In 1565 the settlement of St. Augustine was born within this bay where the lighthouse now sits. A french fleet was destroyed by a hurricane in this bay and all the men over 250 to be exact were slaughtered along the shoreline so that Spain could claim Florida as there own. Jean Ribault was also murdered near the lighthouse who was part of the French Garrison murdered by Pedro Menendez's brother in lawn. Pedro Menenez was in charge of the Spanish fleet which snuffed out the French. He became the founder of St. Augustine and won this strategic battle in the bay where today the lighthouse overlooks it.. So long before the lighthouse had been built ships were sunk and the bay served as a treacherous place of death as pirates sailed these seas. 

In 1824 a lighthouse was erected in the Matanzas Bay and Matanzas River which means River of Dolphins.  It actually was an old Spanish watchtower from 1586 and became Florida's first lighthouse on Anastasia Island. The first lighthouse keeper was Juan Andreau who was a Minorcan. At that time Winslow Lewis Argand Lamps were used for illumination. These old lamps were very weak so in 1855 a 4th Order Fresnel Lens was installed by the government.

During the 1860s the government determined that the lighthouse station was unsafe due to the encroaching ocean.  Despite this the keeper resided at station for a few more years and by 1874 the light was extinguished and shut down. Even though the lighthouse was inoperable various keepers stayed at the living quarters till 1876 when a new lighthouse station was built. By 1980s the old lighthouse crashed into the sea obliterating Florida's first lighthouse.

Going into further into the history the construction for the current tower began in 1871 designed by a man with the name of Paul Pelz who was the designer of the Library Of Congress. The lighthouse was built out of Alabama Brick, Georgia Granite, and Philadelphia Iron. An oil house near by was also built and it took three years to build the entire lighthouse. 

The lighthouse had four concentric wicks and ran on lard oil for fuel. Just a few later pig fat was no longer needed because Kerosene replaced it. So a new brick building in the 1880s was built to house the kerosene. This fuel was used till 1936 when electricity came into play and changed the lighthouses fixed three minute flash to a 30 second fixed flash speed rotation. In 1955 the last lighthouse keeper retired and Lamplighters were left in charge to maintain the lens. They would visit twice a day to clean the lens, inspect it, and check to make sure it was working correctly. In 1989 the last Lamplighter retired and now the US Coast Guard maintains it once a week which is used as a navigational aid for them.

Since then the light has shined for 19 nautical miles out to sea helping those find there way for over a century. There are 219 steps within the black and white striped tower. The museum today was once the keepers house where artifacts, instruments and even ghost tours are given at. It is within the top 11 largest lighthouses in the world. 

Now I would like to talk about the lighthouse keepers house which was completed by 1876 a duplex that could hold up to three lighthouse keepers and there families. The keepers house was a designed in a Victorian type of architecture and the basement was used to store the supplies to run the station. The station had a dining room, parlor, and the bedrooms were upstairs.

Then in 1888 summer kitchens were added and by 1907 the lighthouse keepers home had indoor plumbing. Then in 1925 electricity was installed into the house. This eventually eliminated the second assistant and narrowed the house down to two keepers and there families. In the 1960s the keepers house was boarded up and for sale. In 1970 someone started the station on fire the damage was so bad that all that remained was a brick exterior with alot of soot damage. Due to the fire damage the lighthouse keepers home was sold to the country for $29,000 that is when the Junior Service League of St. Augustine restored it and opened it as a museum.

Lets talk about the Hauntings which seem to be the main focus of this lighthouse station. Some say this is one of the most haunted lighthouses in the world. I honestly did not do alot of research on this place before visiting here. I had at least 5 different people write me telling me this is a really great place to check out.  Your not going to see alot of great ghost photos from our first trip. This was more the type of investigation where you see and hear things so perhaps in simple terms this is the type of place you just have to visit yourself to understand how haunted the grounds are here.

There are several Hauntings that take place around the lighthouse. One story is about the apparition of a twelve year old girl which some say they hear more then they see. In 1873 two daughters of lighthouse builder drowned very close to the lighthouse. This actually is quite a tragic story. When we visited our first time to the lighthouse we were standing in front of the lighthouse when we heard two little girls close by talking quietly. We both talked about how it sounded like little girls talking. Then you can only imagine how shocked I was when I found out afterwards two little girls died here. So to make a point of how good of Ghostbusters we are we do not even have to do research to find them ghost because usually they find us or tell us the story just by our investigations of each place. Many people report hearing shuffling of feet and gravel as well as hearing little girls voices.

Then we have another tragedy which is told about two little girls who fell to there death from the top of the lighthouse. They say you can hear them chasing each other up the steps. This story could be a myth because other sources show that the little girls drowned. The lighthouse itself really has an eerie energy surrounding it. 

Anyways historical research tells us that when the lighthouse was being built further up on the island the Lighthouse Keeper had a few daughters and the foreman's had a daughter. The historical society states that their use to be a train cart which would haul supplies from the water to the new lighthouse being built such as building materials. The story goes that all the little girls would play in the train carts when one day the brake loosened and it would not stop. The cart flew into the inlet below drowning three of the four girls. So history tells us three little girls drowned not two. Although their are many variations this story seems to be the most plausible. They say that one of the little girls is more active then the other two the reason perhaps for this is unknown. So the story about the girls falling to their death probably is just a legend told by some.

Then we have another story about one of the caretakers who was painting the lighthouse fell so his death this is a true historical fact. Some see a hazy male figure which walks through the lighthouse. Some think its the former lighthouse keeper who fell and died.

They also say the basement is haunted by the hanging man a caretaker who hung himself. Nobody knows the caretakers name but often people see him when they go into the basement. A fire in the early 1980's tragically occurred and construction workers seen him.  The figure seen in the basement looks like a man and is rather broad.

Then there is a story about a maintenance man who was moving a wooden bench when all of sudden the bench levitated and moved by itself. Some say the Spanish Guard from 1586 haunt the lighthouse station where the original wood tower once sat. 

The lighthouse also has a series of trails behind it which go into the woods. Its perhaps a seaway trail and that seems more haunted then even the lighthouse or museum itself. There is rumors that 13 pirates are buried behind the lighthouse and on its grounds. Their is this story about four pirates who rowed to shore near the lighthouse when they decided to attack Jesse Fish's home. They looted the house and one of the pirates fell wounded a man by the name Thomas Bell. Whether there is any connection to this pirate attack or some other took place its very possible that the pirates haunt the woods it is no wonder that we experienced so much paranormal activity back on the trails. These pirates were executed and given an unmarked burial.

This is an old area so much mystery remains as to who these ghost are and why they haunt the lighthouse. If you notice the whole lighthouse history is tragic everything from it to falling in the ocean to even the deaths of innocent little girls.  There have been TV shows about this place even one program that was on the Discovery Channel. This was our first investigation in St. Augustine so to me it always will have some special significance.

© By

Rick-AngelOfThyNight

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