Destination for Today: The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Do you fancy lighthouses? I do. I am not a navigator, nor do I know what these things were built for, but the form of these marvelous towers is close to my heart - I met my wife while staring at one. Anyway, if you're looking for a place to go to during your visit in New Smyrna or Daytona Beach, there's this one tower you shouldn't dare miss... That is if you love ivory towers.

The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Northern Florida. After its completion in 1887, on what was then known as Mosquito Inlet, the lighthouse became one of the more appealing landmarks in the area. A few dozen restorations by the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association and after millions of visits after, the lighthouse was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1998.

It all began with a purchase of ten acres of land was made for the construction of the Mosquito Inlet Lighthouse in 1835. Plans with the modification of the lighthouse tower and lantern room design were made after the Second Seminole War, where the lighthouse collapsed after being set on fire by the Seminole Indians. The construction began in 1883; the lighthouse faced storms and the great Charleston Earthquake, but despite all of those, it was completed four years later, and in November 1, 1887, the kerosene lamp in the first-order fixed Fresnel lens was lit. Later on, it was replaced by an incandescent vapor lamp.

Since then, great changes were made to the Mosquito Inlet Lighthouse. In the 1920's, a generator was installed and electricity was brought into the keeper's dwellings. The old windmill was replaced with an electric water pump. Mosquito Inlet was renamed Ponce de Leon Inlet. The tower light was replaced with a more powerful, and back then, modern 500-watt lamp. The first order Fresnel lens was replaced with a third order rotating Fresnel lens at the same time.

In 1939, the Lighthouse was transferred from the Lighthouse Service to the Coast Guard, and the keepers' families moved out of the Light Station. The buildings were turned into barracks for the Coast Guardsmen who kept watch against enemy submarines during World War II.

After the war, the lighthouse was completely abandoned by the Coast Guard. In 1972, the Coast Guard deeded the abandoned property to the concerned citizens of Ponce Inlet. Thus, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse Association was formed to manage the preservation and discussion of maritime and social history of the Ponce Inlet Light Station.

Through the passionate members of the Association, the full restoration of the lighthouse was initiated. The tower balcony was replaced, and the light in the lantern returned to service. The three keepers' houses were turned into a lighthouse museum, a sea museum and a period house museum, which are open to the public seven days a week. The first order lens from the Cape Canaveral lighthouse was restored and on display in the new Ayres Davies Lens Exhibit Building. The original order lens from the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse was also restored and put on display. And in 2004, the third order Fresnel lens was completed and the rotating lens were returned to the lantern room at the top of the tower. The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse operates now as a private aid to navigation.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6307547

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