Location | Biloxi, US |
---|---|
Coordinates | 30°23′41″N88°54′05″W / 30.3946°N 88.9015°W |
Tower | |
Construction | brick (foundation), brick (backing), cast iron (tower) |
Automated | 1941 |
Height | 18.5 m (61 ft) |
Shape | truncated cone |
Markings | white (tower), black (balustrade) |
Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place, Mississippi Landmark |
Light | |
First lit | 1848 |
Focal height | 18.5 m (61 ft) |
Lens | fourth order Fresnel lens (1848–), fifth order Fresnel lens (1926–) |
Characteristic | Oc W 4s |
Biloxi Lighthouse | |
Architect | Murray & Hazlehurst |
NRHP reference No. | 73001012 |
USMS No. | 047-BLX-1175-NR-ML |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 3, 1973 [1] |
Designated USMS | June 10, 1987 [2] |
Biloxi Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Biloxi, Mississippi, adjacent to the Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico. [3] The lighthouse has been maintained by female keepers for more years than any other lighthouse in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 [1] and declared a Mississippi Landmark in 1987. [2]
On March 3, 1847, the United States Congress authorized $12,000 for the construction of a lighthouse at Biloxi. The United States Department of the Treasury structured a contract, dated October 15, 1847, to the Baltimore foundry of Murray and Hazlehurst to build an iron lighthouse for $6,347. The keeper's house was contracted separately. The Collector at Mobile, Alabama, purchased the site. The tower was completed and placed in operation in 1848. The tower was 45 feet (14 m) from the base to the lantern room and displayed nine lamps. The first keeper for the lighthouse was Marcellus J. Howard.
Mary Reynolds, with a "large family of orphan children" was appointed keeper on April 11, 1854. She remained in service until the U.S. Civil War. She owed her appointment to Governor Albert Gallatin Brown. In 1856 the light was "refitted."
In 1860 a hurricane swept the coast and destroyed many lighthouses, but the Biloxi Lighthouse remained undamaged. Keeper Reynolds reported that she kept the light burning through the storm and "faithfully performed the duties of Light Keeper in storm and sunshine attending it. "I ascended the Tower during and after the last destructive storm when man stood appalled at the danger I encountered." [4] During a storm in 1860, a portion of the sand under the lighthouse eroded, causing the structure to lean. Later more sand was removed from the opposite side to correct this. Local authorities ordered that the light be extinguished on June 18, 1861. The light was repaired and returned to service by November 15, 1866. At that time the tower was reported to have been painted with coal tar to protect it from rust, not, as has been reported, to mourn the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. [5]
Perry Younghans was appointed keeper on November 14, 1866, but fell ill soon thereafter. His wife, Maria Younghans, took over and tended the light. When Mr. Younghans died, Mrs. Younghans was appointed keeper December 6, 1867. In 1868 the tower was painted white and almost fell during a hurricane that year. In 1880 the old keeper's house was razed and rebuilt. The seawall was washed away and the tower was threatened during a hurricane on October 1, 1893. The New Orleans Daily Picayune of October 21, 1893, noted that "At Biloxi Mrs. Younghans, the plucky woman who was in charge of the light, kept a light going all through the storm notwithstanding the fact that there were several feet of water in the room where she lived." [4]
In 1898, a telephone cable was laid by Reese Hutchinson between the Biloxi and the Ship Island lighthouses at the start of the Spanish–American War.
In 1916, the light was again damaged by a hurricane, and the wharf and boathouse were destroyed by a storm the following year. Maria Younghans retired on December 31, 1918, and was replaced by her daughter, Miranda, who remained as keeper until 1929. The Younghans family had maintained the light for a total of 63 years. W. B. Thompson then took over as keeper.
In 1926, the station was electrified. [6]
In April 1960, the beach near the light was the site of a "wade-in" to protest the segregation of Mississippi's beaches. In 2010, a civil rights historical marker was placed at the light to commemorate the demonstration. [7]
In 1969, the keeper's house was destroyed by Hurricane Camille.
