Lighthouses of the U.S.: Mississippi

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the coastline of Mississippi with one of the highest storm surges on record. The Biloxi lighthouse withstood the storm, as it has so many others, but there was significant damage to its interior brick lining. The Ship Island replica was destroyed. The Round Island Light, which had been under restoration after being overturned by Hurricane Georges in 1998, was overturned a second time. This leaves Mississippi with only a single standing historic lighthouse. 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 Mississippi Lighthouses Pre-Katrina photos and accounts by Kraig Anderson. Gulf Coast Lighthouses Photos and accounts posted by Lowell Thomas. The Lighthouse People - Mississippi Reports and photos from visits by Bob and Sandra Shanklin. Historic Light Station Information and Photography - Mississippi Information and historic photos posted by the U.S. Coast Guard. National Maritime Inventory - Mississippi National Park Service inventory of Mississippi lighthouse data. Lighthouses and Islands of the Gulf Articles about historic lighthouses of the Pass Christian area, written and posted by Dan Ellis.

Biloxi Light, June 2007; Creative Commons photo by Jimmy Wayne

Pascagoula Area Lighthouses

Horn Island Pass Range Rear

1961. Active; focal plane 94 ft (29 m); white 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 40 ft (12 m). 94 ft (29 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. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Horn Island Pass, the channel between Petit Bois Island to the east and Horn Island to the west, is the entrance to Pascagoula. The pass was marked by the Horn Island lighthouse from 1874 to 1908, and then by the Petit Bois Island lighthouse from 1908 until the range was established in 1961. Located in Mississippi Sound off the northwestern tip of Petit Bois Island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3558.1; USCG 4-6830.

Pascagoula Range D Rear (Petit Bois Island)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 60 ft (18 m); white light, 3 s on, 3 s off, visible only on the range line. 59 ft (18 m) square skeletal tower, painted white. The tower carries a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. This light is close to the former location of the Petit Bois Island lighthouse. Located on the west end of Petit Bois Island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3561.1; USCG 4-6935.

Pascagoula Range B Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 64 ft (19.5 m); white light occulting once every 4 s, visible only on the range line. 64 ft (19.5 m) square skeletal tower, painted white, mounted on a square platform supported by piles. There is also a passing light, white flash every 4 s, at a focal plane of 12 ft (3.5 m). The tower carries a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located in Mississippi Sound about halfway between the Pascagoula waterfront and Petit Bois Island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3564.1; USCG 4-7070.

Bayou Casotte Range A Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 83 ft (25 m); green light by night and white light by day, 3 s on, 3 s off, visible only on the range line. Approx. 75 ft (23 m) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Bayou Casotte is an industrial harbor basin on the east side of Pascagoula. Located in an industrial area on the west side of the bayou. Site status unknown. Admiralty J3571.31; USCG 4-7360.

Pascagoula Range A Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 95 ft (29 m); red light by night and white light by day, 3 s on, 3 s off, visible only on the range line. There is also a passing light, white flash every 4 s, at the same focal plane. 59 ft (18 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. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located in Mississippi Sound about 2 miles (3 km) south of the Pascagoula waterfront and 3 miles (5 km) east of Round Island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3562.1; USCG 4-6960.

[Round Island (2)] 1859 (station established 1833). Inactive since 1944. 50 ft (15 m) brick tower, unpainted; the lantern was painted black. The Coast Guard has a historic photo, and Google has a satellite view. Anderson's photos show the lighthouse as it appeared in 1998, but on September 27 of that year the lighthouse was overturned by Hurricane Georges. The Round Island Lighthouse Preservation Society was quickly formed to carry out a restoration. In 1999 the overturned lighthouse base was righted and stabilized with a steel caisson. In March 2000 a protective breakwater was completed. This work came to nought in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina overturned the lighthouse a second time, washing out the caisson. This put an end to the effort to rebuild the lighthouse on its original location; the new plan is to rebuild it onshore in Pascagoula, using as much of the original material as possible. In August 2009, Pascagoula City Council approved rebuilding the lighthouse on the east side of the Pascagoula River just south of the US 90 bridge. The ruins, now located on a small island about 3 miles (5 km) off Pascagoula Harbor, will be removed so that the breicks can be used in the rebuilt tower. Currently accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: City of Pascagoula. ARLHS USA-711.

