Nov. 24 - Alligator Reef Lighthouse Opens - a podcast by 43 Keys Media

In 1822, just two years out of the shipyard, the Navy schooner was on rounds to recapture and free ships that were taken in the pirate heavy seas of the Caribbean.

And alligator reef, a notoriously difficult area to navigate, the young ship ran aground. The semen struggled desperately to save it, but eventually they had to give up the ship to keep it out of pirate hands, they stripped it of all salvageable material and set it on fire. The ship soon blew up, leaving only shards and flotsam at the bottom of the shallow waters. Many other vessels have been plunged into the depths by this reef, eventually leading to the establishment of the lighthouse station, the freestanding rig and its lantern cost $185,000 to build at the time an amount equal to over $3.7 million in today's dollars.

The structure required 12 inch thick iron pilings to support it. And those were drilled into 10 feet of coral by a specialized hammer that weighed literally a ton. Despite its in auspicious beginnings, the hundred and 36 foot lighthouse still stands nearly a century and a half later. at an average depth of 20 feet. The surrounding reef is ideal. For snorkelers and divers looking to explore Florida's Caribbean coast there, spiny lobsters, parrot fish, Barracuda, and abundant coral all in a jumbled graveyard of shipwrecks, and somewhere down there are the remains of the USS alligator.

On November 24, 1873, the Alligator Reef Lighthouse was opened.

The reef that runs near the Alligator Reef Lighthouse has more than 500 different species of marine life. There's a pirate ship wreck and 144 year old lighthouse and all of this sits just four nautical miles offshore from Islamorada in the beautiful Florida Keys.

And that's what happened today in Key West history. Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 keys media. If you want to learn more about the glorious past and the future of our beautiful Florida Keys, please visit http://43 keys.com.

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