The Wandering Disciple

Standing at the mouth of the Boca Grande Pass, the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse provides a guiding light for ships transitioning from the Gulf of Mexico into Charlotte Harbor. Since 1890, the lighthouse have navigated ships into the harbor and the nearby Port Boca Grande. Over the years, the need for the lighthouse diminished as a newer lighthouse was installed nearby and the port was eventually closed, but the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse survived demolition by both natural means (hurricanes, coastal erosion) and human means (decay and demo). Today the restored lighthouse is a museum and part of the Gasparilla Island State Park.  Gasparilla Island State Park is a barrier island park featuring several miles of coastline and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Within the boundaries of the park, both lighthouses are preserved. Visitors can tour the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse as it is one of only six lighthouses in Florida that the public can tour. The taller Gasparilla Island Rear...

  Rising above the coastal town of Mayport, the St Johns River Light has been guiding ships through the mouth of the St Johns River from 1859 though 1929.  Despite being taken out of service as a lighthouse, it still stands on the grounds of the Naval Station Mayport as the oldest structure on the island.  (Photo: December 30, 2020)

The light of the Boca Grande Lighthouse provides a beacon of light in the night sky. The lighthouse was commissioned in 1890 and remained in service until 1966. It was reactivated in 1986 as an aid to navigation under the US Coast Guard. You can tour the lighthouse which is part of the Gasparilla Island State Park. (Photo: April 16, 2016)

The light atop the Boca Grande Lighthouse has served as a guiding light for vessels navigating ships to the Boca Grande Pass, the mouth of Charlotte Harbor.  First lit in 1890, the Boca Grande Lighthouse provided an aid to navigation until being decommissioned in 1966.  After being rescued from deterioration, the light was reactivated by the US Coast Guard in 1986.  Together with the Gasparilla Rear Range Light further down the island, the lighthouse helps guide ships in and out of Charlotte Harbor.  While the light itself is maintained by the Coast Guard, the lighthouse is now a museum and part of the Gasparilla Island State Park operated by the Florida State Parks system.  (Photo: March 27, 2010)

Boca Grande, Florida: Each year, the State of Florida recognizes the coastal history of lighthouses and their importance to the states maritime culture during Florida Lighthouse Day. This year, the Barrier Island Parks Society offered an inside look at the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse to celebrate the event. The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse was entered into service in 1890 to help mark the Boca Grande Pass and the entrance to Charlotte Harbor. This helped ensure the safety of the pass and the ships that were coming to the barrier island to transport phosphate. The lighthouse was operated by lighthouse keepers who lived on the island until the US Coast Guard took over control of the lighthouse. We headed out to Gasparilla Island State Park to tour the lighthouse during Florida Lighthouse Day. While the lighthouse operations is under control of the Coast Guard, the remainder of the lighthouse is a museum operated by the Barrier Islands Park Society. But in celebration of the Fl...

The Boca Grande Lighthouse has been serving the Boca Grande Pass for over a hundred years, helping ships navigate the coastal waters off Boca Grande.  The light was first lit 1890 and remains in service to this day.  It also serves as a museum to showcase the maritime history of the region.  (Photo: March 5, 2006)

The Tybee Island Light stands tall on Tybee Island, helping navigate boaters through the waters off Savannah. (Photo: March 14, 2014)

Boca Grande Pass, the mouth of Charlotte Harbor has been protected by the Boca Grande Lighthouse since 1890. While the lighthouse was dark for twenty years of that expansive history, today the lighthouse is in full operation and also serves as a museum to maritime history. (Photo: March 27, 2010)

The Tybee Island Light Station sits at the mouth of the Savannah River to aid in guiding ships into port. It is one of only seven surviving colonial era lighthouses. Today the lighthouse still serves as a navigational aid as well as a history museum. (Photo: March 14, 2014)

A beacon of light guiding ships into Nassau, the Paradise Island Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in the Bahamas. The lighthouse was built in 1817 and is not only the oldest in the Bahamas, it is also the oldest surviving lighthouse in the West Indies. (Photo: April 21, 2010)

