The following information about the Anclote Key Lighthouse is from the United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service and is part of the information gathered in a lengthy survey to restore the light.

The Key Lighthouse tower is a cast iron skeletal structure with five tiers, surmounted by a watch room (parapet) and a lantern accessible from below by a central spiral stairway enclosed by a cast iron cylinder.

The skeletal structure sits on eight circular cast iron foundation disks anchored to a concrete slab foundation. The central stair cylinder is anchored to the concrete slab foundation and its cylinder belt is tied to the skeletal structure foundation disks by struts. The upper parts of the foundation disks and the lowest belt of the stair cylinder are provided with struts by which the light tower can be raised, and by means of an interposed platform of heavy timbers and rollers may be moved if the site is encroached upon by the sea.

The skeletal structure is composed of columns, sockets, struts, tension rods, and turnbuckles and jackscrews, tied together in the form of a square pyramid, bounded on top by an architrave (major beam) supporting an octagonal (eight-sided) gallery, a circular parapet, and a decagonal (ten-sided) lantern. The frustum of the base is 28 feet square; height to the lower face of the architrave is 84 feet. The width of a side at this point is eight feet eight inches (8'-8") and sixty-six hundreds of an inch. The central stair cylinder is composed of five cylinder belts and ninety-four plate castings. The plate castings are provided with sockets to receive the radial struts. The entrance doorsill, jambs, and lintel are cast iron and bolted with countersunk bolts to the cylinder. Although not original, the extant door is made of cast iron. Fenestrations consist of four windows, an entry door, and a watch room exterior door all made of cast iron. The watch room exterior door and the window sashes are missing from the tower. The exterior of the lighthouse tower is coated with a lead-based brown color paint. A wrought iron ladder leads from the watch room to the lantern room.

The stair treads and landings are made of cast iron plates with a raised diamond pattern. The cast iron spiral stairway leading to the watch room consists of two flights. The raised diamond pattern treads are attached to carriers mounted on the cylinder wall and to a central cast iron newel post. The hand railing is made of one-inch round iron pipe fastened to the cylinder plates by brackets. The upper flight of steps leading to the watch room was enclosed with a wood panel door so that no draft would reach the watch room from below and affect the lamps. What remains of the wood panel door is the hinge stile and brass hinges. Although some natural lighting is provided by the window openings, no interior light fixtures are provided in the tower.

The watch room is made of cast iron plates bolted to each other and to the gallery plates. The watch room (parapet) doorframe is made of cast iron and currently is missing the lower gallery access door. The interior of the watch room (parapet) is made of 1/8-inch thick plates of rolled sheet iron, which are partially riveted and partially screwed to iron battens by countersunk screws.

The interior of the watch room walls is coated with a lead-based ocher color paint.

The octagonal lower gallery surrounding the watch room is composed of sixteen plate castings, bolted to each other and to the architrave by 1/2-inch bolts. Eight cast iron brackets support the gallery; four are larger brackets bolted to the side castings and four shorter ones boiled to the corner castings of the architrave. The gallery rail is in eight sections, all of wrought iron, except the nut and washers at the upper ends of each post (standard) which are of cast iron. The decagonal lantern is made of ten rebutted cast iron jambs/columns, a ten-piece cast iron cornice, and copper roof surmounted by a copper ventilator ball. The interior raised diamond pattern floor deck is made with honeycomb cast iron floor lights with thirteen hexagonal openings to help provide light below. The honey comb floor lights are missing the glass prisms.

The storm panels glazing and the brass sash vertical and horizontal astragals are missing, thus exposing these features to deterioration.

The circular upper gallery surrounding the lantern is composed of ten plate castings, integrated with the lantern's interior floor deck. The upper gallery rail is approximately 2' -10" in height with a top rail and ten posts (standards). The rail is fastened to the posts by some brass nuts. Access to the upper gallery can only be achieved by the lower gallery ladder.

Owner/Manager: State of Florida.
Current Use: abandoned, slated for tourist attraction. Open To Public: yes, grounds only; Access: boat. The area is fenced off with a barbed wire fence.
National Register Status: It has currently been placed on the National Register.

