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Standing below and at a safe distance, volunteers, staff, and folks from the media watched in awe as a crane was guided up over 80 feet to extract the priceless fourth order Fresnel lens from Florida’s historic St. Marks Lighthouse. Four restoration experts from the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association had come to carefully remove the St. Marks lens and take it to Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum for cleaning and repair. The removal of the lens was the next step in the effort of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to preserve and restore the light and keeper’s house so that visitors can learn about the history of this important landmark. Stabilization and assessment of the condition of the buildings have been completed.
Ed Gunn, Executive Director, Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, said, “We are looking forward to helping St. Marks in restoration of the lighthouse lens. Our staff and volunteers are excited about the project. Our collaboration with St. Marks is a win-win situation.” Other Ponce Inlet staff included Ellen Henry, curator; Mike Bennett, Director of Operations; and Tom Di Tusa, Restoration Tech. Gunn said the restoration will take about 2,000 hours, but their time will be donated, as all their lens restorations are since they are a non-profit organization. “We’re glad to be working with the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and restoring a piece of their history,” Gunn said.
The lighthouse, which is about 30 miles south of Tallahassee on the St. Marks NWR, was transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Fish and Wildlife Service in October of 2013. The refuge and its citizens support organization, the St. Marks Refuge Association, have been working together to plan for the future of the lighthouse and keeper’s house. The association applied for and received grants totaling $23,900 from the Florida Lighthouse Association to stabilize and weatherproof the building as a first step in the preservation process. A steering committee is meeting regularly to determine the future use of the lighthouse complex including costs of improvements, grant writing, displays, and operations.
The St. Marks Lighthouse has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. The fourth order Fresnel lens was installed during repairs to the lighthouse after the Civil War and was relit January 7, 1867. It was lit by kerosene at that time and changed to electricity in the 1930s. It covered 270 degrees on the horizon and could be seen 14-15 miles at sea. It was automated in 1960 and decommissioned in 2000. The lens had remained in place for 147 years, guiding mariners to the mouth of the St. Marks River.
Many lighthouses in the U. S. have been lost to storms, erosion, and neglect. Mike Bennett, of the Ponce Inlet team, said, “It is imperative to preserve the history of lighthouses as they help pass on the story of our nation. Maritime industry was very important to the United States in its early years and lighthouses guided ships all along the coasts. They were known as the signposts of the sea.” With the help of the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association, the Fresnel lens of the St. Marks Lighthouse at the St. Marks NWR will be preserved to tell the story of life and commerce along the Gulf Coast. After the lens is restored, plans call for it to be returned to the St. Marks NWR and placed on display at the visitors center.
This story appeared in the
Jan/Feb 2015 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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