Alligator Reef Light

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title: "Alligator Reef Light" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lighthouses-completed-in-1873", "lighthouses-in-monroe-county,-florida", "lighthouses-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-florida", "national-register-of-historic-places-in-monroe-county,-florida", "1873-establishments-in-florida"] description: "Lighthouse in Florida, US" topic_path: "general/lighthouses-completed-in-1873" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_Reef_Light" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Lighthouse in Florida, US ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox lighthouse"]

Field	Value
image	Alligator-reef-lh.JPG
caption	Alligator Reef lighthouse, date unknown
location	4 mi east of Indian Key
near the Matecumbe Keys
Florida
United States
coordinates
yearlit	1873
automated	1963
yeardeactivated	2015
foundation	Iron piles with platform
construction	Wrought iron skeleton framework tower
shape	Octagonal pyramidal tower enclosing stair cylinder, keeper's dwelling on a platform, balcony and lantern
marking	White tower and keeper's dwelling, black lantern and pile foundations
height	136 ft
focalheight	136 ft
lens	First order bivalve Fresnel lens (1873) (original), VRB-25 aerobeacon (1997) (current)
range	White: 16 nmi
red: 13 nmi
characteristic	Fl (4) W 60s.
(2 red sectors) 0.2s fl 9.8s ec. 0.2s fl 9.8s ec. 0.2s fl 9.8s ec. 0.2s fl 29.8s ec. Red from 23° to 249° and 047° to 068°.
racon	"G" (Golf)
managingagent	United States Coast Guard
module	{{Infobox NRHP
embed	yes
name	Alligator Reef Light
added	December 1, 2011
refnum	11000860
::

| image = Alligator-reef-lh.JPG | caption = Alligator Reef lighthouse, date unknown | location = 4 mi east of Indian Key near the Matecumbe Keys Florida United States | coordinates = | yearlit = 1873 | automated = 1963 | yeardeactivated = 2015 | foundation = Iron piles with platform | construction = Wrought iron skeleton framework tower | shape = Octagonal pyramidal tower enclosing stair cylinder, keeper's dwelling on a platform, balcony and lantern | marking = White tower and keeper's dwelling, black lantern and pile foundations | height = 136 ft | focalheight = 136 ft | lens = First order bivalve Fresnel lens (1873) (original), VRB-25 aerobeacon (1997) (current) | range = White: 16 nmi red: 13 nmi | characteristic = Fl (4) W 60s. (2 red sectors) 0.2s fl 9.8s ec. 0.2s fl 9.8s ec. 0.2s fl 9.8s ec. 0.2s fl 29.8s ec. Red from 23° to 249° and 047° to 068°. | racon = "G" (Golf) | managingagent = United States Coast Guard | module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Alligator Reef Light | nrhp_type = | image = | alt = | built = | architect = | architecture = | added = December 1, 2011 | designated_nrhp_type = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | refnum = 11000860 | mpsub = | governing_body =

Alligator Reef Light is located 4 nmi east of Indian Key, near the Matecumbe Keys of Florida in the United States, north of Alligator Reef itself. The station was established in 1873. It was automated in 1963 and was last operational in July, 2014, and is being replaced by a 16' steel structure with a less powerful light located adjacent to it. The structure is an iron pile skeleton with a platform. The light is 136 ft above the water. It is a white octagonal pyramid skeleton framework on black pile foundation, enclosing a square dwelling and a stair-cylinder. The lantern is black. The original lens was a first order bivalve Fresnel lens. The light characteristic of the original light was: flashing white and red, every third flash red, from SW by W 1/2 W through southward to NE 1/8 E, and from NE by E 3/4 E through northward to SW 3/8 S; flashing red throughout the intervening sectors; interval between flashes 5 seconds. It had a nominal range of 14 nmi in the white sectors and 11 nmi in the red sectors. The new light has a range of approximately 7 nmi.

It is listed as number 980 in the USCG light lists. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Alligator_Reef_Lighthouse_20230712.jpg" caption="Alligator Reef Light in 2023"] ::

Historical information

The name honors the U.S. Navy schooner Alligator, part of the U. S. Navy Anti-Piracy Squadron that had recently been established in Key West, which went aground at this location in 1822. The Alligator was blown up after removing as much as possible from it to prevent it from being used by pirates. Countless vessels have also sunk here on the reef's jagged coral. This lighthouse cost $185,000 to build at that time. To support the tower, a 2,000 lb (900 kg) hammer was used to drive the 12 in iron pilings 10 ft into the coral.

Current situation

On February 1, 2019, it was announced that the lighthouse would be given away freely to any government agencies, educational agencies, non-profit corporations, or any community development organizations who wanted to use it for "educational, park, recreational, cultural or historic preservation purposes." This is in accordance with the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.

Friends of the Pool, a community organization based in Islamorada, was granted title to the lighthouse in 2021. The group changed its name to Save Alligator Lighthouse and raised $6 million to restore the lighthouse. Solar-powered lights were installed and illuminated in October 2023.

References

Bibliography

References

1. {{Cite rowlett. fl. (July 25, 2017)
2. (December 21, 2016). "Historic Light Station Information and Photography Florida".
3. {{cite uscgll. 0. {{dead link. (November 2019)
4. Silk, Robert. (September 10, 2014). "Dying of the light on Alligator Reef".
5. (February 1, 2019). "Notice of Availability: Alligator Reef Light Station".
6. (September 8, 2021). "Group plans to restore historic Florida Keys lighthouse". AP News.
7. (October 8, 2023). "150-year-old Florida Keys lighthouse illuminated for first time in a decade". AP News.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::