Ponce De Leon Inlet Lghthouse.

Apr 30 2017, 11:29 am in Lighthouses

Let’s take a visit to the Ponce De Leon Inlet lighthouse.

The light is located 10 miles south of Daytona Beach in the town of Ponce Inlet. That’s about an hour’s drive south of me but I’ve never been there. The Ponce Inlet lighthouse is the tallest light in Florida and the second tallest masonry lighthouse in the country second only to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There are 203 steps to the top of the 175 foot tower situated on the north bank of Ponce Inlet where the Halifax and Indian rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

This light, built on 10 acres of land was originally called the Mosquito Inlets Lighthouse.

If you’ve visited Florida in summer you probably have no problem figuring out why they called it that. As so many lighthouses do, this tower has some sad history. The chief building engineer and three others drowned in the inlet right after construction began in 1884. Despite this the tower was completed in 1887. At the time it was said the light could be seen 20 miles to sea. A most definite advantage during the many storms that raked the Florida coast.

In the 1920s the lighthouse service added indoor plumbing and bathrooms to the keeper’s buildings. A generator was also installed bringing electricity to the keeper’s home. In 1933 the tower light was electrified with a 500 watt lamp.

In 1939 the lighthouse was transferred to the care of the United States Coast Guard. During World War II Coast guardsmen protected the light and stood watch for enemy submarines that cruised the Florida coastline.

This light is one of only a handful of 19 century light station to have all its original buildings still intact. In 1998 the light was designated a national historic landmark.

I really do need to get myself in gear and go down and see this light. Have any of you been there?