St. George & Cape St. George Islands Lighthouses

U.S. Coast Guard photo, probably taken by M. Fontaine circa 1859. Residents and sea captains from Apalachicola finally got their wish on March 3, 1847 when Congress appropriated $8,000 for a lighthouse on the horn of land called Cape St. George near the middle of St. George Island. The new lighthouse would be taller and located closer to the dangerous shoals that extended out from the Cape, so the old lighthouse on the western tip of the island would be unnecessary. The construction job was contracted to Edward Bouden on November 15, 1847. Since his name isn't mentioned in other lighthouse contracts, he may have been a local builder. His bid of $13,400 included construction and the lighthouse at Cape San Blas. The contract stipulated that the contractor could use materials from the old lighthouses at St. Joseph Point and St. George Island. The contract called for a completion date of March 1, 1848.

A plan of the top of the lighthouse, modified from US Coast Guard Cipra Collection. Construction must have gone slowly because the 65-foot, tall tower wasn't lighted until December 20, 1848. The light was produced by 15 lamps with 16-inch reflectors. Unfortunately, this tower didn't last very long. A hurricane in the fall of 1850 cracked and undermined the tower, and another hurricane in August of 1851 toppled Cape St. George and the lighthouses at Dog Island and Cape San Blas. The same storm brought high winds and high water that also wrecked the town of Apalachicola. In the summer of 1852, the present 74-foot tower was completed 250 yards further inland from the ruins of the old tower. Construction went quickly as two thirds of the bricks from the old ruined lighthouse were salvaged and re-used. A third order lens was installed in 1857. As with most other Florida lighthouses, Cape St. George was extinguished with the start of the Civil War. In late 1861, a passing Union ship reported that the lens had been removed from the tower. Valuable components of the lighthouse were taken and delivered to the Confederate Collector of Customs in Apalachicola. A lighthouse caretaker was employed until March, 1862, when he was released because he had "not been enabled to tender any service, in consequence of the enemy having the Control of the Light houses." The lens and other lighthouse property were shipped inland for safe storage. Apalachicola was captured by Union ships on April 3, 1862. Union ship crews set up the lighthouse and keeper's dwelling as a smoking and lounging saloon. Union sympathizers were housed in the keeper's dwelling and in tents near the lighthouse to protect them from Confederate raiders. Needless to say, the absent Confederates were blamed after the war for damage to the dwelling. After the war, the lens was found (somewhat damaged) and the light was exhibited again on August 1, 1865. A "dark angle" in the lens, caused by Civil War damage, forced replacement of the lens in 1899. Tragedy struck the lighthouse in 1875 when Arad Williams fell while painting the lighthouse. He lived for four hours after the fall. Arad's father, Braddock Williams had been head keeper of the light in 1853 and was hired as assistant when his son took over in 1874. In those days, there were no retirement plans and "keeping" lighthouses was not a high-paying job. Braddock was eventually discharged at age 80 without a penny to his name. A new keeper's dwelling was built in 1878. Soon after it was completed, hurricane driven waves passed over the island, damaging the tower and probably destroying the dwellings. Fuel for the light was changed to mineral oil in 1882 and later to incandescent oil vapor in 1913. Another hurricane in 1883 (is this sounding like an old story?) brought waves into the yard of the dwelling, knocking down sections of the fence and damaging the kitchen. By 1901 mention is made of an Assistant Keeper's dwelling. The old keeper's dwelling was probably used for the assistant when a larger more modern dwelling was built for the keeper. Records indicate that the brick oil house was built in 1894.

Rare U.S. Coast Guard undated photo (probably from the 1940's) that shows the back side of the keeper's dwellings. During World War II, the island was extensively used as a training area. Wartime photographs show a row of metal huts and a lookout tower built just west of the lighthouse. The assistant keepers dwelling burned down sometime in the 1940's. Finally in October 1949, the lighthouse was made automatic and unmanned. In 1977, the island was purchased and converted to St. George Island State Park.

U.S. Coast Guard photo probably made just before the station was automated. You can see the WWII lookout tower on the left of the photograph. Note the relatively large expanse of beach seaward of the lighthouse. After serving as an unmanned lighthouse for a number of years, beach erosion began threatening the lighthouse site in 1985. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused additional erosion. A contractor was hired and $72,000 was spent to secure the light tower's foundation.

Picture of Cape St. George Lighthouse, 1996 Beach erosion has continued steadily and in July 1994, the Coast Guard removed the light from the top of the tower. Hurricane OPEL in 1995 removed more sand from the base of the tower, causing it to lean about 10 degrees.

These sets of pictures were taken in 1992 by Roger Bansemer The oil house was also undercut and is badly cracked. Half of the roof of the dwelling has fallen down. The Coast Guard has abandoned efforts to save the lighthouse and at one time even considered demolishing the lighthouse to prevent anyone being injured if it falls.

Keepers and their house The list below shows all the men who served the lighthouse. The picture above is what is left of the Keepers' home-the fireplace. Keepers William Austin Braddock Williams Arad L. Williams (killed in fall from tower) James Reilly Joseph Lucroft James Albert Williams Edward G. Porter Clairmon Brooks Sullivan Richard White Assistant Keepers Jo. A. Williams, Arad L. Williams, John Murphy, Michael Scanlan, Leroy Johnson, John W. Williams, James Chester Williams, Francis M. Pope, Walter Andrew Roberts, William J. Knickermeyer, Walter Andrew Roberts, Jr.

Later storms moved the lighthouse off of its foundation. The spiral staircase inside the tower separated from the walls of the tower and was in a state of near collapse.

Fortunately, a local group the Cape St. George Lighthouse Society raised funds and awareness to save the lighthouse. The Florida Lighthouse Association also contributed funds and the project received a $40,000 state matching grant.

Saved! Two excellent articles in "The News Herald" Newspaper tell about recent construction work at the lighthouse which has gotten the lighthouse back to perpendicular and will provide a foundation which should ensure the lighthouse doesn't fall over. A huge amount of credit is due to the Cape St. George Lighthouse Society, a non-profit group who led the effort to raise more than $250,000 to save the lighthouse. It is truly amazing that the lighthouse survived. The force of the waves actually moved the lighthouse off of its pile foundation. The contractors noted: "The entire structure moved to the south, then rolled away. It moved to the south about 3½ feet and in the process spun. There's one piling that was probably the key piling. And it actually took the tops off the pilings that were bearing the most weight and broke the wood over 90 degrees." In addition to removing the lean in the tower, the contractors will install a 10-foot concrete pad surrounded by sheet pilings. If the beach erodes further, the lighthouse could stand alone without falling over. We hope you have found the history of the St. George island and Cape St. George Lighthouses interesting.