Lighting the Way

Consider the Sanibel Lighthouse a monument to civic boosterism. When they first requested a lighthouse from the federal government in the 1830s, Sanibel's dozen or so inhabitants had high hopes for the island as a residential center. The government disagreed, but when the nearby community of Punta Rassa became the post-Civil War hub of a booming cattle business, the 98-foot iron structure with adjoining frame cottages was erected in 1884 on Sanibel's southeastern tip. A few generations of keepers lived on the grounds until the lighthouse was automated in 1949. Today the still-flashing beacon anchors the family-friendly Lighthouse Beach, where tourists and locals enjoy the city's public fishing pier and terrific shelling. The lighthouse is also near the Sanibel Historical Village and Museum, a collection of buildings dating from the late 1800s to the 1930s designed to give visitors a glimpse into the now-cosmopolitan island's pioneer past. The museum's lighthouse memorabilia includes one of the original lenses. -Tracy Jones