The tower is now owned by the City of Biloxi and is operated as a private aid to navigation.
In 2005, the lighthouse was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. [8] Restoration was completed with a re-lighting ceremony on February 19, 2010. [9] The restoration amounted to over $400,000; repairs included a rewiring, the interior bricks being redone, an installation of exterior lights, and restoration of the surrounding decorative fence. [6]
The lighthouse was featured on Mississippi's automobile license plates from October 2007 to October 2012. [10] [11] A press release from the Mississippi State Tax Commission, which designed and issued the plates, acknowledged the Light as "a building of historical importance" that "has long been recognized as a landmark of the Mississippi Gulf Coast".
Throughout its history, the lighthouse has survived a score of hurricanes, including the great storms of 1947 and 1969. On August 29, 2005, it stood against the wind and storm surge of Katrina. Inside the lighthouse, blue lines were painted on the wall to mark historic storm surges above 'mean sea level' (msl). Hurricanes of 1855 and 1906 reached 14.0 feet above msl, a 1909 hurricane crested at 15.0 feet msl, and Hurricane Camille's record of 17.5 feet was broken by Hurricane Katrina, which crested at 21.5 feet msl. [12]
The City of Biloxi has live footage of a view from inside the lighthouse posted to their website. It shows some of the Biloxi coastline and the intersection of Beach Blvd and Porter Ave. [13]
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities are both designated as seats of Harrison County. The population of Biloxi was 49,449 at the 2020 census, making it the state's 4th most populous city. It is a principal city of the Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area, home to 416,259 residents in 2020. The area's first European settlers were French colonists.
Gulfport is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and part of the Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Gulfport has a population of 72,926; the metro area has a population of 416,259. Gulfport lies along the gulf coast of the United States in southern Mississippi, taking its name from its port on the Gulf Coast on the Mississippi Sound. It is home to the U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet Seabees.
Pass Christian, nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,307 at the 2019 census.
The Beauvoir estate, built in Biloxi, Mississippi, along the Gulf of Mexico, was the post-war home (1876–1889) of the former President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis. The National Park Service designated the house and plantation as a National Historic Landmark.
Hurricane Camille was a powerful, deadly and destructive Category 5 major hurricane which became the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States and is one of just four Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the U.S.
Harrah's Gulf Coast is a casino and hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi, owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge reached the Mississippi coastline on the morning of August 29, 2005. beginning a two-day path of destruction through central Mississippi; by 10 a.m. CDT on August 29, 2005, the eye of Katrina began traveling up the entire state, only slowing from hurricane-force winds at Meridian near 7 p.m. and entering Tennessee as a tropical storm. Many coastal towns of Mississippi had already been obliterated, in a single night. Hurricane-force winds reached coastal Mississippi by 2 a.m. and lasted over 17 hours, spawning 11 tornadoes and a 28-foot (8.5 m) storm surge flooding 6–12 miles (9.7–19.3 km) inland. Many, unable to evacuate, survived by climbing to attics or rooftops, or swimming to higher buildings and trees. The worst property damage from Katrina occurred in coastal Mississippi, where all towns flooded over 90% in hours, and waves destroyed many historic buildings, with others gutted to the 3rd story. Afterward, 238 people died in Mississippi, and all counties in Mississippi were declared disaster areas, 49 for full federal assistance. Regulations were changed later for emergency centers and casinos. The emergency command centers were moved higher because all 3 coastal centers flooded at 30 ft (9.1 m) above sea level. Casinos were allowed on land rather than limited to floating casino barges as in 2005.
The Chandeleur Islands are a chain of uninhabited barrier islands approximately 50 miles (80 km) long, located in the Gulf of Mexico, marking the outer boundary of the Chandeleur Sound. They form the easternmost point of the state of Louisiana, United States and are a part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge. They are an important migrating point for many birds on their way south, and are a prime marsh and forest wildlife area.
