Aransas Pass Light Station

Aransas Pass Light Station also called Lydia Ann Lighthouse is an historic light station in Aransas County, Harbor Island, within the city limits of Port Aransas, Texas, behind San Jose and Mustang Islands, that protects a natural Gulf pass to Aransas and Corpus Christi Bays.

Port Aransas Light Station
Aransas Pass Light Station
Aransas Pass Light Station
Aransas Pass Light Station
LocationAransas County, Texas
Coordinates27°51′51″N 97°03′23″W
Year first constructed1856
Year first lit1857
Automatedyes
Deactivated1952
FoundationScrewpile, concrete
ConstructionRed brick
Tower shapeOctagon
Tower height68 feet (21 m)
Focal height60 feet (18 m)
Original lensfourth order Fresnel lens
Range13 miles (21 km)
CharacteristicFF W 
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Aransas Pass Light Station
Nearest cityPort Aransas, Texas
Area23.8 acres (9.6 ha)
Built byU.S. Lighthouse Board
NRHP reference No.77001423[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 3, 1977

History

The Aransas Pass Light Station was one of original Texas stations of the Lighthouse Service, that was formed in 1851, and merged into the Coast Guard in 1939. The Board wrote Inspector Stevens, "…it is very important that the Sabine, Aransas Pass, Shell keys, Ship Shoal, Barataria, & Timbalier Lights should be built as soon as possible."[2]

The lighthouse is the second oldest on the Texas coast and the oldest surviving structure in the Aransas Pass-Corpus Christi area.[3]

When the Aransas Pass shifted, the light station was not needed and a new light was installed on Port Aransas. The Light was extinguished and the property delisted in 1952, and the property considered surplus. It was sold at auction in 1955. The channel was renamed Lydia Ann Channel and the light station Lydia Ann Light Station.

Current

H-E-B CEO Charles Butt purchased the light station, hired a caretaker, remodeled and restored the structures after a hurricane, and put the automated lighthouse back into service in 1988. It is currently the only light station on the Texas coast to have an on-site caretaker and as of 2012, Rick Reichenbach is currently the second.

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See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Aransas Pass Lighthouse" (PDF). The Keeper’s Log. U. S. Lighthouse Society’s. 2005. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-12-03. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  3. "Texas historical marker". Texmaps and Carson Map Company, Inc. 2014. Archived from the original on 2009-10-23. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
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