Amelia Island North Range Light
Encyclopedia
The Amelia Island North Range Light was built to mark a channel over the sandbar at the mouth of the St. Mary's River
, which led to the harbor at Fernandina Beach, Florida
, on Amelia Island
. It consisted of a lighthouse and a front range tower with a light, arranged so that when ships could see one light above the other, they were lined up with the channel. During the Civil War
Confederate
forces removed the lenses from the lights. Union
forces seized Fernandina Beach, Fort Clinch
and the lighthouse in 1862.
It is known that the front range tower was destroyed during the war. There is no record of when the lighthouse was destroyed, but a new lighthouse was built in 1872. As the channel over the sand bar shifted with time, the front range light was periodically moved to maintain an alignment with the channel. In 1887 the rear range light was moved from the lighthouse to a tramway to permit proper adjustments to be made to the alignment. The light was decommissioned in 1899 after the channel was sufficiently marked with buoys. The lighthouse was listed in a survey in 1924, but has since disappeared.
St. Marys River (Florida/Georgia)
The St. Marys River is a river in the southeastern United States. It is named after the Irish Saint Mary. From near its source in the Okefenokee Swamp, to its mouth at the Atlantic Ocean, it forms a portion of the border between the U.S. states of Georgia and Florida...
, which led to the harbor at Fernandina Beach, Florida
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Fernandina Beach is a city in Nassau County in the state of Florida in the United States of America and on Amelia Island. It is a part of Greater Jacksonville and is among Florida's northernmost cities. The area was first inhabited by the Timucuan Indian tribe...
, on Amelia Island
Amelia Island
Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...
. It consisted of a lighthouse and a front range tower with a light, arranged so that when ships could see one light above the other, they were lined up with the channel. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
forces removed the lenses from the lights. Union
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forces seized Fernandina Beach, Fort Clinch
Fort Clinch
Fort Clinch is a 19th century brick fortress located on a peninsula near the northernmost point of Amelia Island, along the Amelia River. The fort lies to the northeast of Fernandina Beach at the entrance to the Cumberland Sound and lies within Fort Clinch State Park.-History:The site of Fort...
and the lighthouse in 1862.
It is known that the front range tower was destroyed during the war. There is no record of when the lighthouse was destroyed, but a new lighthouse was built in 1872. As the channel over the sand bar shifted with time, the front range light was periodically moved to maintain an alignment with the channel. In 1887 the rear range light was moved from the lighthouse to a tramway to permit proper adjustments to be made to the alignment. The light was decommissioned in 1899 after the channel was sufficiently marked with buoys. The lighthouse was listed in a survey in 1924, but has since disappeared.