Ship Island is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. Hurricane Camille split the island into two separate islands in 1969. In early 2019, the US Army Corps of Engineers completed the first stage of a project rejoining the two islands and recreating one Ship Island. Ship Island is the site of Fort Massachusetts, as a Third System fortification. Part of the island is included in the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
The Cape Canaveral Light is a historic lighthouse on the east coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The light was established in 1848 to warn ships of the dangerous shoals that lie off its coast. It is located inside the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and managed by the Space Launch Delta 45 of the U.S. Space Force with the assistance of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation. It is the only fully operational lighthouse owned by the United States Space Force.
The President Casino Broadwater Resort was a combined casino and resort that was located in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was a fixture on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for over 60 years.
Edgartown Harbor Light is a lighthouse located in Edgartown, Massachusetts, United States, where it marks the entrance to Edgartown Harbor and Katama Bay. It is one of five lighthouses on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The first lighthouse, a two-story wooden structure that also served as the keeper's house, was constructed in 1828. It was demolished, and replaced by the current cast-iron tower, in 1939. Originally located on an artificial island 1/4 miles from shore, the lighthouse is now surrounded by a beach formed, since 1939, by sand accumulating around the stone causeway connecting it to the mainland.
Tullis-Toledano Manor, also known as, the Toledano-Philbrick-Tullis House, was a red-clay brick mansion on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Biloxi. It was considered an example of Greek Revival architecture. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Ship Island Light was a lighthouse in Mississippi near Gulfport.
The Chandeleur Island Light was a lighthouse established in 1848 near the northern end of the Chandeleur Islands in the Gulf of Mexico, off the east coast of Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina destroyed the light in 2005.
In 1870, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was constructed through the southernmost section of Harrison County, Mississippi, connecting New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A northern transportation route into south Mississippi was provided by the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad at the turn of the 20th century. These railroads provided an inexpensive means for moving passengers as well as goods, and opened south Mississippi to both industrial and recreational development. Rapidly progressing lumber and seafood industries transformed the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the 1920s, and people arrived from throughout the United States to take advantage of the economic boom. Northern tourists were attracted to the Mississippi Gulf Coast because of mild winters and cool sea breezes in summer, before the introduction of air conditioning. Besides the weather, other tourist attractions included seafood restaurants, swimming, golf, schooner races, sailing to offshore islands, and recreational fishing. During this period of economic expansion, grand hotels were constructed along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to accommodate businessmen, tourists, and transient workers. Most of these grand hotels no longer exist; and of the two structures that were still standing after the first decade of the 21st century, neither served as a lodging establishment. Together, these grand hotels represented an important era in the history of the Mississippi Gulf Coast throughout the 20th century.
Round Island Lighthouse stood from 1859 to 1998 on the southwest end of Round Island in the Mississippi Sound, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Pascagoula, Mississippi. In September 1998, the lighthouse was toppled by Hurricane Georges. In 2010, the base of the structure and other lighthouse remnants were removed from Round Island and relocated within the City of Pascagoula for restoration.
The Magnolia Hotel was built in 1847 to serve as a lodging establishment. It is thought to be the oldest surviving hotel on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1985.
The South Pass Light, also known as the Port Eads LighthouseSouth Point Light, or Gordon's Island Light, are a pair of lighthouses located on Gordon's Island at South Pass, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana (USA), one of the primary entrances to the Mississippi River Delta from the Gulf of Mexico. The light station was established in 1831 and is still active.
The Pass A L'Outre Light is a defunct lighthouse in the Birdfoot Delta in Louisiana, United States, located near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Erected to mark the then-active entrance to the river, it was abandoned as that channel silted up. It has been in the path of several noteworthy hurricanes, and was heavily damaged. It is on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List, and is critically in danger. The lighthouse is at the center of a nature preserve.