Cape San Blas Lighthouse

Visit the Cape San Blas Lighthouse during your next visit to Florida’s Forgotten Coast. You will find the lighthouse and its keepers’ cottages in Port St. Joe, Florida. Visit the grounds, the historic buildings and climb to the top of this

The Cape San Blas Lighthouse is a hauntingly beautiful tower with its skeletal structure visible on its exterior.  When we first arrived on the Forgotten Coast, we went to dinner in downtown Port St. Joe.  While we were waiting for our table, we walked out to the waterfront Frank Pate Park.  The sun was setting, and we could see the skeletal lighthouse, with its beacon not too far away.  It made for a beautiful view.

Lighthouse Park in Port St. Joe

Later during out week on Florida’s Forgotten Coast, we returned to visit the Cape San Blas Lighthouse. Today, you will find the lighthouse in Port St. Joe’s George Core Park – which is also known as Lighthouse Park.  The head keeper’s cottage is located further away from the lighthouse, and it appeared to be empty.  The assistant keeper’s cottage is situated adjacent to the lighthouse.  It contains a gift shop on the main level and the upper floor is a museum. 

The attendant at the shop explained that these are the second set of cottages because the first pair burned down during the Civil War.  She shared that the lighthouse at that time had a wooden base, so it also burned and was ultimately replaced.  A display in the gift shop included an issue of Lighthouse magazine with an article that detailed the relocation of the Lighthouse and its supporting buildings from their original location on Cape San Blas to its current more inland location in Port St. Joe. 

You can go up to the top of the lighthouse for a small fee, however we opted not to make the climb.  This is the first lighthouse that I have seen in person where it has an exterior skeletal structure.

History of the Cape San Blas Lighthouse

The Lighthouse’s Exterior Skeletal Structure

Cape San Blas itself juts into the Gulf of Mexico on at the most southern point of St. Joseph’s peninsula.  There is a perilous shoal about 5 miles away from Cape San Blas that was a danger to ships navigating the coast in the 19th and 20th centuries.  The first light house was approved by Congress in 1847.  The Cape San Blas Light house was built and destroyed by multiple storms. 

In the late 1880s, the Lighthouse board decided to make changes to the brick, conical structure that had previously been built.  They moved the lighthouse further inland and built a new skeletal structure with cast iron supports on the exterior.  The supports were bolted into a substantial concrete foundation.  This lightweight structure did not create as much resistance to forces created by wind and waves as the brick building.  The lantern is accessed through the enclosed center structure via a cast-iron spiral metal stairway. 

The Keepers’ Cottages and the Move Inland

The lighthouse was manned until 1972, when it became automated.  The keepers’ houses were left vacant for many years and fell into disrepair.  In 1999, the light house was deactivated.  The Air Force took responsibility for the keepers’ houses and moved them further inland.  The Air Force restored one of the houses at that time and the other one in 2005.  On December 14, 2012, the Air Force moved the keeper’s homes further inland around 135ft to make sure that the rising water did not cause further destruction. 

In 2013, the Cape San Blas Lighthouse and its supporting structures became property of the City of Port St. Joe – although the Coast Guard maintained ownership of the Fresnel Lens.  Port St. Joe moved all the structures to Core Park for their preservation.  The Lighthouse, the Head Keeper’s Quarters, the Assistant Keeper’s Quarters, and the Oil Shed have been open to visitors in their new location since 2015.  The Cape San Blas Lighthouse District was officially recorded on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.  The Lighthouse and its buildings sustained minimal damage from Hurricane Michael in 2018.  This Category 5 hurricane inflicted substantial damage on the Forgotten Coast when it made landfall only 10 miles west of Core Park. 

The Story of the Cape San Blas Lighthouse and its Keepers

We enjoyed seeing the Lighthouse and the Keeper’s cottages that are maintained by the St. Joseph Historical Society.  They are in great condition, and I love that they tell the story of what it was like in the days that ships depended on lighthouses and their light ultimately depended on the keepers who worked hard to carry the oil up to the top to make sure that the light was burning all night to keep the ships, their passengers, and their cargo safe.  While it looks picturesque, I know that this was a lonely endeavor and back-breaking work.  It makes me grateful for modern technology and electricity! 

Visiting the Cape San Blas Lighthouse in Port St. Joe

The Cape San Blas Lighthouse complex with its keepers cottages is a wonderful place for families, couples, and friends to visit. Really anyone who enjoys lighthouses, history, and historic homes. The lighthouse grounds, museum and giftshop are free to visit. There is a small fee to climb to the top of the lighthouse. At the top you will be rewarded with sweeping views of Florida’s Forgotten Coast, the St. Joseph Bay, and the TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park across the bay near Cape San Blas. Note that you must be 44″ tall to go up to the top of the lighthouse. The stairs are inside the lighthouse’s enclosed core. You can purchase your tickets in the gift shop. The gift shop and museum are open Wednesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm Eastern time.

There is no restroom at the Lighthouse, however the Gulf County Welcome Center is about a block away and it offers information on the area and restrooms.

If you enjoy lighthouses or historic homes, I recommend that you visit Cape San Blas Lighthouse Park.  This is a unique opportunity to witness historic buildings that can only be seen on the coast. Have you visited before? Do you plan to visit? Let me know what you think in the comments!

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