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
Location	Aransas County, Texas
Coordinates	27°51′51″N 97°03′23″W
Year first constructed	1856
Year first lit	1857
Automated	yes
Deactivated	1952
Foundation	Screwpile, concrete
Construction	Red brick
Tower shape	Octagon
Tower height	68 feet (21 m)
Focal height	60 feet (18 m)
Original lens	fourth order Fresnel lens
Range	13 miles (21 km)
Characteristic	FF W
Heritage	place listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Aransas Pass Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Port Aransas, Texas
Area	23.8 acres (9.6 ha)
Built by	U.S. Lighthouse Board
NRHP reference No.	77001423[1]
Added to NRHP	August 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.

See also

• List of lighthouses in Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Aransas County, Texas
• Port Aransas, Texas

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.

External links

• Lighthouse Digest: Texas's “Lydia Ann” Light Shines On'
• United States Lighthouses - Aransas Pass Lydia Ann Lighthouse