Significance Statement
Lighthouse Construction Type: The Anclote Key Lighthouse can be classified as a skeletal, tubular, cast iron plate lighthouse, a construction type in use since at least 1861. The Anclote Key Lighthouse is believed to be the sixth oldest extant lighthouse, which used this skeletal, tubular construction technique.' Tubular skeletal, cast iron plate lighthouse towers were especially adapted to locations where a relatively light pile structure was required in relatively unstable bottom conditions such as mud, sand, and swamp. Tubular skeletal towers were lighter than stone or brick, relatively inexpensive, strong, water tight, and had a slow rate of deterioration. In areas where shifting and eroding beaches were present; cast iron plate towers were designed so they could be disassembled and re-erected as needed. An example of this type is the second tower built in 1880 on Michigan Island, Wisconsin, which was successfully moved in 1919 and reconstructed in 1930. Anclote Key Lighthouse was also designed so it could be moved, but such drastic measures were never required. Skeletal tubular towers constructed without pile foundations were usually built on land, while such structures built offshore usually required straight or screw pile foundations.

The Anclote Key Lighthouse foundation was probably built similar to that of the Cape Charles Lighthouse built in Virginia, in 1895. The foundation was built by first placing a 21 foot diameter caisson, built of 3/5-inch boiler iron at the site and excavating the sand from within the caisson so it sunk under its own weight to a depth of ten feet. The pit was kept free of water by use of a pump. Portland cement pier was poured inside the caisson. This process was repeated for the seven perimeter piers. Upon these piers the' central tubular stair cylinder and skeletal supports were constructed.

Early surviving examples of tubular (non-pile) skeletal cast iron lighthouses include: Manitou Island Lighthouse (1861), Michigan; Whitefish Point Lighthouse (1861), Michigan, (twin of Manitou Island Lighthouse); Tinicum Island Range Rear Lighthouse (1880), New jersey; Hilton Head Range Rear Lighthouse (1880), South Carolina; Michigan Island Lighthouse. (second tower) (1880), Wisconsin; Anclote Key Lighthouse (1887), Florida; Point Loma Lighthouse (new) (1891), California (terrestrial); Rawley Point Lighthouse (1894), Wisconsin; Grand Marais Harbor Range Lighthouses (18951, Michigan; Cape Charles Lighthouse (1895), Virginia; Chequamegon Point Lighthouse (1896), Wisconsin (moved); La Pointe Lighthouse (1896), Wisconsin; and Devils Island Lighthouse (1898), Wisconsin.2

History of Anclote Key Lighthouse: Anclote Key, Florida is an island of about 180-acres and 2 ½ miles long. Anclote is a Spanish word which means anchor, grapnel, or kedge. The U.S. Lighthouse Board requested $20,000 for a new lighthouse located on the south end of Anclote Key in 1884. Congress appropriated ,$17,500 on March 3,. 1885. -The Lighthouse board wanted to build a tower similar to the Cape San Blas Lighthouse, Florida, an iron skeletal tower built on piles in 1885 and which cost $35,000. Therefore the Lighthouse Board requested an additional $17,500 which was approved by Congress on August 4 of the following year.

The Board received proposals for the metal work on October 4, 1886 and a contract awarded. Delivery of the metal work to the site was required by March 1, 1887, however, the metal work was not received until late in June of 1887. Proposals received for the two keepers' dwellings and outhouses were considered too expensive, so it was decided to built them using hired labor, with construction materials purchased by contract. The lighthouse was completed and first lighted on September 15, 1887. A kerosene lamp lighted the third order Fresnel lens. Two families, one the principal keeper's and the other the assistant keepers, lived on the islands.

In 1888 a "broken tension-rod in the fifth series" was replaced with a new one. "Slight repairs" were also made to the illuminating apparatus at the lamp shop. In 1892 the station sailboat was repaired. An oil house was built in l894 or shortly thereafter. In 1898 a wharf 209-feet long; and 8-feet wide, with a T-head 15-feet long by 6-feet wide, was built on galvanized iron pipe pilings. A ladder was placed on the outer end of galvanized of the T-head. A step was built from the wharf to the T-head and another step from the wharf to a new 425-foot long, 3-foot wide brick walk which connected the wharf to the lighthouse. A 46 foot long brick walk was also built from the lighthouse to the keeper's dwelling, a 46-foot long brick walk from the lighthouse to the assistant keeper's dwelling; a 33-foot long brick walk from the assistant keeper's dwelling to the keeper's dwelling; a 46-foot long brick walk from the lighthouse to the oil house; and a 90-foot long brick walk from the keeper's dwelling to the outhouse. Brick drains were also laid under both keepers' houses. Various minor repairs were completed and all new work was either painted or whitewashed. Finally, a set of fourth-order "improved" lamps were supplied.'

