Old Watchtower and Lighthouse
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 29° 53.175 W 081° 17.186
17R E 472342 N 3306215
Located at Lighthouse Pier near the boat ramp, Anastasia Island
Waymark Code: WM17Y2H
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 04/19/2023
Views: 4
Sometime before 1586 Spanish settlers constructed a wooden watchtower on Anastasia Island at the entrance to St. Augustine's port. By 1737 the Spanish tower was constructed from coquina that was quarried nearby on the island. A guardhouse and chapel were later added. This tower served as a navigational landmark for Spanish St. Augustine (1737-1763), British St. Augustine (1763-1784), and Spanish St. Augustine when it again became a Spanish colony (1784-1821).
The United States restored the coquina tower in 1824 and added whale oil lamps and a keeper's house. When its first keeper, John Andreu, lit the lamps, the old Spanish watchtower became the first true lighthouse in Florida. The old lighthouse stood near this sign facing the ocean for 143 years until it collapsed into the sea due to coastal erosion in 1880. Conch Island to the east did not exist until after the modern inlet was dredged in 1939. The remains of the old lighthouse under Salt Run were surveyed in 2002 by archaeologists from the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum.
Marker Number: None
Date: None
County: St Johns
Marker Type: Plaque
Sponsored or placed by: The City of St. Augustine and The St. Augustine Archaeological Association
Website: Not listed
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