Dry Tortugas (Loggerhead Key) Florida
Harbour Lights #287

The largest of the Dry Tortugas islands is Loggerhead Key, so named because of the immense number of Loggerhead turtles. Ponce de Leon gave the area its name after arriving with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage. In his search for gold, riches and the Fountain of Youth, he came upon a group of islands about seventy miles west of Key West.

Eventually, pirates used these sandy islands as bases for attacking merchant ships traversing the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the dangerous shoals in the area, a lighthouse was needed on Loggerhead Key. The beacon on nearby Garden Key, Fort Jefferson, had been deemed inadequate. Officials erected a tall, brick sentinel that would warn mariners up to twenty miles away.

Loggerhead Key was sparsely populated when workers began building the lighthouse. Ships brought brick to the island, while workers laid a strong foundation of concrete. After the 151-foot tower was completed, a first order Fresnel lens was installed. Lit in 1858, the impressive sentinel was the brightest of its time.

During the early years of the Civil War, a quarantine hospital was located on Loggerhead Key, but was later moved to Sand Key. The Lightkeeper and his family endured an extremely isolated existence, relying on rainwater and fish for sustenance. Perishable food was stored in tightly sealed cans and lowered into the ocean for cooling. Teeming with persistent mosquitoes, the hot and humid locale was difficult to endure, with only brief respite from passing storms. Living in a three-bedroom house, the Lightkeeper would climb the 203 steps to light the beacon each night.

After WWII, officials automated Loggerhead Key Lighthouse. Today, a modern optic illuminates the light, providing a 28-mile range for passing mariners. Volunteer caretakers live on the island, sharing it with the numerous sea and land birds that nest there. Serving as a National Park, Loggerhead Key is home to Sooty Terns, Brown Noddies, Masked Boobies, and Magnificent Frigatebirds. Some birdwatchers have even spotted rare species roosting here, some of which were thought to be extinct or living in a distant locale.

As an active aid to navigation, Loggerhead Key Lighthouse is a historic reminder of our nation’s nautical heritage, and continues to mark the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico to this day