Home » Browse » Lighthouses » United States » Florida Lighthouses » Amelia Island Lighthouse

 
MainDescription
Map of Amelia Island Lighthouse: View Full Map

Amelia Island Lighthouse


Location
State Florida
Country United States




Navigation
Latitude 30° 40" 20'
Longitude -81° 26" 33'
Format DD DMS
Body of water Egans Creek
Height Above Water 107 feet
Current Conditions
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Temperature: 79F
Dewpoint: 79F

Clear
High: 93F
Low: 75F

Thunderstorm
High: 93F
Low: 73F

Chance of a Thunderstorm
High: 84F
Low: 75F

Chance of a Thunderstorm

Introduction:
The Amelia Island Light is a lighthouse located on the north end of Amelia Island at the mouth of the St. Mary's River. It was built in 1838 using materials taken from the former Little Cumberland Island lighthouse in Georgia. The Little Cumberland Island lighthouse had been built in 1820. The lighthouse marks the entrance to Nassau Sound and the harbor for Fernandina Beach, Florida.

The lighthouse was originally equipped with 14 lamps each with a 14-inch (360 mm) reflector. The reflector size was increased to 15 (460 mm) inches by 1848. This arrangement was replaced by a third-order Fresnel lens in 1903, which is still used in the lighthouse.

The original tower, moved from Little Cumberland Island, was 50 foot (15 m) tall, placed on a hill. In 1881 a lantern was installed on the tower, increasing the tower height to 64 feet (20 m), with the focal plane of the light 107 feet (33 m) above see level.
The next-to-last civilian keeper of the Amelia Island lighthouse was Thomas J. O'Hagan, who was the son of the previous keeper, Thomas P. O'Hagan, and was married to a direct descendant of the first keeper, Amos Latham.

The lighthouse was transferred from the United States Coast Guard to the City of Fernandina Beach in 2001.

It is listed as number 565 in USCG light lists.