Help Save The Sand Island Lighthouse!

As a kid growing up in Mobile, Alabama, I had a chance to visit Sand Island lighthouse almost every weekend during the summer months. My family fished and the area around the lighthouse was one of our favorite fishing spots. We trolled the area and bottom fished with much success. One request I always had for my dad was to let use go ashore on the rocky shore of the lighthouse. Currents and waves in the area made this a very dangerous proposition and, much to my displeasure, my father always denied my request. To this day I wish I had had the opportunity to visit and touch the lighthouse when it was in a much better state of repair than it currently enjoys.

For residents of the gulf coast and, in particular, those of us who frequent Dixie Bar at the mouth of Mobile Bay or visit Dauphin Island, the Sand Island Lighthouse has been a silent guardian, marking the entry into the port of Mobile. Storms have taken their toll. The Lighthouse keepers house departed during hurricane Camille and, over the years, Sand Island itself has migrated westward. Sand Island Lighthouse is in desperate need of attention The lighthouse has weathered the ravages of numerous hurricanes that have obliterated and reshaped the face of the gulf coast but it may no longer be capable of fending off the elements.

State: ALABAMA
Location: OFF MOBILE POINT SOUTH OF FORT GAINES
Nearest City: GULF SHORES
County: BALDWIN
U.S.C.G. District: 8
Year Station Established: 1838

Existing Historic Tower:

• Year Light First Lit: 1873
• Is the Light Operational? NO
• Date Deactivated: 1933
• Automated: 1921
• Foundation Materials: STONE
• Construction Materials: BROWNSTONE
• Markings/Patterns: UNPAINTED GOTHIC TOWER W/BLACK LANTERN
• Shape: CONICAL
• Relationship to Other Structures: SEPARATE
• Tower Height: 131
• Original Optic: SECOND ORDER, FRESNEL
• Year Original Lens Installed: 1873
• Present Optic: REMOVED
• Year Present Lens Installed: 1933
• Height of Focal Plane: 132
• Fresnel Lens Disposition: SECOND ORDER LENS IN FORT MORGAN MUSEUM
• Has tower been moved? NO

Previous Tower(s):
1. Construction Date:
Description:
Fate/Disposition:

Modern Tower? NO

Existing Sound Signal Building? NO

Existing Keepers Quarters? NO (DESTROYED)

• Year Constructed: 1881
• Number of Stories: 2
• Architectural Style:
• Construction Materials: MASONRY GOTHIC

Other Structures:

Current Use: UNDERGOING RESTORATION

Owner/Manager: TOWN OF DAUPHIN ISLAND

Open to the Public? NO

National Register Status: LISTED Reference #75000305
Name of Listing: SAND ISLAND LIGHT
On State List/Inventory? NO; Year Listed:

Miscellaneous: TRANSFERRED TO TOWN OF DAUPHIN ISLAND MARCH 30, 2004 UNDER THE NPS FEDERAL LANDS TO PARKS PROGRAM

(this information was provided by the Maritime Heritage Program)

Sand Island Lighthouse Links

• Alabama Lighthouse Association
• Sand Island Lighthouse Preservation Group, Inc.

Lighthouse and Light Station Heritage and History

Lighthouses are an important part of America's maritime heritage. As much as many people would have you believe otherwise, this country was founded on a maritime heritage which includes the lighthouses that provided guidance to mariners. Learn more about the national efforts to preserve lighthouses as part of the American maritime history.

• National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000
• Lighthouse Heritage
• Inventory of Historic Light Stations