The Florida lighthouse trail

From Amelia Island in northeastern Florida to Pensacola in the Panhandle, the coast of Florida is dotted with lighthouses of all sizes, shapes, materials, and, best of all, histories. Florida Lighthouse Trail offers a collection of the histories of Florida’s light stations by a number of different authors, each an authority on a particular lighthouse. They share fascinating details of the lives of these great sentinels:

- The St. Augustine Lighthouse has proved its sturdiness by withstanding three separate earthquakes—in 1879, 1886, and 1893—all within the first 14 years of its existence.

- Author Stephen Crane, shipwrecked off Florida’s coast in 1897, used the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse to lead him to the safety of shore.

- During the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, keepers at Alligator Reef Lighthouse survived 200-mile-per-hour winds and a 20-foot storm surge.

Chock-full of information on dates of construction and operation, foundation materials, and lighting equipment, this book also contains complete directions to each lighthouse site, along with the names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and websites of lighthouse organizations. With a preface by Wayne Wheeler, president of the United States Lighthouse Society, Florida Lighthouse Trail gives lighthouse and history buffs the most up-to-date listing of lighthouses open to the public, short biographies of the authors, and a full glossary, bibliography, and index.