A set of lighthouses off the Florida Keys is up for grabs now that the government no longer needs them. They spent 100 years warning sea traffic away from the coral reef several miles from shore, and they had to be hurricane-resistant, which required a design different from the brick and stone lighthouses you see elsewhere. One has already been given to a non-profit organization. Sand Key lighthouse, pictured above, has been on the auction block for most of this year. The other four will be given away, if the right owners can be found.
Between 1852 and 1880, the U.S. government built six offshore reef lights. Also known as screw-pile lighthouses—because they stand on piles that are screwed into the sea bottom—these haunting towers look more like metal spiderwebs than buildings (a design that likely influenced a more famous tower across the Atlantic, built by an architect named A.G. Eiffel).
These outposts stand in just five feet of water, but they’re four to seven miles offshore, so the lives of their keepers came with distinct isolation. These lonely souls sometimes went weeks without human interaction. In some cases, the extreme solitude led to mental derangements. But on serene days, sharks swam by in crystal-clear waters, and nights were passed watching waves wash over the reef, illuminated by moonlight and burning whale oil.
While these lighthouses may seem like a bargain, ownership comes with the responsibility to maintain them as historic sites. Historian and president of the Florida Keys Reef Lights Foundation Eric Martin hopes to acquire Sand Key lighthouse and the others. He knows more about them than almost anyone, and tells the history of these lighthouses at Atlas Obscura.
(Image credit: State Library and Archives of Florida)
