Sand Key Light

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title: "Sand Key Light" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lighthouses-completed-in-1853", "houses-completed-in-1853", "history-of-key-west,-florida", "lighthouses-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-florida", "lighthouses-in-monroe-county,-florida", "national-register-of-historic-places-in-monroe-county,-florida", "historic-american-buildings-survey-in-florida", "1853-establishments-in-florida"] description: "Lighthouse southwest of Key West, Florida, United States" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Key_Light" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Lighthouse southwest of Key West, Florida, United States ::

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

Field	Value
image_name	Sand Key Light 2005.jpg
caption	Sand Key Light, 2005
location	southwest of Key West, Florida
coordinates
yearlit	1853
automated	1938
yeardeactivated	2015
foundation	cast iron screw piling
construction	cast iron
shape	square pyramidal skeletal tower
focalheight	109 ft
lens	first order Fresnel lens
range	White 14 nmi, Red 11 nmi
characteristic	Flashing (2) white 15s with red sectors
racon	"N" (— ∘)
module	{{Infobox NRHP
name	Sand Key Lighthouse
embed	yes
architect	J.W.P. Lewis, John F. Riley Ironworks
architecture	Iron Screw Pile Lighthouse
added	April 11, 1973
area	less than one acre
refnum	73000589
::

| image_name = Sand Key Light 2005.jpg | caption = Sand Key Light, 2005 | location = southwest of Key West, Florida | coordinates = | yearlit = 1853 | automated = 1938 | yeardeactivated = 2015 | foundation = cast iron screw piling | construction = cast iron | shape = square pyramidal skeletal tower | focalheight = 109 ft | lens = first order Fresnel lens | range = White 14 nmi, Red 11 nmi | characteristic = Flashing (2) white 15s with red sectors | racon = "N" (— ∘) | module = {{Infobox NRHP | name = Sand Key Lighthouse | embed = yes | nrhp_type = | architect = J.W.P. Lewis, John F. Riley Ironworks | architecture = Iron Screw Pile Lighthouse | added = April 11, 1973 | area = less than one acre | refnum = 73000589 Sand Key Light is a lighthouse 6 nmi southwest of Key West, Florida, between Sand Key Channel and Rock Key Channel, two of the channels into Key West, on a reef intermittently covered by sand. At times the key has been substantial enough to have trees, and in 1900 nine to twelve thousand terns nested on the island. At other times the island has been washed away completely. The light marks the southernmost point of the Hawk Channel passage along the Florida Keys.

Early history

The first navigational light on Sand Key was a 60 ft brick tower built in 1827. After the first keeper, John Flaherty, died in 1830, his widow Rebecca took over the job. In 1844 a hurricane eroded part of the island, destroyed the keeper's house, and damaged the seawall. The 1846 Havana hurricane toppled the tower, killing the light keeper and five others. On the other hand, the Historian's Office lists the keepers as "Rebecca Flaherty (1830-?), Captain Frederick Neill (? – 1836), Captain Francis Watlington (1836-1837), Captain Joshua Appleby (1837-1846 – killed)" suggesting Flaherty was long gone by 1846. This is supported by Taylor which puts Captain Frederick Neill as Flaherty's second husband, and them leaving Sand Key in 1836.}}

Reconstructions and renovations

As the Key West Light had also been destroyed in the same storm, a ship, the Honey, was acquired and outfitted as a lightship to serve as the Sand Key Light until new lighthouses could be built. Due to efforts to reorganize the Lighthouse Board, Congress was slow to appropriate funds for the new lighthouses.

A screw-pile foundation for a new light on Sand Key was begun in 1852. Funds ran out before the foundation was complete, and the contractor had to wait seven years for final payment. Later that year Lieutenant George Meade, who had completed construction of the Carysfort Reef Light, was placed in charge of construction of the Sand Key Light. The light tower was completed in 1853. This light was the first to use the hydraulic lamp designed by George Meade.

The screw-pile foundation and open framework tower allowed the lighthouse to survive later hurricanes, including one in 1856 that completely washed away all of the island above water.

Gallery

|File:USCGSandkey.jpg|U.S. Coast Guard Archive |File:SandKeylhold.jpg|Keeper's quarters intact |File:Sandkeylh1996.jpg|In 1996 after the keeper's quarters were demolished |File:Sand_Key_Light_2019.jpg|In 2019, Photo used for the auction

Notes

References

References

1. {{NRISref
2. {{Cite rowlett. fl. (2013-08-17)
3. {{cite uscgll. 3. 2009. 12
4. {{cite uscghist. FL
5. (1982). "Reef Lights: Seaswept Lighthouses of the Florida Keys". The Historic Key West Preservation Board.
6. "Archived copy".
7. McCarthy, Kevin M.. (1990). "Florida Lighthouses". University of Florida Press.
8. (Summer 2003). "Sand Key Florida's Two Lighthouses". The Keeper's Log.
9. "Sand Key Lighthouse". GSA Auctions.

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