Ponce De Leon Inlet Light Station Newsletter Stories
(July, 2002 Newsletter)
The Lighthouse Association is about to begin the restoration and exhibition of the Light Station's original lens. Ponce Inlet Light Station's original lens was once thought lost. After many years of searching by the curatorial staff of the Lighthouse Association, this priceless piece of Florida history was found in storage at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. It is now on long-term loan to the Lighthouse Association from the U.S. Coast Guard but, due to its poor condition, major restoration will be needed before it can be exhibited.
(September, 2002 Newsletter)
Ever wonder who makes sure the beacon at the top of the Lighthouse is working? In the past, the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment was responsible for maintaining all Aids to Navigation. Today, the responsibility for maintaining these essential devices falls on the Coast Guard. From Matanzas Inlet to just south of Melbourne on the intercoastal waterway, and from Lake George to Lake Monroe on the St. Johns River, the Coast Guard Ponce Inlet Aids to Navigation unit maintains over 600 aids to navigation.
(January, 2002 Newsletter)
Did you know that the magnificent 175 foot red brick tower lighthouse now standing on the north side of Ponce de Leon Inlet (formerly known as Mosquito Inlet) was not the first such structure to aid mariners at this inlet? Another lighthouse, built while the State was under British rule, was completed in 1835 on the shifting sands of the south side of the inlet by Winslow Lewis for a cost of $7,494.
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