Cape Canaveral Light

Infobox_lighthouse


caption = The Cape Canaveral lighthouse in 1995
location = one mile inland from Cape Canaveral
latitude =
longitude =
yearlit = 1868
automated = 1960
yeardeactivated =
foundation = brick
construction = cast iron plate with brick lining
shape = conical
height = 137 feet (42 m)
lens = first-order Fresnel lensThe current Cape Canaveral Light was not the first lighthouse on Cape Canaveral. A 60-foot (18 m) tall brick structure was built on the Cape in 1848. The light consisted of 15 lamps each with a 21-inch (530 mm) reflector. The first lighthouse keeper left the lighthouse during a Seminole War scare, and refused to return to his post. Sailors heavily criticized the lighthouse, with complaints that the light was too weak and too low to be seen before ships were on the reefs near the Cape. the government contracted for construction of a new lighthouse in 1860, but the start of the American Civil War stopped work. The lamps and mechanism for the light were removed from the lighthouse and buried in the lighthouse keepers orange grove to protect them from Federal raids.

appropriated funds to move the lighthouse inland. The old (1848) was blown up and the rubble used to prepare a foundation of the lighthouse. The cast-iron tower was disassembled, moved and reassembled at the new location. The move took 18 months, and the lighthouse was re-lit at its new location in 1894.

When rockets began launching from the Cape in the early 1950s, all residents except the lighthouse keeper were relocated to other areas. In 1967, the need for a keeper to live nearby was eliminated by automating the light. Soon after, the keeper's home was demolished. After it was discovered that strong vibrations that accompany launches were damaging the first-order Fresnel lens, it was removed in 1993 and placed on display in a museum at the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. Since toxic lead paint was used to paint the lighthouse, in 1995, a restoration project began to sand blast the harmful paint off.fact|date=July 2008

Ownership of the lighthouse was transferred to the United States Air Force in 2000 (the lighthouse is located inside the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station). It is the only fully operational lighthouse owned by the United States Air Force.

In 2003, the oil house was restored to its original (1890s) state (strong winds had damaged the roof in the 1970s and a window was added in the early 1900s). In 2006, another project restored the lantern room and the structure was repainted using modern materials. Ground sample tests, however, still show a very high level of lead in the soil around the tower. As a result, visitors are not allowed within fifty yards of the base until it is cleaned up.fact|date=July 2008

References

* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/light/canav.htm National Park Service Inventory of Historic Light Stations: Florida Lighthouses] - accessed January 4, 2006
* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHFL.asp U.S. Coast Guard Historic Light Station Information] - accessed June 29, 2008
* [http://users.erols.com/lthouse/cchs.htm Florida Lighthouse Page:Cape Canaveral Lighthouse History] - accessed January 4, 2006
* [http://www.capecanaverallighthousefoundation.com/ Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation] - accessed August 11, 2006
* [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=364 Canaveral Light at LighthouseFriends.com] - accessed July 11, 2006

External links

* [http://www.capehistory.info/ Local history exhibit with lighthouse photos.]
*wikitravel|Cape Canaveral