Charlotte Harbor Light

Charlotte Harbor Light

The Charlotte Harbor lighthouse (from U.S. Coast Guard archives)
Location	Charlotte Harbor, on the channel to Punta Gorda, Florida
Coordinates	26°46′33″N 82°8′31″W / 26.77583°N 82.14194°W / 26.77583; -82.14194Coordinates: 26°46′33″N 82°8′31″W / 26.77583°N 82.14194°W / 26.77583; -82.14194
Year first lit	1890
Automated	1918
Deactivated	1943
Foundation	iron pilings
Construction	wood
Tower shape	square house
Original lens	fifth-order Fresnel lens
ARLHS number	USA-157

The Charlotte Harbor Light was placed at a bend in the deeper part of Charlotte Harbor to guide ships to the railroad docks in Punta Gorda, Florida. Punta Gorda lost importance as a port when railroad lines reached Boca Grande on the southern end of Gasparilla Island at the entrance to Charlotte Harbor in 1906. The lighthouse steadily deteriorated and had to be demolished in 1943. The iron pilings were removed in 1975.

References

• Charlotte Harbor Lighthouse History - accessed June 29, 2008
• "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Florida". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 

Lighthouses of Florida See also: List of operating lighthouses in Florida Alligator Reef Amelia Island Amelia Island North Range American Shoal Anclote Keys Cape Canaveral Cape Florida Cape San Blas Cape St. George Carysfort Reef Cedar Key Charlotte Harbor Cosgrove Shoal Crooked River Dames Point Dog Island Dry Tortugas Egmont Key Fowey Rocks Gasparilla Island Garden Key Hen and Chickens Shoal Hillsboro Inlet Jupiter Inlet Key West Molasses Reef Northwest Passage Pacific Reef Pensacola Ponce de Leon Inlet Port Boca Grande Pulaski Shoal Rebecca Shoal Sand Key Sanibel Island Smith Shoal Sombrero Key St. Augustine St Johns St. Johns River St. Joseph Point St. Marks Tennessee Reef Volusia Bar