Rigolets Lighthouse, Louisiana

This nineteenth century lighthouse was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. It helped guide ships through The Rigolets (Rig-uh-leez).

Cape Arago Lighthouse, Oregon

This lighthouse is located in Charleston, Oregon, 2.6 miles north of Cape Arago. While there were two preceding lighthouses on this site. However, because they constantly needed repairing and because sailors needed a better light, they were replaced by a third one, made of concrete and 44 ft. high. The present lighthouse was in first lit in 1934, automated in 1966, and deactivated in 2006.

Lake McConaughy Lighthouse, Nebraska

This small lighthouse by a reservoir of the North Platte River is located in Nebraska. It is a 35 ft. round stone lighthouse with lantern and gallery situated on a bluff. The tower is unpainted and its lantern is painted black. Near the lighthouse is a small gazebo.

Lake McConaughy, the reservoir, was formed by damming the North Platte River in Keith County, north of Ogallala in western Nebraska. This lake is 22 miles long and approximately 4 miles wide.  

North Head Lighthouse, Washington

The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was a disappointment because it was obscured to ships approaching from the north by the headland extending southwest from the light. To solve this problem, a lighthouse was built at North Head, which faces the ocean directly and would be clearly visible to ships traveling from the north. The 65-foot (20 m) tower stood on a 130-foot (40 m) cliff. The lens was the first-order Fresnel lens from Cape Disappointment that was first lit in 1898.         
                                                                                       
In 1935, the first-order Fresnel lens was replaced by a fourth-order lens. That lens was. eventually replaced by an aerobeacon in the 1950s, and later by a modern optic mounted outside the tower. The light was automated in 1961. This lighthouse, as well as the Cape Disappointment lighthouse, is part of Cape Disappointment State Park.

Hunting Island Lighthouse, South Carolina

This striking lighthouse is located in Hunting Island State Park, near Beaufort, SC. It was activated in 1875, deactivated in 1933.  It has a 141 foot conical tower and a second-order Fresnel lens.  Presently it is open to sightseers who can climb the 167 steps to the top.

Port Isabel Lighthouse, Texas

Work started on this lighthouse in 1852. It had an 82-foot tower and a third order Fresnel lens. It was occupied by both sides during the Civil War.  It was briefly out of service because the government did not have title to it, so it condemned the land.  It remained in service until 1905.  It was sold in 1927.  Presently it is owned by the town of Port Isabel, and is a Texas State Historic Site.

Sanibel Island Lighthouse, Florida

This lighthouse, first lit in 1884, marks the entrance to San Carlos Bay on Sanibel Island.  It was constructed of iron positioned on an iron pile 98 feet tall.  It is 102 feet above sea level.  Illumination is provided by a third-order Fresnel lens and consists of two paired flashes every 10 seconds.   It was automated in 1949.

Pensacola Lighthouse, Florida

The Pensacola lighthouse was the second one on the site, erected in 1859.  It is 150 feet tall, and located on a 40 foot bluff within the Pensacola Naval Air Station.  It was fully automated in 1965, and is still operational.  It has a first-order Fresnel lens that blinks every 20 seconds.  It can be seen over a distance of 27 miles. 

The keeper's house is now a museum and gift house.  It has a great view of Pensacola Bay and the three forts in the area.  Check it out when you're there.

Ocracoke Lighthouse, North Carolina

The Ocracoke lighthouse is claimed to be the second oldest in the country by the National Park Service, started in 1823.  It is located on Ocracoke Island, one of the Outer Banks.  It was equipped with fourth order Fresnel lens.  The lens was removed by the Confederates during the Civil War, and returned to service after the war.  It was automated in 1955, and is still in operation.

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Maine

The original lighthouse was built in 1808.  The present one was built and lit with a third-order Fresnel lens in 1858, and automated in 1988. It is the easternmost lighthouse in the United States, near Lubec, Maine. It had been featured on a postage stamp.

Sand Island Lighthouse, Alabama

This lighthouse is located on the southernmost part of Alabama.  Because of considerable erosion, it is an endangered lighthouse.

Ship Island Lighthouse, Mississippi

Ship Island, not far from Biloxi and Gulfport, has an attractive lighthouse by Fort Massachusetts.  It was originally built in 1853 and used a whale oil lamp; but a Fresnel lens was installed in 1856.

The original lighthouse was destroyed during the Civil War; but it was replaced with a square tower afterwards.  In 1969 Hurricane Camille cut Ship Island in half; and a few years later the old lighthouse was destroyed.

Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia

This lighthouse is located by the Savannah River and is one of seven colonial era lighthouses still in place.  It underwent a series of reconstructions, and was first lit with a first-order Fresnel lens in 1867.  Prior to that time it used oil lamps.  In 1972 it was automated.  It's a darn good-looking lighthouse.