As far back as 1833, residents of Punta Rassa, a small town on the mainland, tried to get Congress to build a lighthouse on Sanibel Island, hoping it would serve to attract shipping and settlement to the area. But Florida wasn’t even a state at that time, and Congress wasn’t interested. Ships heading to Key West from New Orleans would have been served by a lighthouse as well as by businesses in the small town, but before anything happened the town literally died out from hardship and disease.

After the Civil War, the port of Punta Rassa began to prosper and became a large export center for cattle which, at that time, were driven in herds overland as there were no railroads in the area. From this port, they were put on ships and sent to other locations. Tampa was also becoming a booming port, and ships heading south from Tampa needed a navigation beacon. Congress finally realized the need and approved the building of the Sanibel Island lighthouse. It’s the last one heading south until you reach the Dry Tortugas, 130 miles away. The lighthouses on the gulf coast are far apart, unlike the lighthouses in the Keys, where there are many more dangerous shoals and reefs.

When the Sanibel Island lighthouse was built, Sanibel Island was nearly uninhabited, and the keeper and his family had 670 acres of land set aside for farming. Unfortunately, the sandy soil wasn’t good for growing much of anything...except children. One lighthouse keeper who served there for twenty-two years had thirteen of them, seven from his first wife who died and five more from a widow who already had five children. They added one of their own making a total of thirteen. Some took over as keepers until 1941, making for fifty years of family service.

In 1963, a causeway was built from the mainland to Sanibel Island, which now has become somewhat of a nightmare of congested traffic. Before that time, a ferryboat brought visitors and automobiles over from the mainland. Thomas Edison had a home and laboratory in nearby Fort Myers, where he developed and refined many of his inventions including the electric light. He and his friend Henry Ford were frequent visitors to Sanibel Island to relax and enjoy the beaches.

The grounds and beaches around the  Sanibel Island lighthouse are very lovely with white sand, sea grapes, and sea oats. The beaches are accessible if you can find the elusive parking spot. The lighthouse isn’t open to the public and the keepers’ houses are fenced in and are used by National Wildlife Refuge employees. You can walk all around the site, however, and it’s a popular place for shelling and swimming.

Back in 1949, the lighthouse was automated, long before many other lighthouses were mechanized. The ninety-eight-foot-tall lighthouse has a modern light beacon. One of the original lenses is now displayed at the Sanibel Historical Museum, where you can also see the Sanibel Post Office, built in 1927, and an old store, house, and tea room, all built around that time as well.