Point Isabel Lighthouse

One of the cool places we visited on a recent trip down the Texas Coast was the Port Isabel Lighthouse. Me? I love a good lighthouse.

The lighthouse was built by the US government in 1852 to help guide ships through the Brazos Santiago Pass. It currently sits in Port Isabel on the mainland side of the Queen Isabella Causeway.

The first lighthouse keeper, John Ham, would have lived here in the cottage with his assistant, Hannah Ham. That's right, the first assistant lighthouse keeper was John's wife, Hannah. When he died in 1860, she took over. She had two male assistants until the lighthouse was "turned off" in 1861 by the Confederacy.

In 1866, the light was turned back on and Benjamin Bergreen became the lighthouse keeper. Apparently this was a pretty boring job. The keepers were responsible for keeping the light operating properly by cleaning the equipment and keeping the lantern glass clean. 

Once the chores were done, they had a lot of time left over. So, in 1876, the Lighthouse Board started circulating these "portable libraries" so that the keepers and their assistants had something to read. They were include books like The Battle of Mobile Bay and Memoirs of Commodore David Porter. Not exactly light reading. Too bad there was no Agatha Christie.

This is a restored rain barrel that was used by the lighthouse keeper to collect rainwater. The water was used as their drinking water among other things.

To go into the lighthouse, it's $5 a person.  You climb the 75 steps on the winding staircase. This is the first window.

Looking up from the first window.

Views from the top of the lighthouse are well worth the price of admission. This is the Queen Isabella Causeway

The town of Port Isabel.

Laguna Vista.

In 1888, the United States discovered that they did not have title to the land on which the lighthouse stood so, once again the lights were turned off.

In 1895, the lights were back on. But, due to abuse by coastal storms and hurricanes, the lighthouse was in need of repairs. The lighthouse was raised by 73 feet when a new lantern and iron gallery were constructed. Repairs were also made to the keeper's cottage.

By 1904, railroads had replaced shipping for the transportation of goods. A new railroad connecting Brownsville to Corpus Christi had just opened near the lighthouse. In 1905, the light was turned out for the last time.

For a while the lighthouse was abandoned and began to deteriorate. In the 1950s, the lighthouse was restored and in 1952, it was opened as a historical landmark. Today the lighthouse is run by the Texas Historical Commission.

It's a cool lighthouse and well worth the price of admission to check it out and enjoy the views.