Amelia Island Light, Historic lighthouse in Fernandina Beach, Florida, US
Amelia Island Light is a white brick tower located at the northeastern tip of Amelia Island, Florida, rising about 64 feet (about 20 meters) above the ground. Its rotating beam sends navigational signals across the water, guiding vessels safely through the coastal passages nearby.
The lighthouse was built in 1838 and 1839 using salvaged bricks and materials from an older structure on Cumberland Island, just across the Georgia border. This makes it the oldest surviving lighthouse tower in Florida.
The Amelia Island Light is one of the few active lighthouses in Florida still cared for by volunteers from the local community. On open days, visitors gather around the base to look up at the white tower rising above the surrounding trees.
The lighthouse grounds are open on Saturdays, so that is the best time to walk around and see the tower up close from the outside. If you want to go inside, it is worth arranging a tour in advance with the local volunteer group that manages the site.
Inside the tower, a third-order Fresnel lens projects the beam far out over the water, and a separate red sector of that same light marks the shallow areas where ships should not go. This means the color of the light itself tells sailors whether they are in safe water or not.
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