Alligator Reef

Alligator Reef Light is located four nautical miles east of Indian Key, The Station was established in 1873 and is still operational today. The structure is an iron-pile skeleton with a platform. The light is 136 feet above water. It is a white octagonal pyramid skeleton framework on black pile foundation, enclosing a square dwelling and a stair-cylinder. the lantern is black. The original lens was a first order bivalve " fresnel lens ".

                                       Carysfort Reef

Carysfort Reef Lighthouse is located 6 miles east of Key Largo 25 13.18 N - 80 12.42 W. The lighthouse has an iron screw-pile foundation with a platform, and a skeletal octagonal pyramidal tower, which is painted red. The lighthouse is 100 feet above water. The original lens was a first order " fresnel lens ".

                       It is the oldest functioning lighthouse of it type in the U.S.

                                        Key West

The Key West Lighthouse is located in Key West, Florida. The first Key West lighthouse was a 65 foot tower completed in 1825. It had 15 lamps in 15 inch reflectors. The first keeper, Michael Mabrity, died in 1832, and his widow " Barbara " became the lighthouse keeper, serving 32 years.

The Great Havana Hurricane of 1846 destoryed the lighthouse. Barbara Mabrity survived the storm, but 14 people who sought refuge in the lighthouse tower died. including 7 members of her family.

Barbara Mabrity continued to serve as keeper of the Key West Lighthouse until the early 1860, when she weas fired at the age of 82 for making statements against the Union. Key West remained under Union control throughout the Civil War.

                               Sombrero Key Light

Sombrero Key Light is located near Vaca Key. the lighthouse is located on a mostly submerged reef. The name Sombrero key goes back to the Spanish, and old charts show a small island at the spot. but by the late 19 Century the island had eroded away, with some parts of the reef exposed in low tide. As a result, the reef and lighthouse have been also called " DRY BANKS "

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