About this property
Fowey Rocks Light is located seven miles southeast of Cape Florida on Key Biscayne. The lighthouse was completed in 1878, replacing the Cape Florida Light. It was automated on May 7, 1975, and as of 2021 is still in operation. The structure is cast iron, with a screw-pile foundation, a platform and a skeletal tower. The light is 110 feet above the water. The tower framework is painted brown, while the dwelling and enclosed circular stair to the lantern are painted white. The original lens was a first-order drum Fresnel lens which stood about 12 feet (4 m) high and weighed about a ton (tonne). The light has a nominal range of 15 miles in the white sectors, and 10 miles in the red sectors. It serves as a maker for the entrance to the Hawk Channel passage through the Florida Keys. Fowey Rocks are named after the Royal Navy frigate HMS Fowey which was wrecked on a different reef to the south in 1748. During construction of the lighthouse the workers lived on a platform built over the water to minimize the danger of transporting them and their supplies each day from the mainland. While construction was under way, on 17 February 1878 the Arratoon Apcar ran aground on the reef. The 1500 ton steamship came to rest just 200 yards (180 m) from the workmen's platform. Efforts to save the boat failed, and she was pounded apart on the rocks and sank. Today the wreck is an excellent scuba diving site. One early assistant keeper of the lighthouse, Jefferson B. Browne, later became Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 washed away the first deck of the lighthouse, 15 feet above the water, but the tower survived. The lighthouse is inside the boundaries of Biscayne National Park. In June 2011, the General Services Administration made the Fowey Rocks Light (along with 11 others) available at no cost to public organizations willing to preserve them. On October 2, 2012, the National Park Service accepted ownership of the light. It is the last of the original Florida Keys offshore manned reef lights in operation, all others having been decommissioned by 2015. The original Fresnel lens has been replaced by a modern solar-powered light. Although owned by the National Park Service, the light continues to be maintained by the US Coast Guard.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Fowey Rocks Light listed on the National Register?
Fowey Rocks Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 2011.
What type of historic resource is Fowey Rocks Light?
Fowey Rocks Light is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Fowey Rocks Light?
The period of significance for Fowey Rocks Light is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1878.
Can I research the history near Fowey Rocks Light?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Fowey Rocks Light will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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