Lighthouses of the U.S.: Alabama

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. General Sources Alabama Lighthouse Association The association assists preservation efforts at all three lighthouses. Alabama Lighthouses Excellent photos and accounts by Kraig Anderson. Online List of Lights - U.S. - Alabama Photos by Capt. Peter Mosselberger posted by Alex Trabas. Historic Light Station Information and Photography - Alabama Information and historic photos posted by the U.S. Coast Guard. National Maritime Inventory - Alabama National Park Service inventory of Alabama lighthouse data. The Lighthouse People - Alabama Reports from all three lighthouses by Sandra and Bob Shanklin. 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, July 2008 photo copyright Cpt. Peter Mosselberger used by permission

Mobile Bay Lighthouses

Mobile Middle Reach Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 67 ft (20 m); green light, 3 s on, 3 s off, visible only on the range line. 67 ft (20 m) square skeletal tower, painted white, mounted on a square platform supported by piles. The tower carries a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located off the Mobile waterfront, a short distance southeast of McDuffie Island. Accessible only by boat, but there should be a good view from shore. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3517.1; USCG 4-5435.

Mobile Channel Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 55 ft (17 m); green light, 3 s on, 3 s off, visible only on the range line. There is also a quick-flashing white passing light at a focal plane of 14 ft (4 m). 55 ft (17 m) square skeletal tower, painted white, mounted on a square platform supported by piles. The tower carries a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo. Located about 1.25 mi (2 km) southeast of the Mobile airport. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3510.1; USCG 4-5420.

Theodore Channel Outer Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 67 ft (20 m); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off, visible only on the range line. There is also a passing light, white flash every 4 s, at a focal plane of 15 ft (4.5 m). 63 ft (19 m) square skeletal tower, painted white, mounted on a square platform supported by piles. The tower carries a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located east of the centerline of Mobile Bay, about 2 mi (3 km) east of Point Clear. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3493.51; USCG 4-6195.

Mobile Lower Reach Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 63 ft (19 m); white light occulting once every 4 s, visible only on the range line. There is also a passing light, white flash every 4 s, at a focal plane of 12 ft (3.5 m). 63 ft (19 m) square skeletal tower, painted white, mounted on a square platform supported by piles. The tower carries a rectangular daymark colored green with a red vertical stripe. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located in the center of Mobile Bay, about 1.4 mi (2.2 km) north of the Mobile Bay lighthouse. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3464.1; USCG 4-5265.

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 4th order Fresnel lens is on display at the Fort Morgan Museum. Dolphin Island Sea Lab maintains an automatic weather station at the lighthouse. Capt. Peter's photo is at right, the Coast Guard has a historic photo, and Google has a satellite view. A well known landmark in the bay, 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. However, David Rencher's March 2008 photo shows the lighthouse now in need of another repainting. In July 2008, the Alabama Lighthouse Association proposed relocating the lighthouse to the USS Alabama Battleship Park on the US 90 causeway east of Mobile. In June 2009, the Alabama Historical Commission held a public hearing on the possible relocation. Meanwhile, a lantern room and 4th order Fresnel lens supposed to be identical to the originals are on display at Mobile Regional Airport; this display will be moved to a new maritime museum, the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico, scheduled to open in Mobile in the spring of 2011. 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 Reach Outer Range Rear Date unknown. Active; focal plane 67 ft (20 m); red light occulting once every 4 s, visible only on the range line. There is also a passing light, white flash every 4 s, at a focal plane of 12 ft (3.5 m). 67 ft (20 m) square skeletal tower, painted white, mounted on a square platform supported by piles. The tower carries a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo. Located on the centerline of Mobile Bay, about 1.8 mi (3 km) due south of the Mobile Bay lighthouse. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3482.81; USCG 4-5235.