In 1899 "the hard-oil finish" on the inside of the keepers' dwellings were scraped and two coats of white paint applied. The exteriors of both dwellings were given one coat of white paint. The latticework around the foundation of the dwellings were repaired and painted "lead color." The ironwork on the tower was scaled, scraped, and painted. The oil house- was covered with galvanized iron and the entire structure painted one coat of "mineral brown". To reach deeper water, the wharf was extended another 200-feet by 8-feet wide and a T-head 20-feet long by 5 feet wide built on the outer end. A ladder was placed on the outer side and steps built to the wharf on the inner side. The inner end of the wharf was also fitted with a 20-foot long by 8-foot wide incline, presumably to facilitate the station boat, as a boathouse did not yet exist at the station. The fence around the station was rebuilt of cypress and painted white. It was 5-feet tall and 400-feet long and fitted with four gates. The "opening between the-kitchen and main dwelling was enclosed," providing an additional room. It is presumed this work was performed on the keeper's dwelling.

During the Spanish-American War a small cannon was kept on the island but it was never used. In 1902 a 633-foot painted picket fence with four gates was built around the station. In 1904 fourteen piles were driven under the wharf and three fender piles driven at the outer end of the wharf. Stringers and decking were also repaired. A boathouse was built and a platform for hauling the station boat was also built.

The station was decommissioned in 1984 and has received much vandalism since them. A tall, industrial smokestack on the mainland, lighted by strobe lights, is informally used as a day mark and night light by passing vessels.

The federal government transferred the island to the Florida State Parks authority and is now part of Caladese State Park and wildlife area. Entertainer Bertie Higgins, known for his hit song "Key Large", performed a benefit concert to help raise public awareness and funds for the restoration of the Anclote Key Lighthouse. The Coast Guard removed hazardous battery material from the station in 1994 and turned station over to the Bureau of Land Management who then turned the property over to Tarpon Springs Historical Society in 1995. Estimated cost to restore the lighthouse is $250,000 (actually, this price should be much more!).

Keepers at Anclote Key Lighthouse - Pigs were kept on the island by the station keepers until a Cuban boat crew stole them. Mosquitoes were a major problem and the island, at times keeping the keepers from working outdoors. The ~PA dug drainage ditches to help reduce the problem. Because the station was close to shore, keepers would take turns using the station boat for going to church, buying provisions, and picking up the mail. Picnickers, frequently sailed to the island to use the beach, visitors were common, especially on weekends.

General Description - The tower is an iron skeletal tower, surmounted by a parapet and a lantern accessible from below by a spiral stairway enclosed by a cast iron cylinder.

Extant Structures:
Tower, Foundation - The skeletal tower rests on a foundation made of eight circular disks anchored to a concrete foundation. The upper parts of the foundation disks and the lowest belt of the stair cylinder are provided with jack-screws by which the light tower can be raised, and by means of an interposed platform of heavy timbers and rollers may be moved if the site is encroached upon by the sea.

Tower, Exterior - The skeletal tower is composed of columns, sockets, struts, and tension rods, tied together in the form of a square pyramid, bounded on top by an architrave (major beam) supporting an octagonal (eight-sided) gallery, a circular parapet, and a decagon (ten-sided) lantern. The frustum of the base is 28 feet square; height to the lower face of the architrave is 84 feet. The width of a side at this point is eight feet, 8 inches and sixty-six hundreds of an inch. The stair cylinder is composed of forty belt and ninety-four plate castings. The belt castings are provided with sockets to receive the radial struts. The entrance door, sill, jambs, and lintel are cast iron and bolted with countersunk bolts to the cylinder. The doors are made of wrought iron. Fenestration consists of four windows, the sills, jambs, and lintels are all made of cast iron. The window glass measures nine by twelve inches. At least during 1913, an American flag was flown off the light tower, attached to a lanyard fastening through a pulley located at the end of a gaff attached to the lower gallery rail. There was apparently no separate station flagpole.

The octagonal gallery surrounding the parapet is composed of sixteen plate castings, bolted to each other and to the architrave by K-inch bolts. Eight cast iron brackets support the gallery; four are larger brackets bolted to the side castings and four shorter ones bolted to the corner castings of the architrave. The gallery rail is in eight sections; all of wrought iron except the nut and washers at the upper ends of each post, which are of cast iron.

