Year first lit 1873 (current) Foundation stone Height 40 m Automated 1921 Added to NRHP 12 November 1975 | Deactivated 1933 Construction brownstone tower Opened 1838 Architectural style Italianate architecture | |
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Location Sand Island
Mobile County
Alabama
United States Year first constructed 1838 (first)
1859 (second)
1864 (third) Address Gulf of Mexico, United States Similar The Estuarium, Middle Bay Light, Fort Gaines, Indian Mound Park, Cana Island Light | ||
Sand Island Light is a decommissioned lighthouse located at the southernmost point of the state of Alabama, United States, near Dauphin Island, at the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alabama. It is located roughly three miles offshore from the primary Mobile Bay entrance, bounded on the east by Mobile Point and on the west by Dauphin Island. The lighthouse is 132 feet (40 m) high.
History
An earlier lighthouse on Sand Island was destroyed during the Civil War, on February 23, 1863 by Confederate John W. Glenn.
Sand Island itself faced continuous erosion, to the point where granite blocks were being added to the island to try and stave off the erosion and loss of the lighthouse. Restoration efforts resulted primarily in stabilization of the island through 2008. Sand Island Lighthouse's dire situation is similar to "its sister light", the Morris Island Lighthouse, near Charleston, South Carolina. Both lighthouses were situated on sandy islands that have eroded, leaving the towers surrounded by water.
It is on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List as one of the most endangered lighthouses in the country. The Sand Island Lighthouse (and Mobile Bay light) were damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Repairing that damage will further delay restoration efforts.
The image of this lighthouse was used as a stamp cancellation.