Point Isabel Lighthouse | |
![]() The Point (Port) Isabel Lighthouse in 2003 | |
Location | Off SH 100 Port Isabel, Texas |
---|---|
Coordinates | 26°4′39″N97°12′30″W / 26.07750°N 97.20833°W Coordinates: 26°4′39″N97°12′30″W / 26.07750°N 97.20833°W |
Area | 0.6 acres (0.24 ha) |
Built | 1852 |
Built by | U.S. Department of Treasury |
NRHP reference No. | 76002014 [1] |
TSAL No. | 8200000158 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 30, 1976 |
Designated TSHS | 1952 |
Designated TSAL | January 1, 1983 |
The Point (Port) Isabel Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse located in Port Isabel, Texas, United States that was built in 1852 to guide ships through the Brazos Santiago Pass to Port Isabel. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1976.
On September 28, 1850, the United States Congress authorized an appropriation of $15,000 for "a lighthouse and beacon light" at Brazos Santiago Pass. Work began in February 1852. When complete, the lighthouse was an 82-foot-high brick tower and had four lights. By 1854, it had 15 lamps and 21 reflectors. A third order fresnel lens was installed in 1857 [2] and the rotating light was varied by flashes.
During the American Civil War the Point (Port) Isabel Lighthouse was occupied by soldiers from both sides as a look-out post. After the Civil War, the lighthouse was refitted and returned to operation in 1866. In 1888, the light was temporarily discontinued as claimants proved that the United States government did not have title to the land, forcing the government to condemn the land in 1894 to acquire title. On July 15, 1895, the light returned to use. It operated for ten years, after which time it was extinguished in 1905. On Sept. 20, 1927, the government sold the lighthouse and land. A local citizen purchased it. In the late 1940s, a movement began to save the lighthouse as a historic site. On October 5, 1950, the Texas State Park Board accepted the lighthouse and surrounding land as a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Lon C. Hill Jr., the owners at the time.
The Texas State Park Board began restoring the lighthouse in 1951, and it was opened to the public in 1952. In September 1996, a new visitors center was completed.
Today the lighthouse is operated as Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Site.
On November 16-17, 2022, a reproduction 3rd Order Fresnel Lens was installed in the Lighthouse and a celebration held on December 9, 2022. [3]
The site is owned by the Texas Historical Commission but operated by the City of Port Isabel. [4]
Point Pinos Lighthouse was lit on February 1, 1855, to guide ships on the Pacific Coast of California. It is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States and even the lens is original. Alcatraz Island Lighthouse preceded Point Pinos by eight months, but was replaced in 1909 by the expanding military prison. The Point Pinos Lighthouse is still an active United States Coast Guard aid to navigation. On-site museum exhibits and other lighthouse related functions are operated by the city of Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California. The lighthouse is surrounded by the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links.
The Two Harbors Light is the oldest operating lighthouse in the US state of Minnesota. Overlooking Lake Superior's Agate Bay, the lighthouse is located in Two Harbors, Minnesota. The construction of the lighthouse began in 1891 and was completed the following year, with the light being lit for the first time on April 14, 1892. The first Two Harbors keeper was Charles Lederle and there were normally three keepers assigned to make sure the light was lit every day. The Lighthouse was built to provide safe passage into the Agate Bay Harbor during the early 20th century, as Two Harbors was a major shipping point for the iron ore of the Mesabi Range.
The Mukilteo Light is an operational navigation aid located on the east side of Possession Sound at Mukilteo, Snohomish County, Washington, in the United States. It is owned and operated by the City of Mukilteo as part of Mukilteo Lighthouse Park. The lighthouse is listed on the Washington State Heritage Register and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
Fort Gratiot Light, the first lighthouse in the state of Michigan, was constructed north of Fort Gratiot in 1829 by Lucius Lyon, who later became one of Michigan's first U.S. Senators.
The historic Grosse Point Light is located in Evanston, Illinois. Following several shipping disasters near Evanston, residents successfully lobbied the federal government for a lighthouse. Construction was completed in 1873. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 8, 1976. On 20 January 1999, the lighthouse was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is maintained under the jurisdiction of the Evanston Lighthouse Park District, an independent taxing authority.
Point Cabrillo Light is a lighthouse in northern California, United States, between Point Arena and Cape Mendocino, just south of the community of Caspar. It has been a federal aid to navigation since 1909. It is part of the California state park system as Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park.
