Amelia Island Light
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| Amelia Island Light | |
|---|---|
 Amelia Island lighthouse (from U.S. Coast Guard archives) |
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| Location: | north end of Amelia Island at the mouth of the St. Mary's River |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
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| Year first lit: | 1838 |
| Automated: | 1956 |
| Foundation: | stone |
| Construction: | brick with stucco |
| Tower shape: | conical tower |
| Height: | 58 feet (18 m) (tower) 107 feet (33 m) above water |
| Original lens: | 14 lamps with 14-inch reflectors in a revolving lens |
| Range: | White 23 nm, Red 19 nm |
| Characteristic: | Flashing White 10s. Red from 344° to 360°, covers shoal water in vicinity of Nassau Sound. |
The Amelia Island Light is a lighthouse located on the north end of Amelia Island at the mouth of the St. Mary's River. It was built in 1838 using materials taken from the former Little Cumberland Island lighthouse in Georgia. The Little Cumberland Island lighthouse had been built in 1820. The lighthouse marks the entrance to Nassau Sound and the harbor for Fernandina Beach, Florida.
The lighthouse was originally equipped with 14 lamps each with a 14-inch (360 mm) reflector. The reflector size was increased to 15 (460 mm) inches by 1848. This arrangement was replaced by a third-order Fresnel lens in 1903, which is still used in the lighthouse.
The original tower, moved from Little Cumberland Island, was 50 foot (15 m) tall, placed on a hill. In 1881 a lantern was installed on the tower, increasing the tower height to 64 feet (20 m), with the focal plane of the light 107 feet (33 m) above see level.
The next-to-last civilian keeper of the Amelia Island lighthouse was Thomas J. O'Hagan, who was the son of the previous keeper, Thomas P. O'Hagan, and was married to a direct descendant of the first keeper, Amos Latham.
The lighthouse was transferred from the United States Coast Guard to the City of Fernandina Beach in 2001.
It is listed as number 565 in USCG light lists.
[edit] References
- U.S.Coast Guard Historic Light Station Information - accessed January 1, 2006
- National Park Service - Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Florida Lighthouses - accessed January 1, 2006
- Amelia Island Lighthouse - accessed January 1, 2006
- McCarthy, Kevin M. 1990. Amelia Island Lighthouse. Florida Lighthouses. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, Florida
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