Amelia Island Lighthouse

Year Built

1838-1839

Cost

$7,500

Type

Tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern

Height

67 feet

Location

Northern end of Amelia Island

Automated Year

1970

First Lit

1839

Lens Type

14 lamps with 14-inch (360 mm) reflectors in a revolving lens (1839) - 3rd order Fresnel lens (1903)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White tower, black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Otho O. Brown (1965 – 1970)

Description

You can walk the lighthouse grounds, but climbing the lighthouse staircase to the top of the tower is not permitted.

Brief History

•  The lighthouse was built in 1838 using materials from the former lighthouse north of the St. Marys River on Cumberland Island.
•  The turmoil of the Civil War briefly dimmed the lighthouse’s guiding light in 1861.
•  Thomas P. O’Hagan retired as keeper of Amelia Island Lighthouse on June 30, 1925 at the age of sixty-six.
•  Electricity reached the tower in the 1930s, which allowed the station to be automated in 1970.
•  In 1970, the retirement of the final keeper marked the end of an era, closing a chapter in the lighthouse’s long and illustrious history