SAINT JOHNS RIVER LIGHTHOUSE
1859

Mayport Naval Air Station            
Mayport, FL

The St. Johns River, entering the Atlantic Ocean at Mayport, has become one of the busiest and most commercial harbors in the state, serving Jacksonville and north Florida.

The first lighthouse was built in 1830 near the present south jetty and torn down in 1835 after ocean currents weakened the structure. A second lighthouse was built in the same year a mile up the river but was abandoned in 1859 when the present lighthouse was built across the bar from the old structure. In 1929, a lightship off Mayport in the Atlantic Ocean replaced the St. Johns River Lighthouse. In 1954, a modern beacon light replaced the lightship.

In 1969, the Coast Guard gave the old lighthouse to the navy and restoration work was done on the tower. In 1982 the lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The red-brick tower may eventually become part of a public park/museum complex in the northwest corner of the naval air station.

LIGHTHOUSE - 81' / OPEN - No / MUSEUM - No / FEE - None

LIGHTHOUSE INDEX