Lighthouses of the United States: Missouri and Iowa

The U.S. states of Missouri and Iowa are in the center of the country on the west bank of the Mississippi River, with Iowa immediately to the north of Missouri. This page includes a small number of lighthouses found in those two inland states. To be listed here, a lighthouse must actually serve as an aid to navigation. This means it must be located on a navigable lake or river and must be lit as a navigational aid at least during the local boating season. The Coast Guard maintains aids to navigation on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, but as far as I know none of them meet the Directory's definition of a lighthouse. All the lighthouses listed here are privately maintained. General Sources Iowa Has a Lighthouse? Information and photos for Iowa's best known faux lighthouses, posted by Sue Clark on the Lighthouse-News.com blog. Missouri Lighthouses * Duck Club Marina Date unknown. Active; characteristics unknown. Approx. 11 m (36 ft) round bottle-shaped masonry tower with lantern, painted white with red trim. Steve Schulte has an excellent photo, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse marks the entrance to the marina, located on the Mississippi River at the end of Highway V (Blase Station Road) about 13 mi (20 km) north of St. Charles. This location is actually on the southeast side of the river, which twists to the north as it approaches its junction with the Illinois River. Site open, tower closed. * [Mark Twain (2)] 1963 (original built in 1935). A decorative white light is displayed. Approx. 30 ft (9 m) octagonal wood tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. Tyson Blanquart's photo is at right, Tammy Green has a 2009 closeup, Jim Davis has a photo, and Google has a satellite view. This is probably the best-known lighthouse of the interior U.S., although it has little if any navigational value. It was built originally to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the author Samuel Clemens, better known by his pseudonym Mark Twain. The first lighthouse was lit by remote control by President Franklin Roosevelt; the replacement was lit similarly by President John Kennedy, and when the lighthouse was renovated in 1994 there was another remote relighting by President Bill Clinton. Located atop Cardiff Hill, a steep bluff above the river in Hannibal, Twain's home town. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: City of Hannibal. ARLHS USA-915.

Mark Twain Light, Hannibal, Missouri, April 2008 Creative Commons photo by Tyson Blanquart

* Lake Ozark Lighthouse Pointe (2)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 40 ft (12 m); flashing white light. 22 ft (7 m) octagonal wood tower, painted white with red trim; lantern painted red. A photo is available, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Lake of the Ozarks is a large reservoir formed by damming the Osage River in south central Missouri. The lake is surrounded by numerous residential and recreational developments. The first Lighthouse Pointe lighthouse was built as part of a hotel, the Lighthouse Lodge. The lodge has been replaced by Lighthouse Pointe, a large condo development. Located at the end of Lighthouse Road in Lake Ozark. Site open, tower closed.

Iowa Lighthouses
* Storm Lake (Siebens Memorial)

1992. Active; focal plane about 36 ft (11 m); flashing white light. 30 ft (9 m) brick tower with lantern; rotating aerobeacon. Built on the campus of Buena Vista University in memory of BVU trustee and benefactor Harold Walter Siebens. A closeup is available, the university has a photo (first thumbnail in the second row), and Google has a distant satellite view. Located near the Siebens Field House on the north shore of Storm Lake in the town of Storm Lake in northwestern Iowa. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: Buena Vista University.

Stoney Point

1993. Active; focal plane 38 ft (11.5 m); white flash every 15 s. 26 ft (8 m) octagonal stucco-covered wood tower with lantern. Tower painted a light beige color, lantern painted black. A small photo is available (1/3 the way down the page), and Google has a distant satellite view of the location. The light was built privately by Kirby Roberts, a retired businessman. Located on a prominent point of land on the southwestern side of Storm Lake. Site and tower closed (private), but the light is easily seen from the lake. Owner/site manager: private.

* Lake Panorama

1976. Active; focal plane about 7 m (23 ft); light pattern unknown. 6 m (20 ft) round tower with lantern, painted with black and white horizontal bands. A small photo is available, the lighthouse is featured on the web site of the Lake Panorama Association, and Google has a distant satellite view. A photo is available of a second lighthouse on the lake; we need information about this tower. Lake Panorama is a large planned community at Panora, Iowa, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Des Moines. The lighthouse was built by a resident, Max Antrim. Located on the marina jetty on the east side of the lake. Site manager: Coulter Panorama Marina.

Notable faux lighthouses:

• Argosy Casino in Sioux City, Iowa, has a conspicuous faux lighthouse.
• Singing Towers, three of them, on the Mississippi River at Clinton, Iowa, have never been aids to navigation. A good photo showing all three towers is available.
• Valleyview, near Dubuque, Iowa, is not located on navigable water.

Adjoining pages: North: Minnesota | East: Illinois

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Posted July 15, 2003. Checked and revised August 21, 2011. Lighthouses: 5. Site copyright 2011 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.