The first lighthouse at Mosquito Inlet was erected on the south side of the inlet in 1835. The oil for the lamp was never delivered, and shortly after its completion, a strong storm washed sand from around the base of the tower. During the Second Seminole War in December 1835, Seminole Indians attacked the lighthouse, smashing the glass in the lantern room and setting fire to the wooden stairs. The first lighthouse collapsed in 1836.
Efforts to place another light began in 1883. Chief Engineer Orville E. Babcock supervised the construction of the current tower on the north side of the inlet until he drowned in the waters in 1884. The project finished in 1887, reaching 175 feet into the air. It is the tallest lighthouse in Florida.
It has some literary street cred too. In 1897, author Stephen Crane survived the sinking of the SS Commodore and used his experience at this light to write 'The Open Boat'. The lighthouse saw the replacement of its lamp with an incandescent oil vapor lamp in 1909, the installation of a generator in 1924, and electrification in 1933. It also saw the name change from Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet in 1927. Highrise buildings on the other side of the inlet blocked the Coast Guard's beacon, which eventually necessitated the restoration of the light.
Today, the lighthouse is a National Historic Landmark. It functions as a private aid to navigation, but you can climb the tower to see the views. The museum houses an original 1867 Barbier et Fenestre lens, an 1860 Henry Lepaute rotating first order Fresnel lens, and a 1904 Barbier, Benard, et Turenne rotating third order Fresnel lens restored to service.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
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