Mobile Bay Light, July 2008 photo copyright Cpt. Peter Mosselberger used by permission

Mobile Point Area Lighthouses
Mobile Middle Ground Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 45 ft (14 m); green light, 3 s on, 3 s off, visible only on the range line. There is also a passing light, white flash every 4 s, at a focal plane of 17 ft (5 m). 45 ft (14 m) square skeletal tower with gallery, painted white, mounted on a square platform supported by piles. The tower carries a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo. Located just inside the entrance to Mobile Bay, about 1.5 mi (2.5 km) northwest of Mobile Point. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3462.1; USCG 4-5075.

#Mobile Point (Range Rear) (2) 1873 (station established 1822). Inactive since 1963. 30 ft (9 m) cast iron skeletal tower, painted black. The original 4th order 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. Bill Echelberger has a 1997 photo, and the Coast Guard has a historic photo. This light station stands on the east side of the entrance to Mobile Bay. The first lighthouse here was heavily damaged during the Civil War. Originally built on top of the walls of Fort Morgan, the present 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 in storage at the Robinson Iron Company in Alexander City, which specializes in cast iron restoration. So far no funds have been found or provided for this work, and there's no estimate as to when the lighthouse might return to display. Owner/site manager: Alabama Historical Commission. ARLHS USA-506. * Mobile Point (Range Rear) (3) 1963 (station established 1822). Active; focal plane 125 ft (38 m); white flash every 10 s. 110 ft (33.5 m) square steel skeletal tower with gallery, painted white. The tower also carries the rear light of the Mobile Point Range (continuous red light by day, white light by night) at a focal plane of 80 ft (24 m). In addition, the tower formerly carried a rectangular daymark painted red with a white vertical stripe. The daymark is still listed, although it was removed in 2006. Capt. Peter's photo is at right, a 2007 photo shows the tower and the 1872 keeper's house, Anderson has a photo showing the former daymark. Located adjacent to historic Fort Morgan, just off AL 180 at the tip of Mobile Point in Gulf Shores. Site open, tower closed. Owner: U.S. Coast Guard. Site manager: Alabama Historical Commission. Admiralty J3438.1; USCG 4-0245. Mobile Lower Reach Outer Range Rear Date unknown. Active; focal plane 82 ft (19 m); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off, visible only on the range line. There is also a passing light, white flash every 4 s, at a focal plane of 23 ft (7 m). 82 ft (19 m) triangular cylindrical skeletal tower, painted white, mounted on a triangular platform supported by piles. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located just outside the entrance to Mobile Bay, about 1 mi (1.5 km) southwest of Mobile Point. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3465.1; USCG 4-5110.

Mobile Point Light, July 2008 photo copyright Cpt. Peter Mosselberger used by permission

Sand Island (3)

1873 (station established 1838). Inactive since 1933. 131 ft (40 m) brick tower. Sibling of Bodie Island NC. The original 2nd order Fresnel lens is on display at the Fort Morgan Museum. The keeper's house burned in 1925. Capt. Peter's photo appears at the top of this page, Gordon Vernon has a late 2006 closeup, the Dauphin Island Foundation has a page on the history of the light station, a historic photo is available, Klaus Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. The second tower (1859) was destroyed during the Civil War. Critically endangered: the island has dwindled to a sandbar and the tower suffers from years of neglect. 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. In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan severely damaged the brickwork and foundation of the tower, which remains on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday list. The lighthouse suffered additional damage 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 to stabilize the foundation of the lighthouse was carried out in the summer of 2008. Located about 2 miles (3 km) southwest of Mobile Point. Accessible only by boat. 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 mounted on a round rubblestone foundation. Nearby is a square wood fog bell tower (1929) with bell. Mira d'Oubliette has a good closeup photo, and Google has a satellite view. 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. This one is from the Langbakneset (Langbaken) light (Admiralty L1020, NGA 115-6628) at Langøy, about 9 miles (15 km) west of Kristiansund. Located in Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville. 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. Google has a satellite view. 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), off the southeast point of Pinto Island, Mobile. ARLHS USA-1006.
• Choctaw Point (1831-1862), northeast point of McDuffie Island, Mobile. ARLHS USA-1007.
• Grant's Pass (1864-1886), entrance to Mississippi Sound from Mobile Bay. 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 June 6, 2009. Lighthouses: 12. Site copyright 2009 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.