Lantern - The parapet is made of cast iron plates bolted to each other and to the gallery plates. The parapet doorframe is made of cast iron and the door of wrought iron. The interior of the parapet is made of 5-inch thick plates of sheer iron, which are partially riveted and partially screwed to battens by countersunk screws.

Tower, Interior - The stair landing and watch room floor are made of iron plates with a checkered pattern on top. The cast iron spiral stairway to the watch room is made in two flights. The treads are checkered on top and attached to carriers mounted on the cylinder wall and to a central cast iron stairway. The hand railing in made of one-inch round iron fastened to the cylinder plates by brackets. The upper flight of steps leading to the watch room is enclosed so no draft can reach the watch room from below and affect the lamps. A wooden paneled door with brass hinges completes the enclosure. A wrought iron ladder leads from the watch room to the lantern room.

The decagon lantern is made of ten abutted wrought iron posts, a ten-piece cast iron cornice, and copper roof surmounted by a copper ventilator ball. The floor is made of checkered cast iron plates with thirteen glass prisms to help provide light below. The storm panes are held in place by brass sash bars (astragals) both vertically and horizontally. The interior of the parapet walls are lined with sheet zinc.

Previously Existing Structures:
Keepers Quarters - Two keepers quarters were built at this station, one for the keeper and one for the assistant keeper, both nearly identical in plan. Each was a frame clapboard sided with a chimney located in the center of a 1 ½ story structure with a chimney located in the center of a double hipped roof. A louvered stepped rise in the middle of the roof afforded ventilation. The roof had an exaggerated overhang for added protection from the sun. Fenestration was limited to the first level only and consisted of six-over-six double hung windows fitted with shutters. The dwellings were built on piers about 8 feet above the ground to protect them from flooding.

Each was fitted with a round wooden water cistern also built on piers and connected to the gutter and down spout system. A porch with railing was reached by a set of approximately ten Stairs. At least one, and probably both of the dwellings, had at some time a semi-attached kitchen. From one photographic source it appears to be square, built an piles, sided with clapboard, gable ended, and a brick chimney rises through the peak of the roof. There were two windows on one side and probably another two located on the opposite side as well.

Other structures A wooden, clapboard sided, rectangular building, with gable ends, was located between and behind the side by side dwellings. It was probably a storehouse and/or a workshop. A· second, smaller square building with small ventilation louvers in the top center of each wall, and a double-hipped roof, was probably the oil house. Based on aerial photographs taken in August 1951, the oil house apparently was located on the west side of the tower and lined up approximately with the west side of the keepers dwelling.

During the 1940’s there were at least three other outbuilding shown in photographs. One appears to be a wooden shed. It is sided with clapboard and has gable ends. A door is located in one end. A rectangular wooden shed with slopping roof toward the back appears to be a chicken coop. The third structure may be wooden or possibly concrete. It is rectangular in shape with gable ends. One end has a door with a slightly arched lintel.

Centered above the door in the gable end is a louver. This is probably a ~c~ ail house. Whether this is earlier or later than the presumed double hipped oil house is unknown. Neither appears to be the circa 1894 oil house which was covered with galvanized sheet iron in 1899.

The brick walk from the wharf lead directly to the light tower. The keeper’s dwellings were located behind and to either side of the tower. The presumed storehouse or workshop was directly beyond the dwellings and behind the tower. By 1955 the brick walkways were apparently replaced or covered with concrete walks.

A wharf extended into navigable water. The 1904 rectangular boathouse was located just on shore next to the wharf on the west side. It was covered with board and batten and had gable ends. A ramp fitted with rails was located perpendicular to the shore so the station boat could be winched into the boathouse through a double door on the south or water facing side of the structure. A second door was located on the wharf side.

Today, the Anclote Key Lighthouse still sits on the southern tip of Anclote Key. Its only threat is vandalism. Erosion has never threatened the tower because the island is actually increasing in size (about 15% since the 1950s). What I have noticed, though, is that the salt water marsh surrounding the area seems to be increasing in size. The only remaining structures are the oil house and foundations of the keeper’s dwellings, a few other unknown structures, and of course the lighthouse. It is unknown if the boathouse still exists, but I really doubt that it would last this long. The area is fenced off with a barbed wire fence with signs that say “Restricted Area” and “Forbidden Area”, but vandals have climbed the fence and also beat it down and cut holes in it to get into the lighthouse and tear up anything and everything possible.