Southwest Reef Light

Southwest Reef Light is a historic lighthouse built in 1856 at the end of Southwest Reef in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana to replace lightships which had been stationed there for ten years. It served to guide vessels around the reef and into the main channel of the Atchafalaya River. It was discontinued in 1916 after a new, shorter and deeper, channel had been dredged across the reef, making it obsolete. Point Au Fer Reef Light took over its function.

Southwest Reef Light
LocationAtchafalaya Bay, Louisiana
Coordinates29°41′39.4″N 91°12′58.7″W
Year first constructed1848, Lightship; 1856
Year first lit1858 Current tower
Automatedn/a
Deactivated1916
FoundationPile with two platforms
ConstructionIron plate
Tower shapeSquare pyramid on skeleton
Markings / patternRed
Original lens4th order Fresnel lens
ARLHS numberUSA-780[1][2][3][4]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Southwest Reef Lighthouse
LocationJct. of Bellevue Front and Canton Sts., Berwick, Louisiana
Arealess than one acre
Built1858
Architectural styleEgyptian Revival
NRHP reference No.91001152 [5]
Added to NRHPSeptember 12, 1991

It sat, rusting, in shallow water[1] on the reef until 1987 when the town of Berwick, Louisiana paid to have it moved about 25 miles (40 km) upriver to a park in the town on the Atchafalaya River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as Southwest Reef Lighthouse.

The location given in the title bar and the National Register box is the current location in Berwick. The location given in the upper box is its original location on the reef.

References
  1. NOAA Chart: Point au Fer to Marsh Island, 1/80,000. 11351. 2004. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Louisiana". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  3. Rowlett, Russ (2010-01-11). "Lighthouses of Louisiana". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. "Southwest Reef Light". Inventory of Historic Light Stations: Louisiana Lighthouses. National Park Service. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.


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