Key West & Cape Florida Lighthouses

The following album traces a Christmas visit I paid to two of the southernmost, publicly accessible lighthouses in the contiguous United States. The lighthouses sit amidst a peaceful tropical paradise that completely camouflages the sometimes dramatic histories of these lights. Built at nearly the same time (Congress appropriated monies for each concurrently), the lights are similar in many ways but worlds apart in others. Both structures date back well over a century but only one saw service past the 19th Century. One sits amidst a bustling tourist mecca while the other is surrounded by the natural beauty of a sprawling state park. One was a victim of two wars while both suffered through numerous hurricanes.

One might imagine the lives of the keepers at these outposts would have been ones of carefree sun-drenched leisure. As I learned upon my visits, nothing could be farther from the truth. Come on along as I visit two of the more intriguing light stations I've ever had the good fortune of visiting...

End of the road...welcome to Key West!
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
The narrow walkway to the Key West Light passes under the sprawling, shaded branches of a huge banyan tree...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Before heading out onto the grounds, there's a nice gift shop and also a room displaying a First Order Fresnel lens, largest on a scale from First to Fifth. This one came from the nearby Sombrero Key light and dates back to 1858! The lighthouse at Key West houses a 3rd Order lens...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Stepping out onto the grounds, the light peers through the trees overhead...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
The present light is the second to stand on Key West. The first was operational in 1826 and stood on the islands southernmost point. Exposed to the full fury of passing hurricanes, the light was destroyed during a particularly vicious storm in 1846.

The current light began service in 1848 and was located a half mile inland from the original light at a relatively high elevation of 14' above sea level. The tower at first only stood 50' tall but was raised another 25' for better visibility in 1895. You can see where the addition was added where the bands across the tower mark a slight change in shape of the light. The light houses the original 3rd Order Fresnel lens placed atop it 160 years ago...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Dating to 1887, the current keepers building housed two families. The small partially buried structure with the gutter leading to it is the cistern which provided the families with fresh water, a common feature of keepers buildings in the region. Today, the home is restored to its look back in the late 19th Century and also houses numerous displays depicting life at the light...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Looking across the grounds from behind the keepers building...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
My boys had no shortage of pleasure climbing around this huge banyan tree adjacent to the tower...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
About to enter the tower, here you can see the oil building and the gift shop beyond...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
The oil building...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Upon entering the tower you'll see an acetylene gas line which runs up the inside of the tower. Acetylene replaced kerosene as the power source for the lantern in 1915...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Atop the Key West light tower, looking down over the lighthouse grounds...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Atop the Key West Light Tower...

Looking north along Whitehead Street towards the downtown area of Key West...
IMG 6227p Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Atop the Key West Light Tower...

Even from above the neighboring Hemingway home is well-camouflaged from prying eyes...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
The lantern room itself is closed but there's just enough room to stick a head up and get this view...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Now for a look inside the keepers building...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
Many of the rooms inside the keepers building have been decorated in period fashion...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Key West Lighthouse
A number of displays inside the building describe life at the lighthouse...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
After a look at the light it was time for a little walkabout...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
A typical Key West Street scene...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Refreshment, Key West style...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
St. Paul's Episcopal Church (ca. 1919), the fourth in a string that's seen destruction by two hurricanes and a fire...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
What I believe is the old Wells Fargo building at the corner of Duval and Front Streets in Key West...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
It's 5 o'clock somewhere...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
The oldest home in Key West (ca. 1829)...with the number of hurricanes and fires that have swept this town, its remarkable a building like this is still standing (it even out-dates the lighthouse!!)...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
A good place to finish the day in Key West...Sunset Pier...
IMG 6271p Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Before heading out we stopped by the "Southernmost Point", which most folks waiting in line don't realize is actually not quite true. The actual southernmost spot is at the point in the distance, beyond the fence, marked by the steel tower. That's government property, though, so it's off-limits...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
A look over at the actual southernmost point, Key West...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
You can complain about certain things in Key West but when the view from a McDonalds looks like this, you know you're in a special place...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
All right, enough of the Key West tour...now over to the Cape Florida Lighthouse.

The light is located within Bill Baggs-Cape Florida State Park, a pleasant albeit busy State Park sitting at the southern tip of Key Biscayne. There's a small entrance fee just to warn ya...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
The area around the lighthouse is completely gated, my guess is to keep people out after hours. An elaborate gate lets you onto the grounds...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
The frame of the original lantern room sits alongside the path as you walk in...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
A couple pieces of the original stairway...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
Not sure I've been to a lighthouse with a prettier entry path...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
Quintessential Florida...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
The history of the Cape Florida Lighthouse is one of the most desperate of any lighthouse I've read about. I'll try to make it brief...

The first structure was built on this site in 1825. A little over ten years later, in 1836, a group of local Seminoles attacked the tower, killing one of the light workers (likely a slave) and seriously wounding the Assistant Light Keeper. Much of the interior of the light was burned or destroyed. It took a further 11 years, until 1847, before a replacement light was built due to the hostile area it was located in. In 1851 the light was raised to its height of 95' and fitted with a Second Order Fresnel Lens...and then came the Civil War.

Like many lighthouses along the southern coast the lighting fixture was demolished by Confederate troops to discourage the Union blockade. Luckily they left the tower standing, unlike so many others in the region. After the war it was re-lit, but like before only briefly. In 1878 it was extinghished permanently as the offshore light at Fowey Rocks assumed its duties....and so it remained abandoned for nearly 100 years.

Finally, in 1966, the State of Florida purchased the old light and it was re-lit (again) in 1978. That should have been the happy ending the light deserved but then, in 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck and severely damaged the beleaguered old tower. Determined not to loose the old light, the structure was once again restored and opened to the public in 1996 along with a replica of the keepers building which was burned during the Seminole Wars. One can only hope for quieter days ahead for this old light...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
Looking up the iron staircase inside the tower. Note the distance between the walls and the stairs here at the base. At the top they nearly touch...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
A very modern light sits in the lantern room today. I failed to learn the circumstances surrounding the demise of the original 3rd Order lens...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
Looking down from the tower at the replica keepers building...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
A wide, inviting, white sand beach stretches away to the north...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
A stone break wall has been constructed to prevent erosion from claiming the old light. Originally, the tower stood over 100' from the shoreline...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
On the western horizon the modern city of Miami glistens in the southern Florida sunshine...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
The southern panorama from the top of the Cape Florida Lighthouse...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
The northern panorama from the top of the Cape Florida Lighthouse...the high rises of Key Biscayne can be seen in the distance...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
Sitting in such an idyllic setting, its hard to imagine the turbulent past this old light has experienced...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
The original keepers house was burned long ago during the attack on the lighthouse in 1836. After the state purchased the property they rebuilt the old home...I kind of think it almost looks too nice...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
The lower floor housed the expected living areas and kitchen...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs
Cape Florida Lighthouse
The upstairs of the keepers house is also open for visitors...
Key West Miami Florida Key's lighthouse beach Civil War Seminole War history fresnel Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean state park Hemingway Bill Baggs

dwhike

Key West & Cape Florida Lighthouses