Ruins of Round Island Light after Katrina Compton Engineering photo

Biloxi and Gulfport Area Lighthouses

Biloxi East Channel Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 60 ft (18 m); white light, 3 s on, 3 s off, visible only on the range line. 59 ft (18 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. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located in Mississippi Sound southeast of the entrance to Biloxi Bay. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. USCG 4-7580.

* Biloxi 1848. Active (maintained by City of Biloxi); focal plane 61 ft (18.5 m); white light occulting every 4 s. 61 ft (18.5 m) cast iron tower (brick lined), 5th order Fresnel lens (1926). Entire structure painted white, except for the black balustrade. The keeper's houses were destroyed by Hurricane Camille in 1969. Jimmy Wayne's photo appears above, the City of Boloxi has a portfolio of photos, Jack Richie has a nice photo, the Coast Guard has an 1892 photo and a 1965 photo, Klaus Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. This is the second-oldest cast iron lighthouse in the U.S. The tower interior was restored in 1990, but the tower was closed in 2002 due to safety concerns. In August 2003, a consultant's report recommended resumption of tours with certain safety restrictions. The tower had been scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2005, but the destruction of most of the city of Biloxi by Hurricane Katrina put these plans on indefinite hold. The day after the hurricane, someone fastened a flag to the gallery rail, as shown at right. The flag continues to fly there, as seen at the top of this page, as a symbol of the city's determination to rebuild. Although the lighthouse survived the hurricane, its interior brick lining was damaged and requires extensive repair. Although federal disaster relief funds were available for this work, there was a lengthy period of planning and negotiation. Work finally began in the summer of 2009 and should be complete by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the city has bought land across the street, where the hurricane destroyed all the structures, for a lighthouse park and visitor center. Work on that facility was also set for 2009, but construction had not begun by August. The lighthouse stands in the median of US 90 at the foot of Porter Street in Biloxi, just west of the I-110 interchange. Site open; tower closed. Owner/site manager: City of Biloxi. ARLHS USA-056; Admiralty J3578; USCG 4-7785.

Biloxi Light flying the flag after Hurricane Katrina, 31 August 2005 City of Biloxi photo

* Broadwater Beach Marina

1965(?). Status unknown (privately maintained); focal plane 67 ft (30 m); white flash every 5 s. Approx. 66 ft (20 m) cylindrical tower with gallery and an open lantern structure. Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse was part of the President Casino Broadwater Resort, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. A June 2006 photo by J. Michael Byrd and a March 2007 photo by C.W. Bash show that the lighthouse survived the hurricane, but the marina it marked has vanished completely. It is not known if the lighthouse is active, although it continues to be listed on the USCG Light List. Located off US 90 about 4 mi (6 km) west of the historic Biloxi Light, near Beauvoir. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: unknown. ARLHS USA-1240; USCG 4-8375.

#Ship Island (2) (replica)

2000 (replica of 1886 tower) (station established 1853). Destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Previously a 70 ft (21 m ) square pyramidal frame tower, painted white; gallery and lantern painted black. Google's satellite view shows that the foundation of the lighthouse is still visible. The lighthouse had been rebuilt on the original foundation by the Friends of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Lighthouse Digest has a story on the history of the light station and its reconstruction, and Weyland Yutani has a May 2004 photo. The original 4° Fresnel lens (1856) had been on display at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi, but the museum was also destroyed by Katrina. The prisms of the lens were recovered and sent to the St. Augustine Lighthouse Museum in Florida for restoration. (Funds are being raised to restore the museum.) The Coast Guard has a historic photo of the original 1886 lighthouse. Deactivated in 1964, it burned to the ground in June 1972. The Shanklins have a photo showing the dilapidated appearance of the tower shortly before it burned. ARLHS USA-756; USCG 4-0337.

