7 Remarkable Reasons to Visit Amelia Island Lighthouse

I planned our entire Saturday on Amelia Island around seeing the historic Amelia Island Lighthouse. For years I have wanted to visit each of the many lighthouses along Florida’s Lighthouse Trail.

Florida lighthouses number 30. Eighteen of those are part of the Florida Lighthouse Trail, of which only seven are publicly accessible by car or foot. (Some are located on military property while others are located offshore.)

With a chance to spend a long weekend on Amelia Island (though I wanted more time for the many things to do in the Jacksonville area) the first thing I researched was how to see the historic lighthouse, the northernmost and westernmost on Florida’s east coast.

When I first started researching the Lighthouse Trail, all the information I found indicated the Amelia Island Lighthouse could only be seen through a chain link fence. That was several years ago. I was thrilled to find out the grounds of the lighthouse are now open every Saturday from 11am to 2pm.

Tours booked in advance tour the inside of the lighthouse on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. As we were only on Amelia Island for a long weekend, the open grounds (but closed buildings) would suffice.

Though a short visit, it was still fun to read about the lighthouse and take photos of the unique tower. Read on to learn why you, too, should include the Amelia Island Lighthouse in your plans when you visit Amelia Island or Fernandina Beach.

1. Amelia Island Lighthouse is the Oldest Lighthouse in Florida

Though technically not the first of the Florida lighthouses, it is the oldest still-functioning lighthouse. Two lighthouses are older than the Amelia Island Lighthouse.

The St. Augustine light, originally built in 1824 and rebuilt in 1876, no longer functions as a lighthouse. The Pensacola Lighthouse, also first constructed in 1824, was rebuilt in 1859 and is also no longer functioning as a lighthouse.

This leaves the Amelia Island Lighthouse to claim the role as oldest lighthouse in Florida as it was built in 1839.

2. A Surprising Location

It is the westernmost east coast lighthouse in Florida. This means it sits further inland than any other lighthouse on Florida’s east coast.

Built on the highest point on Amelia Island, a residential neighborhood of modest single family homes shaded by oak trees now surrounds the lighthouse. The hill it’s built on lies adjacent to Egan’s Creek and the marshes that surround the creek and is nearly 1 mile away from the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s also about 2 miles from the St. Mary’s River and Cumberland Sound to the north and about 1.5 miles to the mouth of the Amelia River to the northwest. Yes, it’s as inland as a lighthouse can get, one that serves its function adequately. 

3. A Quick Side Trip from the Amelia Beaches

The property is small, very small. Maybe an acre or so. It houses only the lighthouse, the oil house, and a small modern house. If you visit on a Saturday, you can take photos, read the sign, and look around in less than 20 minutes. It’s a great little side trip from the beaches on Amelia Island and worth your time to see it.

4. The Unique Construction of the Amelia Island Lighthouse

This lighthouse is the only surviving example of the dual-wall construction common in territorial Florida lighthouses. In the Amelia Island Lighthouse, the walls begin at four feet thick at the base and taper to two feet thick at the top. 

5. Recycled Materials Were Used to Build the Lighthouse

The materials used in building the Amelia Island Lighthouse came from the original Little Cumberland Island Lighthouse. That building, originally constructed of bricks in 1820, was dismantled and those bricks used to build the lighthouse on Amelia Island in 1839. Meanwhile, a new lighthouse was built on Little Cumberland Island in Georgia. That lighthouse still stands though it’s privately owned now.

6. Use as a Navigation Aid

The historic lighthouse originally used 14 lamps with 14” reflectors to light the night for sailors. A third-order Fresnel lens replaced those lamps in 1903 and is still in use today. The light flashes white every 10 seconds except when it flashes red over the portion of shoals around Nassau Sound. 

According to information at nearby Fort Clinch State Park, the Amelia Island Lighthouse played a critical role in guiding ships into Cumberland Sound, aka, the mouth of the St. Mary’s River. Used in conjunction with three beacon lights near the fort, ships could navigate the treacherous waters around the inlet by lining one or more beacons with the Amelia Island light.

When coming from the north, they would line up the north beacon with Amelia Island Lighthouse. From the south, sailors used the lighthouse with the south beacon as well as the mobile beacon because of the many shifting shoals south of the inlet. 

7. Amelia Island Lighthouse Played an Integral Part of Amelia Island History

Amelia Island history stretches long into the past before construction of the lighthouse. Despite this, the lighthouse helped shape the future of Amelia Island.

For example, during the Civil War Confederate forces took control of Fort Clinch, which was still under construction, in January 1861. Union troops, aided by 28 gunboats, seized the fort and the island 14 months later. The island remained in Union hands for the remainder of the War and became a safe haven for freedmen from the South. 

During Amelia Island’s “Golden Age”, when wealthy Northerners regularly visited the island aboard steamships, the lighthouse guided the way for these steamships to navigate the waters of St. Mary’s River and Amelia River. Shrimp boats also utilized the lighthouse for navigation, giving rise to the shrimping industry, and Amelia Island’s reign as the place where that industry was born.

Amelia Island Lighthouse Information

Final Thoughts on Amelia Island Lighthouse

Lighthouses have been a vital asset to seafaring vessels since the beginning of humanity use of boats. They have made civilization on remote places possible and have guided hundreds of thousands of people home.

We often think of lighthouses as romantic places located in harsh, watery places; lightkeepers hold a lonely spot in our hearts and minds. And lighthouses symbolize for us a guiding light in dark times.