Carysfort Reef Light
Encyclopedia
Carysfort Reef Light is located approximately six nautical miles east of Key Largo
, Florida
. The lighthouse has an iron screw-pile
foundation with a platform, and a skeletal octagonal pyramidal tower, which is painted red. The light is 100 feet (30 m) above the water. The original lens was a first order Fresnel lens
. The light is currently a xenon flashtube beacon. It is the oldest functioning lighthouse of its type in the United States
, completed in 1852. Carysfort Reef is named for , a 20-gun Royal Navy
Post-ship that ran aground on the reef
in 1770.
The original Carysfort Reef light was a lightship
named Caesar, starting in 1825. The first lightship was built in New York City
. While being sailed to its station, it went aground near Key Biscayne
during a storm, and its crew abandoned the ship. The ship was salvaged by wreckers
and taken to Key West, Florida
. The owners bought the ship back and it was placed on station at Carysfort Reef. The lightship was often blown off-station by storms, and even went aground on the reef at one point. That first lightship had to be replaced after only five years because of dry rot
. The second lightship was named Florida.
The lightship keeper had moved his family to a small house on Key Largo, and kept a garden there. After the Cape Florida Lighthouse was burned by Seminole
s in 1836, the keeper moved his family to the lightship. The loss of the Cape Florida Lighthouse left the Carysfort Reef lightship as the only navigational light on the Florida coast between St. Augustine
and Key West. In 1836 Seminoles attacked the keeper and four of his helpers as they went ashore on Key Largo to tend their garden. The keeper and one helper were killed, and two of the other three were wounded, but the three managed to escape back to the ship.
Congress
appropriated funds for a lighthouse at Carysfort Reef in the 1840s. It was the third screw-pile lighthouse in the United States. The interchangeable parts
were manufactured in 1848 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, and a construction crew was trained there. The erection of the lighthouse was more difficult than expected. The site was under four-and-a-half feet of water,and the reef was not solid, as expected, but consisted of a hard shell over compacted sand. The plans had to be modified by adding large plates to the piles to spread the weight of the lighthouse over a larger area of the reef. When the supervisor of the construction died, the US Army Corps of Topographical Engineers sent Lieutenant George Meade
(later commander of the Army of the Potomac
and victor at Gettysburg
) to complete the project. This was Meade's first command of a lighthouse project.
The structure originally had a balcony that encircled the enclosed, circular light keeper's quarters. The balcony and its railing were later removed.
Key Largo
Key Largo is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and, at long, the largest of the Keys. It is also the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the Keys connected by U.S. Highway 1...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The lighthouse has an iron screw-pile
Screw-pile lighthouse
A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse was built by blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell...
foundation with a platform, and a skeletal octagonal pyramidal tower, which is painted red. The light is 100 feet (30 m) above the water. The original lens was a first order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
. The light is currently a xenon flashtube beacon. It is the oldest functioning lighthouse of its type in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, completed in 1852. Carysfort Reef is named for , a 20-gun Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Post-ship that ran aground on the reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
in 1770.
The original Carysfort Reef light was a lightship
Lightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
named Caesar, starting in 1825. The first lightship was built in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. While being sailed to its station, it went aground near Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami...
during a storm, and its crew abandoned the ship. The ship was salvaged by wreckers
Wrecking (shipwreck)
Wrecking is the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered near or close to shore. Often an unregulated activity of opportunity in coastal communities, wrecking has been subjected to increasing regulation and evolved into what is now known as marine salvage...
and taken to Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
. The owners bought the ship back and it was placed on station at Carysfort Reef. The lightship was often blown off-station by storms, and even went aground on the reef at one point. That first lightship had to be replaced after only five years because of dry rot
Dry rot
Dry rot refers to a type of wood decay caused by certain types of fungi, also known as True Dry Rot, that digests parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness...
. The second lightship was named Florida.
The lightship keeper had moved his family to a small house on Key Largo, and kept a garden there. After the Cape Florida Lighthouse was burned by Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
s in 1836, the keeper moved his family to the lightship. The loss of the Cape Florida Lighthouse left the Carysfort Reef lightship as the only navigational light on the Florida coast between St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
and Key West. In 1836 Seminoles attacked the keeper and four of his helpers as they went ashore on Key Largo to tend their garden. The keeper and one helper were killed, and two of the other three were wounded, but the three managed to escape back to the ship.
Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
appropriated funds for a lighthouse at Carysfort Reef in the 1840s. It was the third screw-pile lighthouse in the United States. The interchangeable parts
Interchangeable parts
Interchangeable parts are parts that are, for practical purposes, identical. They are made to specifications that ensure that they are so nearly identical that they will fit into any device of the same type. One such part can freely replace another, without any custom fitting...
were manufactured in 1848 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and a construction crew was trained there. The erection of the lighthouse was more difficult than expected. The site was under four-and-a-half feet of water,and the reef was not solid, as expected, but consisted of a hard shell over compacted sand. The plans had to be modified by adding large plates to the piles to spread the weight of the lighthouse over a larger area of the reef. When the supervisor of the construction died, the US Army Corps of Topographical Engineers sent Lieutenant George Meade
George Meade
George Gordon Meade was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer involved in coastal construction, including several lighthouses. He fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War and Mexican-American War. During the American Civil War he served as a Union general, rising from...
(later commander of the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
and victor at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
) to complete the project. This was Meade's first command of a lighthouse project.
The structure originally had a balcony that encircled the enclosed, circular light keeper's quarters. The balcony and its railing were later removed.