Gasparilla Island Lights

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse was first lit on December 31, 1890. It is a two-story frame dwelling raised on iron screw-piles, with the lantern placed in a cupola at the peak of the roof. The keeper lived in the lighthouse. A similar house (without a lantern) built next to it was the assistant keeper's dwelling.{{cite web |title=Boca Grande & Gasparilla Island 1890-1905 |url=https://bocagrandehistoricalsociety.com/history-center/historical-overview/boca-grande-gasparilla-island-1890-1905/ |website=Boca Grande Historical Society |access-date=18 November 2024}}

The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse originally served ships transporting cattle from ports on Charlotte Harbor to Cuba. Phosphate ore from the Peace River area became an important cargo in the 1890s, and the construction of the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway to Port Boca Grande in 1909 resulted in increased traffic. Ship traffic to Port Boca Grande peaked at more than 30 ships a day during World War II, when Port Boca Grande served as a safe harbor for shipping in the Gulf.

The Gasparilla Island Light was deactivated in 1966, and abandoned by the Coast Guard in 1969. The buildings quickly deteriorated, and by 1970 beach erosion had exposed the screw-piles supporting the building, with waves breaking under the building at high tide. Two rock groins were built to protect the lighthouse, and sand was pumped in to build up the beach. Lee County took title of the lighthouse in 1972. On February 28, 1980, the lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Restoration work began in 1985, and in 1986 the light was recommissioned.

In 1988 the building and surrounding property were turned over to the State of Florida and became Gasparilla Island State Park. In 1999 the Historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse and Museum opened to the public and is operated by the Barrier Island Parks Society {{cite web|url=http://www.barrierislandparkssociety.org |title=Barrier Island Parks Society |publisher=Barrier Island Parks Society |date= |accessdate=2016-06-10}}

The light is considered an Aid to Navigation and the lamp room is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg Aids to Navigation Team.

The Gasparilla Island Light was originally constructed in 1885 to serve as the Delaware Breakwater Range Rear Light. Due to erosion, the light was decommissioned in 1918. The tower was disassembled in 1921, and reassembled on Gasparilla Island in 1927. However, the light was not lit until 1932, when it began service as the rear entrance range light for Port Boca Grande, with the front entrance range light approximately one mile off shore in the Gulf of Mexico. When the two lights, which flashed at different rates, lined up, the ships' navigators knew it was time to turn to enter Boca Grande Pass. Though the front range has been removed, the Boca Grande Rear Range Light remains in service today as the Gasparilla Island Light. It is an Aid to Navigation and is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg Aids to Navigation Team.

The Gasparilla Island Light was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 2014, and the lighthouse was transferred to the Barrier Islands Parks Society in 2016. The society commissioned a restoration of the lighthouse, including the installation of a replica of its original fresnel lens. Starting in April 2017, the tower opened for climbing a few days per month, except in August when the temperature inside the tower can be over 100 degrees.{{cite web |title=Gasparilla Island (Boca Grande Entrance Rear Range) Lighthouse |url=https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=368#google_vignette |website=Lighthouse Friends |access-date=18 November 2024}}{{cite book |last1=Gowdy |first1=Jim |title=Guiding Lights of the Delaware River & Bay |date=1999}} The light was switched on again in 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.news-press.com/story/life/2019/02/25/historic-lighthouse-shines-again-gasparilla-island-thanks-1-8-restoration/2908474002/|title=Historic lighthouse shines again on Gasparilla Island and visitors can climb up to see for themselves|last=Williams|first=Amy Bennett|date=February 25, 2019|work=News-Press|access-date=October 7, 2019}}

{{gallery|mode=packed|height=150

|File:USCGGasparillaLight.jpg|Gasparilla Island Lighthouse, U.S. Coast Guard Archive

|File:Gasparilla Island Rear Range Light.jpg|Gasparilla Island Rear Range Light, U.S. Coast Guard Archive

|File:Gasparilla Flag.jpg|The flag found nearby the two lights

|File:Gasparilla Main Lighthouse.jpg|The main lighthouse, containing the gift shop now

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{{reflist}}

• McCarthy, Kevin M. (1990). Florida Lighthouses, Paintings by William L. Trotter, Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press. {{ISBN|0-8130-0982-0}}.
• [http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/light/gasparil.htm National Park Service Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Florida Lighthouses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208082832/http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/light/gasparil.htm |date=2006-02-08 }} - retrieved January 20, 2006
• [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/FL/Lee/state.html Lee County listings] at [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com National Register of Historic Places]
• {{cite uscghist|FL|accessdate=June 29, 2008}}
• [http://www.flheritage.com Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070216141343/http://www.flheritage.com/facts/reports/places/index.cfm?fuseaction=ListAreas&county=Lee Lee County listings]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070313001344/http://www.flheritage.com/services/sites/fht/record_t.cfm?ID=456&type=c&index=36 Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060209192855/http://users.erols.com/lthouse/gilt.htm Gasparilla Island (Port Boca Grande) Lighthouse] - retrieved June 29, 2008
• {{cite rowlett|fl|accessdate=January 20, 2006}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090421203756/http://arlhs.com/awards/U_list.html Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (coordinates)] - retrieved February 4, 2006

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131020223619/http://www.barrierislandparkssociety.org/come-visit Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum] - Barrier Island Parks Society

{{Lighthouses of Florida}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Florida}}

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Category:Museums in Lee County, Florida

Category:Lighthouse museums in Florida

Category:Gasparilla Island

Category:Lighthouses completed in 1890

Category:Lighthouses completed in 1885

Category:1932 establishments in Florida

Category:1885 establishments in Florida

Category:Lighthouses completed in 1932

Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Lee County, Florida