From the Lighthouse Friends Site.
Like I said last night, I have been doing entries on Florida's Forgotten Coast along the eastern part of the state's panhandle. Yesterday, I wrote about a Confederate saltworks destroyed by the USS Kingfisher.
There was also a lighthouse on the cape. It was the third one on the site. I'll be writing about the other three on my Roadlog Blog, as well as the Civil War one.
In 1857, Congress allotted $20,000 for a third brick lighthouse on Cape San Blas to replace the one destroyed by a hurricane in 1855. It was first lit in 1858. During the Civil War, the Confederate lighthouse supervisor had the lens removed before the Union forces were able to capture it.
It was always a distinct possibility that a Union gunboat would show up and capture it. Later, the lighthouse keeper's house and wooden portion of the lighthouse were burned. The light was out for the duration. It returned to operation July 23, 1865 after repairs were made and a new lens installed.
By 1869, the beach in front of it had been washed away with water at the base which, in 1882, the tower toppled into the sea.
They Did Not Leave the Light On. --Old B-Runner
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