Lighthouses of the Florida Keys: A Short History and Guide

Except for two land-based lighthouses (at Cape Florida and Key West), the lighthouses of the Florida Keys comprise the largest collection of iron screwpile lighthouses in the world. This is a history of the individual lights, including their construction, repairs needed due to storms, and the politics that have always swirled around them as surely as the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Florida Straits. This detailed account will transport you to a time when wreckers cruised the sea and lighthouse keepers diligence saved the lives of many mariners.

Read an 1836 letter found in the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Washington, DC, describing the naval personnel's experience at the Cape Florida Lighthouse during an Indian attack. Take a tour of Carysfort Lighthouse described in a newly found 1875 diary. Read interviews with the Coast Guard on the latest navigational innovations. For lighthouse lovers and Keys history fans alike.