American Shoal Lighthouse, Florida
Limited Edition
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History of American Shoal Lighthouse, Florida
In 1744, Captain Ashby Utting, commander of the British frigate HMS Loo, ran aground on a deadly reef off the Florida Keys while escorting a ship liberated from Spanish privateers. Unpredictable currents drove the ships off course and both vessels were completely destroyed. Sometimes latter, the small island reef was named Loo Key (or “Looe” on contemporary charts) in honor of the ill-fated frigate.
In 1874, the Lighthouse Board went before Congress requesting funds for a lighthouse at Loo Key. Inexplicably, the request was turned down. A year later the Board recommended American Shoal, a shallow, killer reef not far from Loo Key, as a more desirable location. The request was again denied. Finally, in 1878, funds were appropriated for an offshore skeletal light station.
Thirteen months later, a Trenton, New Jersey foundry shipped a pre-fabricated iron tower to Loo Key. The screw-pile structure was then re-assembled on American Shoal, atop a massive underwater platform. An additional $50,000 was eventually appropriated before the project was completed. Rising 109 feet into the air, the sentinel’s crown jewel was a massive, first order revolving bivalve Fresnel lens. On July 15, 1880, Keeper William Bates lighted the flashing beacon for the first time. Nearly identical in design to the light at Fowey Rocks, it was the final iron-pile light to be erected on the reefs off the Florida Keys.
For more than a century, American Shoal Light has withstood the terrible hurricanes that pound this region. In 1963, the beacon was automated and the classic lens was replaced by a modern, solar-powered optic.
If you enjoyed reading this little bit of lighthouse history, taken from THE OFFICIAL COLLECTORS GUIDE HARBOUR LIGHTS, click on this link to purchase the book.