Year first constructed 1838 Automated 1952 Construction Brick Current lens length 25 cm Year built 1867 Nearest city Madisonville | Year first lit 1868 (current tower) Foundation Stone Area 404.7 m² Focal height 15 m Added to NRHP 14 July 1986 | |
 | ||
Location Mouth of the
Tchefuncte River, Louisiana | ||
The Tchefuncte River Range Lights are a range that was first established in 1838 to aid vessels entering the river from the north side of Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. The original rear tower suffered during the Civil War and was replaced with the current tower in 1868. The new tower, ten feet taller than the first, was built on the same foundation, using some of the same brick. It was given a lantern which had been removed from Cat Island Light in Mississippi.
The rear tower has a black vertical stripe to serve as the range line in daytime. It sits on a spit of land, but is accessible only by boat. The front tower is marked with a standard USCG KRW daymark, with a red stripe between two white stripes. It is a skeleton tower and sits in open water.
The rear tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum is making efforts to restore and stabilize the light.