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Cape Canaveral Light (Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, Florida) The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse is located on
the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral Florida. It is the second lighthouse to have been built on the Cape. Cape Canaveral appears as a small hook of
land jutting out from the east side of the Florida peninsula about midway down.
Strong currents and sandy shoals off the shore from Cape Canaveral made
navigation difficult and in 1847 a 60-foot brick lighthouse was built as an aid
to navigation. John Scobie
and William Carpenter were temporary keepers of the light for the first six
years but in 1853 Captain Mills Burnham, at age 36, became the permanent
lighthouse keeper. The first 60-foot tower lacked the height
and light output necessary to be an efficient coastal light and seamen
continually complained about it. In
fact, they said the light put them in more danger, since in order to see the
light they had to come quite close to shore where the shoals that they were
trying to avoid were located. So in
1860 a contract was signed to build a new lighthouse close to where the first
lighthouse was located. Work on the new lighthouse tower began but
stopped due to the Civil War. The
light in the first lighthouses was darkened during the war at the command of
Stephen Mallory, Confederate Secretary of the Navy.
In fact the keeper removed the light apparatus, boxed it wooded crates,
and buried it in his orange grove. Following
the Civil War the work on the new tower continued and it was completed in 1868. The new tower was 145 feet tall and housed a
1st-order Fresnel lens. The light was visible for up to 18 miles.
Initially the tower was constructed of wood exterior with a brick lining.
The wood soon became the target of termites and the wood was replaced
with cast iron plates. The
construction was such that the lighthouse could be disassembled, if necessary. The lighthouse tower was painted with black and white
horizontal bands, similar to the North Carolina Bodie Light. Shore erosion continued to bring the ocean
closer to the lighthouse. In the 1880s the ocean was only 70 feet from the tower
base. In April 1886, Congress
appropriated funds to move the lighthouse.
The relocation, bringing it 1.5 miles inland, took 18 months to complete.
The move began in 1892 and was completed in 1893.
Captain Burnham continued on as keeper of the light in the new location
and remained until his death in 1886. The
base of the 1868 lighthouse in the original location can still be seen. The light was automated in 1960 and in 1993
the 1st-order Fresnel lens was removed and replaced by a modern
DCB-224 rotating optic. The 1st-order
lens is on display at the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse museum.
The historic two-story New England style buildings what where on the
lighthouse grounds were intentionally burned down by the Air Force since they
were no longer being used and were deteriorating. Besides the tower, the only
other structure is the roof-less brick oil house. The tower today is still an active aid to navigation. Directions: The lighthouse is located on a restricted portion of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base and is not readily accessible to the public, however, there are tours that are part of the Cape Kennedy Space Center that go by the lighthouse and special arrangements might be able to be made through the Air Force Base public relations department.
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All pictures are the original work of Rick Totton and are protected under copyright laws. Do not reproduce any images from this website without permission of the author. Copyright (c) 2000 Rick Totton.
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