Rebecca Shoal Light, Wooden lighthouse in Monroe County, Florida.
Rebecca Shoal Light is a wooden lighthouse in Monroe County, Florida, built on tall pilings over a shallow reef between the Marquesas Keys and the Dry Tortugas. The tower had a square base and rose about 66 feet (20 meters) above the water, sitting far offshore with no connection to land.
After several failed attempts to build on this exposed reef, the lighthouse was finally completed and put into service in 1886. It remained in operation until 1953, when the structure was dismantled and removed.
For sailors navigating between the Marquesas Keys and the Dry Tortugas, this light was a reference point they relied on to avoid shallow reefs. The wooden pilings still standing in open water give a sense of how exposed and difficult this stretch of ocean was for passing ships.
Reaching this spot requires a boat, as it lies far offshore with no land access from any nearby point. Only some pilings and remnants of the original structure are still visible, so visitors should expect a very remote, open-water site.
When the lighthouse was automated in 1926, its original lantern was saved and later installed in a private lighthouse in Key Largo. This means the glass and optics from this remote offshore structure can still be seen on land today.
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