Historic St. Marks Lighthouse
Download the Historic St. Marks Lighthouse pamphlet.
There was no road to the lighthouse until the Civilian Conservation Corps completed the job about 1938. They also set the poles and strung wire for electricity. Modern times were coming to the lighthouse. The age of lighthouse keepers was coming to an end. In 1960, the light which had so carefully been tended by a dedicated, unique group of people for many decades, was automated. In 2000, the electric light that had illuminated the Fresnel lens was turned off and an exterior solar powered white light blinking every 4 seconds, was installed.
Over time, minor and major storms have struck this section of the coast severely damaging or destroying the keeper’s home but the tower has continued to stand. For nearly 200 years, the bright beacon from the St. Marks Lighthouse has guided ships and boaters to the entrance of the St. Marks River. In October 2013, the U.S. Coast Guard transferred the ownership of the historic property to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has pledged to preserve this much loved building to be open to the public once the damages of time, termites, age, and weather have been repaired.
In 1828, the U.S. House of Representatives authorized the construction of a lighthouse at the mouth of the St. Marks River. The 65-foot tall, hollow-walled tower on the east side of the river was completed in March 1830 for $11,765. Customs Inspector Jesse H. Willis refused the tower because the contract had called for solid walls. It was rebuilt, and in 1831 the first lighthouse keeper, Samuel Crosby, illuminated 15 Argand-Lewis Whale oil lamps with 15 inch reflectors. Alas, the solid walls did not allow moisture to evaporate, and cracks appeared as the tower settled. Iron straps on the outside held it together like hoops around barrel staves.
On August 31, 1837, a 10-foot tidal wave washed away all the buildings around the lighthouse except the keeper’s dwelling and drowned eight people . In 1838 an inspector wrote that the lighthouse was “in a most wretched condition, . . . and ought to be rebuilt immediately.” The lighthouse was rebuilt, with hollow walls, in the present location in 1842.
In September 1843, disaster struck. The same hurricane that destroyed the town of Port Leon, demolished the keeper’s home; the tower survived. Thirteen people at the lighthouse were killed. On April 19, 1861, President Lincoln ordered the blockade of southern ports. Customs Collector Alonzo B. Noyes ordered the lens to be removed and stored at St. Marks. Confederate soldiers used the lighthouse as a lookout. Repeated shelling by Union Naval forces stopped the practice. After the war, the tower was repaired and the height was raised to 73 feet. The light was relit in 1867.
Twenty keepers kept the light burning, except for a few years during the Civil War. Samuel Forbes, Assistant Keeper from 1880 – 1882, was African American. Two of the keepers were the wives of men who had died during their tenure. Ann Dudley replaced her husband, Needham, after he died in April 1850, and Sarah Fine took over after Charles Fine died in August 1904. Undoubtedly the families of each keeper played a part in keeping the beacon shining. The pay for their services fluctuated from $400 – $640 per year.
Prior to the Civil War several vessels could be anchored at Spanish Hole waiting to take on or offload cargo. Shipping dropped off after the war because goods could be more easily shipped by rail. Fishing boats plied the waters of Apalachee Bay. Winter brought hunters in search of the fat ducks and geese. Each day the keeper was required to clean the lens and make minor repairs. Regulations stated that the light was to be lit promptly at sunset. and kept burning “at full intensity until sunrise.”
