The Ponce de Leon Lighthouse has a rich history as a functioning life-saving light tower and continues to exist as a unmistakable landmark at Ponce Inlet, Florida. The tower and grounds are open to visitors for self-guided tours and special events throughout the year. Lighthouse enthusiasts will find enjoyment from the attentive restoration of several buildings on the property and of the tower itself.
The Light at Mosquito Inlet
The inlet, where ships gained access from the Atlantic Ocean to an inland waterway, was named "los Mosquitos" by Spanish explorer, Captain Antonio de Prado, due to the large number of insects he encountered there. It was renamed Ponce de Leon Inlet in 1927. Shipwrecks happened often near the inlet due to the shifting sand spits and treacherous currents. The first tower constructed on the north side of the inlet was destroyed in 1836 after a devastating hurricane and destruction caused in the Second Seminole War. It took more than fifty years to replace.
Construction began on a new tower in 1883 and was completed in 1887. The light was fueled with kerosene until 1909, when it was replaced with an incandescent oil vapor lamp, and the first order beam could be seen by sailors twenty miles out to sea. In 1933, when the oil lamp was replaced with a 500 watt electric lamp, the fixed first-order lens was replaced with a third-order revolving, flashing lens.
