all personnel.
  • In 1982 the First Order Fresnel lens was removed and replaced with a modern optic.  The Fresnel was put on display at the Key West Lighthouse Museum.  In 2014 the City of Marathon considered having the lens moved to their city hall, but abandoned the idea after estimating the cost of the project.  In 2015 the Coast Guard erected a 30 foot tower nearby and moved the light from the Sombrero Key Lighthouse effectively abandoning the structure.  Today Sombrero Key Lighthouse is a haven for snorkeling and fishing in the Florida Keys.
  • Old National Archives picture of the Sombrero Key Lighthouse
  • Florida Keys Trip 2013 1924 new
  • Florida Keys Trip 2013 1920
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