The Lynde Point Light or Lynde Point Lighthouse, also known as Saybrook Inner Lighthouse, is a lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, on the west side of the mouth of the Connecticut River on the Long Island Sound, Old Saybrook, Connecticut. The first light was a 35 feet (11 m) wooden tower constructed by Abisha Woodward for $2,200 and it was completed in 1803. A new lighthouse was eventually needed and a total of $7,500 was appropriated on July 7, 1838. Jonathan Scranton, Volney Pierce, and John Wilcox were contracted to build the new 65-foot (20 m) octagonal brownstone tower. It was constructed in 1838 and lit in 1839. The lighthouse was renovated in 1867 and had its keeper's house from 1833 replaced in 1858 with a Gothic Revival gambrel-roofed wood-frame house. In 1966, the house was torn down and replaced by a duplex house. The original ten lamps were replaced in 1852 with a fourth-order Fresnel lens, and with a fifth-order Fresnel lens in 1890. Lynde Point Lighthouse used whale oil until 1879 when it switched to kerosene. It was electrified in 1955 and fully automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1978. In 1990, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and is significant for its "superior stone work in the tapering brownstone walls".
Concord Point Light is a 36-foot (11 m) lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Maryland. It overlooks the point where Susquehanna River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, an area of increasing navigational traffic when it was constructed in 1827. It is the northernmost lighthouse and the second-oldest tower lighthouse still standing on the bay.
The Highland Light is an active lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and 1831. It is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod.
The Sturgeon Point Light Station is a lighthouse on Lake Huron in Haynes Township, Alcona County, northeastern lower Michigan. Established to ward mariners off a reef that extends 1.5 miles (2.4 km) lakeward from Sturgeon Point, it is today regarded as a historic example of a Cape Cod style Great Lakes lighthouse.
The Marquette Harbor Light is located on Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan, a part of the Upper Peninsula. It is an active aid to navigation.
The Rock of Ages Light is a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on a small rock outcropping approximately 2.25 miles (3.62 km) west of Washington Island and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Isle Royale, in Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan. It is an active aid to navigation.
Marshall Point Light Station is a lighthouse at the entrance of Port Clyde Harbor in Port Clyde, Maine. The light station was established in 1832.
South Buffalo North Side Light is a lighthouse formerly located at the entrance to Buffalo Harbor, Buffalo, New York. It is one of two "bottle shaped" beacons located in Buffalo Harbor; the other is the Buffalo North Breakwater South End Light. It is a 29-foot (8.8 m) high beacon constructed of boiler plate. It measures 10 feet 3⁄4 inch (3.067 m) at the bottom and 2 feet 3 inches (0.69 m) at the top. It is distinguished by four cast iron port windows and a curved iron door. It was first lit on September 1, 1903, and originally equipped with a 6th-order Fresnel lens. A battery operated 12 volt lamp with a 12-inch (300 mm) green plastic lens was installed in the beacon c. 1960, when a domed roof formerly mounted over the lens was removed. The beacon was removed in 1985, and now stands at the gate to the Dunkirk Lighthouse and Veterans Park Museum. Its twin is located on the grounds of the Buffalo (main) Light.
Buffalo North Breakwater South End Light is a lighthouse formerly located at the entrance to Buffalo Harbor, Buffalo, New York. It is one of two "bottle shaped" beacons located in Buffalo Harbor; the other is the South Buffalo North Side Light. It is a 29-foot (8.8 m) high beacon constructed of boiler plate. It measures 10 feet 3⁄4 inch (3.067 m) at the bottom and 2 feet 3 inches (0.69 m) at the top. It is distinguished by four cast iron port windows and a curved iron door. It was first lit on September 1, 1903, and originally equipped with a 6th-order Fresnel lens. A battery operated 12 volt lamp with a 12 inches (300 mm) green plastic lens was installed in the beacon c. 1960, when a domed roof formerly mounted over the lens was removed. The beacon was removed in 1985, and now stands on the grounds of the Buffalo (main) Light. Its twin is located at the Dunkirk Lighthouse and Veterans Park Museum.
The Port Washington Light is a historical lighthouse in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Replaced by the Port Washington Breakwater Light and converted to a normal dwelling, it was restored with the assistance of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and currently serves as a museum.
Pigeon Point Light Station or Pigeon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States. It is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. Pigeon Point Light Station is located on the coastal highway, 5 miles (8 km) south of Pescadero, California, between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. The 115-foot (35 m), white masonry tower, resembles the typical New England structure.
The Matagorda Island Light is located on Matagorda Island in Calhoun County, in the U.S. state of Texas. Once under the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard, the lighthouse is now managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The Ontonagon Light is a lighthouse located off M-64 near Ontonagon, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973.
Brazos Santiago Pass is a natural coastal landform located in the Lower Laguna Madre and Lower Rio Grande Valley on the furthest southern beach terrain of the Texas Gulf Coast. The seacoast passage is interpolated by barrier islands encompassing the southern Brazos Island and the northern South Padre Island.
{{cite web}}
: |last=
has generic name (help)