The Sanibel Island Light has been guiding ships into San Carlos Bay since 1884. It was the first lighthouse built on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The Sanibel Island Light has been places on the National Register of Historic Places. (Photo: June 24, 2006)

The Boca Grande Lighthouse has been guiding ships into Charlotte Harbor since 1890. Located on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, it is one of two lighthouse that help guide ships into the harbor. (Photo: June 26, 2004)

The Delaware Breakwater East End Light sits on a breakwater near Cape Henlopen, Delaware. It was constructed as part of a safe haven project initiated by President John Quincy Adams. The Atlantic Coast from Virginia to New Jersey provided no safe harbors for large ships during storms. So a breakwater was added to protect the Delaware Bay, giving the ships a harbor of refuge. The 49 foot lighthouse was built in 1884 to help guide ships to the safe waters of the Delaware Bay. (Photo: April 28, 2004)

St. Augustine, Florida: A beacon of light on the rough seas of the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Augustine Lighthouse has helped ships navigate these waters for over 130 years. Over the years, the lighthouse has withstood wars, storms and tragedy while still shining its light on the horizon, guiding ships to safety. Lighthouses in St. Augustine have been in existence way before today’s lighthouse was built. Early accounts show that there was a beacon of light to guide ships during the piracy days of the late 1500’s. The first formal reference to a lighthouse was during British occupation of the city in the late 1700’s. The first lighthouse was built by the Spanish in 1737. Using coquina from a quarry on the island, they built a lighthouse tower. The tower served as the St. Augustine Lighthouse until it fell victim to the sea in 1880, crashing into the water. The current lighthouse was built in 1874. At 165 feet in height, it was the largest structure in the region. Its first order F...

Boca Grande, Florida: At 105 feet, the skeleton tower of the Gasparilla Island Rear Range Light towers over the neighboring beaches and homes in the middle coast of Boca Grande. It is one of two lighthouses on the island, joining the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse further south in aiding ships passing through to Charlotte Harbor. The story of the lighthouse actually begins in Delaware. It was built by the Phoenix Iron Company and put into service in Lewes, Delaware as the Delaware Breakwater Rear Range Light in 1881. The light remained in service here until 1918 when it was decommissioned due to shifting coastlines. The tower was later dismantled and shipped to Florida in 1921. In 1927, the tower was sent to Gasparilla Island and erected two miles from the Port Boca Grande Light. The tower received a new coat of white paint and was renamed the Gasparilla Island Rear Range Light. It went into service in 1932 and worked in conjunction with the Front Range Light located a mile off-sh...

Boca Grande, Florida: The oldest building on Gasparilla Island, the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse has been guiding ships through the waters of Boca Grande. The lighthouse was almost lost to Mother Nature before an effort led by local citizens restored the lighthouse to its original splendor. Built on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, the lighthouse marks the entrance to Charlotte Harbor via the Boca Grande Pass. The lighthouse was placed into service on December 31, 1890. The complex consisted of a two story wooden lighthouse on stilts with a three and a half order Fresnel lens at the peak of the roof along with a second building for the assistant keeper. The lighthouse keepers and their families lived on the complex until 1956 when the light became automated. Then in 1966 the United States Coast Guard decommissioned the lighthouse due to deterioration. A local effort began in the early 1970’s to help restore the lighthouse. The lighthouse was transferred to Lee County in 19...

New York, New York: For decades there has not been a greater symbol of American Freedom then the Statue of Liberty. Standing tall at the mouth of New York Harbor, Lady Liberty has been a welcoming sight to those making the journey in search of a better life in America. The statue is a gift to the United States by the people of France. It was designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and inspired by Édouard René de Laboulaye. The project was announced in 1875 and was named Liberty Enlightening the World. The completed statue was presented to Ambassador Morton in Paris on July 4, 1884. The statue remained on display in Paris until January 1885 when it was disassemlbled for delivery to the United States. The delivery of the statue in the states was delayed due to the difficulty in obtaining funding for the pedestal. The United States was going through a depression and the government did not have the ability to obtain the funding. The pedestal was planned to be 114 feet tall but was reduced t...