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With the exception of a limited number of tourists and locals from the small island nation of Curacao, very few people are aware of the gigantic abandoned Klein Curacao Lighthouse that sits on an uninhabited small island in the southern Caribbean Sea, north of the Venezuelan coast that forms part of the Dutch Caribbean.
A lighthouse was first built there in 1850, but in 1877 it was destroyed in a hurricane. In 1879 a new lighthouse was built further inland on the three-quarter-square-mile island. The lighthouse received major renovations in 1913. The lighthouse was most likely built under the direction of the Dutch West India Company that also built a quarantine building on the island to house sick slaves before they were brought to nearby Curacao. Remains of the old quarantine building can still be seen on the island. Those who did not survive were buried on the island, and some grave sites can still be found on the southern end of the island.
Although there are several huts for fisherman and for day tripper tourists from Curacao, the island is uninhabited. Exactly when the lighthouse was discontinued is unclear, but at one time, by the size of the lighthouse and the keeper’s quarters, it must have been considered quite an important light station.
There has been some talk about restoring the lighthouse, but it would require an immense amount of resources. In recent years the Tideland Signal Corp., in conjunction with the Curacao Ports Authority, installed a LED optic in the previously darkened tower.
In researching the light-house, there were a number of unsubstantiated, but under-standable, statements that said that the Klein Curacao Lighthouse is one of 50 lighthouses world-wide that must be seen before they are gone forever. I would have to agree.
This story appeared in the
May/Jun 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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