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Egmont Key

Egmont Key

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

    When it was built in 1848, Egmont Key Lighthouse was the only navigational light between Key West and St. Marks. It marks the main shipping entrance to the ports of Tampa and St. Petersburg. Hurricanes in 1848 and 1852 undermined the first lighthouse; rebuilt in 1858, the current lighthouse was moved inland about 90 feet. This lighthouse may be the oldest structure in the Tampa Bay area that is still used for its intended purpose. The Coast Guard automated Egmont Key Lighthouse in 1990, one of the last in the nation to be automated. Although the lighthouse is closed to the public, boat tours ferry visitors from Egmont State Park to Egmont Key, which is a National Wildlife Refuge.



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