Two Centuries Warning Ships

Two Centuries Warning Ships. . The two prominent mounds on the landscape in front of you mark the remains of the oldest light station structure, the 1812 Keeper’s Quarters and the 1812 lighthouse., The mound to your left was the site of the 1812 Keeper’s Quarters, which was used for many years even after new quarters were built in 1873., On the mound to your right the 1812 lighthouse stood 107 feet tall, 56 feet too short as it turned out. It proved inadequate for keeping ships off the shoals. It was eventually replaced when the 163-foot lighthouse you see today went into operation in 1859. The original lighthouse was demolished sometime after 1868., …the lights on Hatteras, Lookout, and Cape Florida, if not improved had better be dispensed with as the navigator is apt to run ashore looking for them. , Lt. H.J. Harstene, U.S. Navy, Mail Steamer Illinois, 1851, (captions) , The original 1812 Keeper’s Quarters, shown here in a photo taken around 1898, was used for nearly a century. It was town down in the early 1900s., This is the only known image of the original 1812 lighthouse, sketched around 1830., Red dust on this mound comes from bricks used inside the lighthouse. The exterior was wood.