Few Keepers Lived In Dwellings Located Like This

 The Sombrero Key Lighthouse is located near Marathon, FL. Built in 1858, it is the tallest at 142-feet of the six skeleton towered Florida Reef lighthouses. It was the third one built in the series and the last of its type in which engineer Lt. George Meade played a significant role. The huge cast-iron structure stands on a coral bed almost five miles south of Vaca Key, FL.

 The one-story, thirty-foot, keepers dwelling was built of quarter-inch boiler iron and consists of four rooms. It was built on a platform forty feet above the water. The keepers could access the lantern room via an enclosed central circular stairway, or climb down a ladder to the water.

Over the years, this rugged tower has survived the mighty blows that Mother Nature has thrown at it, suffering only minimal damage. Periodic scraping and painting of the metal has kept the entire framework in remarkable shape. Coast Guard keepers left the station for good in 1963. The original glass-prism Fresnel lens was removed in 1982 and is displayed at the Key West Lighthouse Museum. A modern twelve-volt optic, which replaced the Fresnel lens, routinely furnishes a flashing white light that guides mariners past the surrounding reefs.

This light was active at the time of my visit in 2001. I saw the lighthouse from U.S. Highway 1 on my way to Key West, FL, but didn't get to photograph it. The above picture and some data was taken from a lighthouse magazine to document part of this lighthouse's history.