Volusia Bar Light

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Volusia Bar Light
Volusiabar.jpg
The Volusia Bar Light in 1915, the year before it was deactivated.
Volusia Bar Light
LocationThe inlet of the St. Johns River into Lake George, Florida
Coordinates 29°12′24″N81°34′46″W / 29.20667°N 81.57944°W / 29.20667; -81.57944 Coordinates: 29°12′24″N81°34′46″W / 29.20667°N 81.57944°W / 29.20667; -81.57944
Tower
Constructed1886
Foundation screw piles
Constructionwood building
ShapeSquare tower and lantern on roof of 1½ story wooden dwelling
Light
First lit1886
Deactivated1916
Lens1886, fourth-order Fresnel lens; 1899, fifth-order Fresnel lens

The Volusia Bar Light was a river lighthouse marking the inlet of the St. Johns River into the south end of Lake George, Florida.

History

The light was removed in 1916, but a foghorn remained active until 1943. The building was burned by vandals in 1974. The foundation pilings still show above the water.

The keeper, A. J. Anderson, was murdered in 1938. Mariners noticed that the light was unattended. His body was found floating face-down in the river after he had been missing for more than a week. An autopsy established that his neck had been broken. The lighthouse had been ransacked, and Anderson had apparently struggled with his attacker. The murder has never been solved.

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