* Ship Island (3)

1971. Active; focal plane 84 ft (25.5 m); white flash every 6 s. 80 ft (24 m) square pyramidal steel skeletal tower, built to replace the burned 1886 lighthouse. The tower also carries a large slatted daymark, colored red with a white vertical stripe. The daymark is associated with the Gulfport Upper Reach Outbound Range Rear Light, which shows a white light, 3 s on, 3 s off, visible only on the range line, at a focal plane of 81 ft (24.5 m). Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse survived the hurricane. Ship Island itself was flooded and reshaped by Katrina, but some of the visitor facilities have been rebuilt. Located on West Ship Island near Fort Massachusetts. Accessible March through October by passenger ferry (toll) from Gulfport. Site open, tower closed. Owner: U.S. Coast Guard. Site manager: U.S. National Park Service (Gulf Islands National Seashore). ARLHS USA-1141; Admiralty J3602.8; USCG 4-0335.

Ship Island Pass Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 117 ft (35.5 m); white light occulting once every 4 s, visible only on the range line. 117 ft (35.5 m) 2-stage square skeletal tower, lower stage cylindrical and upper stage pyramidal, painted white and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. There is also a passing light, white flash every 4 s, at a focal plane of 43 ft (13 m). No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Ship Island Pass is the channel between Ship Island on the east and Cat Island on the west. Located in the pass about 2.5 miles (4 km) east of the northeastern point of Cat Island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. USCG 4-8506.1.

* Gulfport Upper Reach Inbound Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 81 ft (25 m); red light occulting once every 4 s. Approx. 75 ft (23 m) pyramidal skeletal tower. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Gulfport's harbor is a containership port. The Upper Reach is a dredged channel straight across Mississippi Sound from the Gulfport wharves to the Ship Island lighthouse (which carries the outbound rear range light). It appears that the light was replaced following Hurricane Katrina, which swept the dock area clean; a photo of the damage is available. Located on the south side of Beach Boulevard at the entrance to the dock area. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J3628.1; USCG 4-8650.

Pass Christian Area Lighthouse

Square Handkerchief Shoal (Merrill's Shell Bank, Pass Marianne) (3)

Date unknown (station established 1857). 17 ft (5 m) square skeletal tower mounted on the screwpile platform of the 1883 lighthouse. Ellis has a small photo (at the bottom of the page). Huelse has a historic postcard view of the square cottage screwpile lighthouse built in 1883 after the 1857 cottage lighthouse burned to the waterline. Note the caption "Pass Marion" on the postcard; the light was long known locally as the Pass Marianne Light. The lighthouse was discontinued in 1945 and subsequently demolished; later the modern light was placed on the platform. Located on the shoal off the entrance to Bay St. Louis, about 2.5 mi (4 km) southwest of Pass Christian. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS USA-491; USCG 4-9080.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

• Cat Island (1831-1937). ARLHS USA-145.
• East Pascagoula River (1854-1906). ARLHS USA-260.
• Horn Island (1874-1908). ARLHS USA-379.
• Lake Borgne (1889-1937). ARLHS USA-424.
• Natchez (1828-1840), Mississippi River. ARLHS USA-1142.
• Pass Christian (1831-1882). ARLHS USA-581. There is a proposal to build a replica of this lighthouse.
• Proctorsville (1858-1860). ARLHS USA-1025.
• Saint Joseph Island (1861-1893). ARLHS USA-1026.
• Ship Island Range Lights (1898-?).

Notable faux lighthouses:

• Beau Rivage Resort and Casino (2006), Biloxi, is not an approved aid to navigation.

Return to the Lighthouse Directory index

Checked and revised June 7, 2009. Lighthouses: 13. Site copyright 2009 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.