Lighthouse History

Constance Fenimore Woolson and “The Ancient City”

amy.gress2016-05-18T08:00:01-04:00May 18th, 2016|

Constance Fenimore Woolson, an accomplished American writer, spent winters in St. Augustine with her ailing mother from 1873 to 1879. She wove her experiences into her writing, setting several fictional stories and poems in the streets and waterways of the town. She published one such story, aptly titled “The Ancient City,” in Volumes 50 (December 1874) and 51 (January 1875) of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. Her experiences coincided with the recent completion of, what was [...]

Menorcan Keepers at the Old St. Augustine Lighthouse

Menorcan Keepers at the Old St. Augustine Lighthouse

amy.gress2020-04-04T11:27:07-04:00March 23rd, 2016|

The Old Spanish Watchtower The Old Spanish Watchtower, manned by Menorcan keepers for most of its history (Photo Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida) Florida’s territorial period began in the 1820s with the ratification of the Adams-Onís Treaty, which transferred the former Spanish colony to the United States. Though the newly acquired territory did not become a state until 1845, the U.S. government immediately set to work extending the young nation’s network of [...]

Lighthouse Technology: What’s a Cistern?

Lighthouse Technology: What’s a Cistern?

amy.gress2016-02-17T08:00:03-05:00February 17th, 2016|

This next installment in our series on lighthouse technology focuses on the cistern the lighthouse keepers used to collect rain and provide water for cooking, cleaning, and drinking. Click the link below to read previous post in the series: Fresnel Lens Clockwork Mechanism Illuminants Keeping a lighthouse operational required technology we rarely use today: oil lanterns, clockwork mechanisms, and more. Living at a lighthouse, often isolated from towns and lacking indoor plumbing or electricity, lighthouse [...]

Lighthouse Technology: Illumination

Lighthouse Technology: Illumination

amy.gress2016-01-20T08:00:56-05:00January 20th, 2016|

This next installment in our series on lighthouse technology focuses on the illuminants lighthouses have used, especially those used at the St. Augustine Lighthouse in it history. Click the link below to read previous post in the series: Lighthouse Technology: Fresnel Lens Lighthouse Technology: Clockwork Mechanism Lighthouse Illumination This US Lighthouse Establishment 100 gallon oil butt sits in the oil room of the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Historically, lighthouses have served as a reflection [...]

Lighthouse Technology: Clockwork Mechanism

Lighthouse Technology: Clockwork Mechanism

amy.gress2015-12-16T08:00:55-05:00December 16th, 2015|

This next installment in our series on lighthouse technology focuses on the clockwork mechanisms that rotate Fresnel lens, giving lighthouses their distinctive flashing patterns. Click the link below to read previous post in the series: Lighthouse Technology: Fresnel Lens Light Characteristic Lighthouses are equipped with unique light characteristic or flashing pattern that sailors can use to identify specific lighthouses during the night. Lighthouses can achieve distinctive light characteristics a few different ways. A lighthouse can [...]

Lighthouse Technology: Fresnel Lens

Lighthouse Technology: Fresnel Lens

amy.gress2015-11-18T08:00:27-05:00November 18th, 2015|

Welcome to our newest blog series where we will examine the technological innovations that improved lighthouses and made coastlines around the world safer. Each installment of the blog series will cover an invention or technological application introduced at the St. Augustine Lighthouse in its history. This first installment will focus on the powerhouse of the lighthouse – the first order Fresnel lens. Lighthouse Illumination The first lighthouses, as we recognize them now, were simply bonfires [...]

Six Common Misconceptions about the St. Augustine Lighthouse

Six Common Misconceptions about the St. Augustine Lighthouse

amy.gress2020-11-11T11:30:06-05:00October 21st, 2015|

Six Common Misconceptions about the St. Augustine Lighthouse The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum is a popular destination in our nation’s oldest city, but many misconceptions about it persist. Each of the following are NOT TRUE, but are often thought to be. Misconception #1 – The St. Augustine Lighthouse is Florida’s first lighthouse. The old St. Augustine Lighthouse Florida’s first lighthouse was the old St. Augustine Lighthouse (often called the Old Spanish [...]

Shifting tides at the Lighthouse

Shifting tides at the Lighthouse

amy.gress2015-10-14T08:00:41-04:00October 14th, 2015|

Autumn brings the smell of wood smoke, washed sunlight, and relief from the oven of summer. Around St. Augustine, wood smoke as often indicates a backyard campfire as someone smoking fish. Mullet are on the beach, we’ve had our first fall Nor’easter, and all seems to be about right here in the Ancient City. Fall brings high tides every year, but 2015 has been exceptional. Check out this picture taken at high tide on [...]

Lighthouse History 1994 – 2014

Lighthouse History 1994 – 2014

amy.gress2015-09-23T14:00:51-04:00September 23rd, 2015|

This ninth and final installment in our series on the history of the St. Augustine Lighthouse focuses on the recent history of the lighthouse and the creation of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum. Click the links below to read previous posts in the series: Lighthouse History Pre-1874 Lighthouse History 1874-1894 (Part I) Lighthouse History 1874-1894 (Part II) Lighthouse History 1894-1914 Lighthouse History 1914-1934 Lighthouse History 1934-1954 Lighthouse History 1954-1974 Lighthouse History 1974-1994 1994 – 2014 [...]

Lighthouse History 1974 – 1994

amy.gress2015-08-19T08:00:40-04:00August 19th, 2015|

This eighth installment in our ongoing series on the history of the St. Augustine Lighthouse focuses on the restoration of the light station and the creation of the museum organization. Click the links below to read previous posts in the series: Lighthouse History Pre-1874 Lighthouse History 1874-1894 (Part I) Lighthouse History 1874-1894 (Part II) Lighthouse History 1894-1914 Lighthouse History 1914-1934 Lighthouse History 1934-1954 Lighthouse History 1954-1974 1974 – 1994 After a 1970 fire left the [...]

We are open 9:00 am - 6:30 pm daily. Last admission at 6:00 pm. Free Parking.