Alabama Lighthouses

Alabama's very short coastline has 3 surviving lighthouses, but only one is active and another has been removed temporarily for restoration. A state preservation society, the Alabama Lighthouse Association, was formed in 2002. And there's work to do: the Sand Island Light is one of the most endangered lighthouses in the nation. The Sand Island and Mobile Bay lighthouses were also damaged by Hurrican Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2006, and repairing the damage will further delay restoration efforts. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from Volume IV of the U.S. Coast Guard Light List. What's Hot: Restoration scheduled for Sand Island Light General Sources Alabama Lighthouse Association The association assists preservation efforts at all three lighthouses. The Lighthouse People - Alabama Reports from all three lighthouses by Sandra and Bob Shanklin. Alabama Lighthouses Excellent photos and accounts by Kraig Anderson. Mobile Bay Lighthouses Posted by Brown Marine of Pensacola, this page has photos of the Mobile Point tower and the Fresnel lenses from Middle Bay and Sand Island.

Sand Island Light, June 2007 anonymous Creative Commons photo

Mobile Area Lighthouses

Mobile Bay (Middle Bay) 1885. Active; focal plane 48 ft (14.5 m); red flash every 6 s. 48 ft (14.5 m) screwpile lighthouse (sibling of Hooper Strait MD) with hexagonal frame keeper's quarters, painted white; lantern removed 1967. 155 mm solar-powered lens on 6 ft (1.8 m) mast centered on the roof. The original 4° Fresnel lens is on display at the Fort Morgan Museum. The original lantern is under restoration for display in a new maritime museum, the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico, scheduled to open in Mobile in 2009. A 2006 closeup photo is available. A well known landmark, the lighthouse was saved from demolition by citizen protests. In early 2001 the lighthouse was in very poor condition, but later in the year Thompson Engineering was awarded a contract for its restoration. The lighthouse received a new, historically accurate slate roof, rotten wood and corroded tie rods were replaced, and the building was painted. Located in the middle of Mobile Bay. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: Alabama Historical Commission. ARLHS USA-505; Admiralty J3488; USCG 4-5255.

Mobile Middle Bay Light Alabama Historical Commission photo

[Mobile Point (Range Rear) (2)]

1873 (station established 1822). Inactive since 1966. 30 ft (9 m) cast iron skeletal tower, painted black. The original 4° Fresnel lens (1858, transferred from the earlier tower) is on display at the Fort Morgan Museum. The 1-1/2-story frame keeper's house (1872) has been restored and is used by state parks personnel. The active light is on a 110 ft (33.5 m) square steel skeletal tower (focal plane 125 ft (38 m); white flash every 10 s). The first lighthouse here was destroyed during the Civil War. Originally on top of the walls of Fort Morgan at the entrance to Mobile Bay, the light tower was removed and sold for scrap in 1966. Fortunately the buyer, a junk dealer, kept the tower intact in his junkyard until it was rescued and restored for display outside the fort. By 2003, however, the lighthouse was rusting and much in need of further restoration, so it has been removed from display. The dismantled lighthouse is now under restoration by the Robinson Iron Company in Alexander City. The Alabama Historical Commission intends to return it to its previous location. Owner/site manager: Alabama Historical Commission. ARLHS USA-506; Admiralty J3438.1; USCG 4-0245.

Sand Island (3)

1873 (station established 1838). Inactive since 1933. 131 ft (40 m) brick tower. Sibling of Bodie Island NC. The original 2° Fresnel lens is on display at the Fort Morgan Museum. The keeper's house burned in 1925. The second tower (1859) was destroyed during the Civil War. The Dauphin Island Foundation has a page on the history of the light station, and a historic photo is available. Anderson has a full account with current photos. Critically endangered: the island has dwindled to a sandbar and the tower suffers from years of neglect. In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan severely damaged the brickwork and foundation of the tower. Lighthouse Digest Doomsday list. Preservationists first asked the Alabama Historical Commission to take over the site, but in early 2001 the Commission refused to do so. In early 2002, preservationists announced the Dauphin Island Foundation would serve as fiscal agent for the restoration. In early 2003, the state granted $100,000 for a feasibility study to determine if the lighthouse could be relocated to Dauphin Island, although there are also plans are to restore it in place. In October 2003, ownership was transferred to the town of Dauphin Island. The lighthouse was damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and further damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. In 2006, Thompson Engineering was hired to conduct an engineering study of the lighthouse. In late 2007, the federal government released $320,000 in funds to repair hurricane-related damage, and work is scheduled to start in the spring of 2008. Located about 2 miles (3 km) southwest of Mobile Point. Cruises from Dauphin Island pass the site. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: Town of Dauphin Island. ARLHS USA-723.

Inland Lighthouses
Langbakneset

1903. Inactive since 1966. 5 m (17 ft) octagonal cast iron lantern on a round rubblestone foundation. Nearby is a square wood fog bell tower (1929) with bell. Mira d'Oubliette has a good closeup photo. The plaque on the base states that the lantern was a gift to Huntsville from Norway in 1973. There are scores of lanterns of this design still in use in Norway, but many others have been replaced by modern fiberglass lanterns. We do not know for sure where this lantern was originally, but a good possibility is the Langbaken light (Admiralty L1020, NGA 115-6628) at Langøy, about 15 km (9 mi) west of Kristiansund. Located in Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville; Google has a satellite view. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: City of Huntsville.

** Butler Basin

2001. Active; focal plane 41 ft (12.5 m); white flash every 15 s. 36 ft (11 m) round cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery. Tower painted white, lantern black with a red roof. This may be the only Tennessee River lighthouse, as its builder suggests. Located on the Tennessee River at Butler Basin Marina, off Hobbs Island Road about 9 mi (15 km) southeast of Huntsville. Site open; visitors admitted to the lighthouse can climb to the gallery. Owner/site manager: Great Bend at Butler Basin.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

• Battery Gladden (1872-1951), Mobile Bay. ARLHS USA-1006.
• Choctaw Point (1831-1862), Gulf of Mexico. ARLHS USA-1007.
• Grant's Pass (1864-1886), Gulf of Mexico. ARLHS USA-1008.

Notable faux lighthouses:

• Children's Harbor, a replica of the Plymouth (Gurnet) Light MA, on Lake Martin; a fine closeup photo is available.

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Checked and revised July 11, 2007. Lighthouses: 5. Site copyright 2007 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.