Map Search    Florida Department of State « Previous    Visit a Lighthouse Alligator Reef Amelia Island American Shoal Anclote Key Boca Grande Cape Canaveral Cape Florida Cape San Blas Cape St. George Carysfort Reef Cedar Keys Crooked River Egmont Key Fowey Rocks Garden Key Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge Museum Hillsboro Inlet Jupiter Inlet Key West Loggerhead Key Pensacola Ponce de Leon Inlet Port Boca Grande Sand Key Sanibel Island Sombrero Key St. Augustine St. Johns Light Ship St. Johns Light Station St. Johns River St. Joseph Bay St. Marks ->Maritime Trail Home ->Lighthouses Home    Next » Pensacola Photo courtesy of the Internet Public Library.     The Pensacola Lighthouse has a history as interesting as that of the deepwater port it illuminates. The original 1823 lightship Aurora Borealis served as little more than a harbor light and was replaced in 1825 by a 40-foot tower on a 40-foot bluff with a revolving Argand lamp with parabolic reflectors. A new 171-foot tower with a first-order Henry Lepaute lens was activated in 1859. The lens was damaged by retreating Confederate troops, although the lamp was relighted in 1863 with a fourth-order lens that was replaced with a first-order lens in 1869. The Great Charleston Earthquake of 1886 rocked the tower, stopping the pendulum clocks that rotated the lens. Today the light on the black-and-white tower is visible 27 miles at sea. The keeper's quarters are now a museum and the tower may also be seen. Find out more: Additional Links: View more pictures of the Pensacola Lighthouse View a map of the Pensacola Lighthouse Communities | Environments | Forts | Lighthouses | Ports | Shipwrecks | Home The Florida Maritime Heritage Trail was created and is maintained by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, with initial funding by Florida Coastal Management Program. Send comments to: [email protected]