Hillsboro Inlet Light

Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the north side of Hillsboro Inlet, midway ​between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, in Hillsboro Beach, Florida. The light marks the ​northern limit of the Florida Reef, an underwater coral formation on the lower east coast of the ​state.

Hillsboro Point was designated as hazardous for the safe navigation of ships in 1855 and federal ​designation was sought.A request for a lighthouse at the inlet was first made in 1884.The request ​was repeated yearly and rejected 17 times. In 1901, the United States Lighthouse Board ​persuaded Congress to authorize the construction of a lighthouse in the dark area between ​Jupiter Inlet Light and Fowey Rocks Light. The official order approved on February 12, 1901, ​called for a "first-order light at or near Hillsboro Point...at a cost not to exceed $90,000."No ​appropriation of funds was made in 1901 and in 1902 $45,000 was appropriated. The full ​funding to build the lighthouse was appropriated on March 3, 1903. Initially a site on the south ​side of the inlet was selected, however it was not feasible, so a site on the north of the inlet was ​chosen. The owner of the property did not want to sell at first but after beginning condemnation ​proceedings, an agreement to purchase the land was reached. The 3 acre (1.2 ha) parcel was ​purchased for $150 from Elnathan T. Field and Mary W. Osborn of Middleton, New Jersey who ​had bought the land for 70 cents an acre (0.4 ha) from the Trustees of the Internal Improvement ​Fund.

Soon after the light was operational unexplained reports of fires in the Everglades began to ​come in. The cause was the lens, when stopped in the morning at just the right position, it would ​focus the sunlight west towards the wetlands. A landward baffle was installed. This also shielded ​nearby residents from the bright light at night.

Lightkeepers would assist shipwrecks using three 12 to 20 horsepower gas boats. The wives of ​the lighthouse keepers would make sea grape jelly to trade for pickled vegetables from local ​farmers. Four Coast Guard signalmen were stationed at the lighthouse in World War I barracked ​in one of the storehouses.

During the 1926 Miami hurricane J.B. Isler stood a 32-hour watch, keeping the light burning while ​fearing the lighthouse would fall. It stood but 20 feet (6.1 m) of sand was washed out from under ​it, according to Mary Ella Knight Voss, daughter of a prior lightkeeper.The storm also damaged ​the dwellings and carried away the boathouse and wharf.Isler's son George and daughter Ruth, ​born in the keeper's house, were the first children of record born at the Hillsboro Inlet.

The lighthouse beach patrol spotted a German U-boat in 1943, during World War II. The ​submarine was reportedly sunk, but no wreck has been documented. Later that year a freighter, ​the M.S. Arcura aroused the suspicion of a lighthouse keeper. The ship was being used as a raider ​and was crewed by German nationals and carrying arms. The crew were transported to Port ​Everglades and the Arcura became a war prize.

In 1974 the lighthouse was fully automated. One United States Coast Guardsman was assigned to ​remain on site to maintain the light and grounds.The assistant keepers' homes were converted to ​guest quarters for senior coast guard and other senior military officers.The Hillsboro Inlet Light ​Station was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1979. The ​lighthouse and buildings are little altered from their original construction in 1907.

In the second half of the 20th century, this inlet became an increasingly busy waterway. ​Hillsboro Inlet Light is considered one of the most powerful lights in the world with a beam that ​can be seen for 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi).

The octagonal iron pyramidal tower was built by the Russel Wheel and Foundry in Detroit ​Michigan after entering the lowest bid at $24,000. The only other bid came from the Atlanta ​Machine Works, Atlanta, GA for $26,747. Work commenced in August 1905 working off plans for ​identical towers on Cape Fear, Cape Charles and Hog Island (of the three, only Cape Charles ​remains). Documents from the Foundry and William Craighill (District 7 & 8 Engineer in charge of ​the project) detail numerous errors which may have helped in the demise of the Cape Fear light. ​In the 1920s, errors in reporting began several myths that persist to this day. Among the long-​held myths are the origins of the tower which stated that this lighthouse was built by a Chicago ​steel firm for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. It was then disassembled and moved to Hillsboro ​Inlet. The J.H. Gardner Construction Company of New Orleans, Louisiana cleared the land, laid ​the foundations and re-assembled and erected the lighthouse.

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