This St Marks Lighthouse art was definitely a work of love. This old light on the historic Florida coast is one my Mom fell in love with as a child. I guess in a way that makes St Marks Lighthouse the granddaddy of my own love for lighthouses as it was where Mom’s interest developed and she passed the bug to me.
St Marks Lighthouse has the distinction of being the second oldest lighthouse in Florida. The lighthouse was originally completed in 1831. At that time, St Marks was a major cotton port for the region which extended into South Georgia. The lighthouse was taken down and rebuilt in 1842 when erosion threatened the original site. The lighthouse was damaged during the American Civil War but was repaired and built higher after the war’s end.
Considering my Mom’s fondness for this particular lighthouse, I can’t believe that I hadn’t done this subject before as I had a lot of fun doing one so special. It’s depicted against a starry night sky with the old light lit and signs of life in the keeper’s quarters below.
When I was working on this I was under the impression the lighthouse was still dark but a Facebook follower informed me that the historic Lighthouse was re-lit relatively recently. Sure enough I found an article about this on the Tallahassee Democrat. It appears the light is now a private aid to navigation but is not lit year round. The lighthouse is in St Marks Refuge so it’s understandable they wouldn’t want to impact migrating birds. While my artwork featuring St Marks Lighthouse at night was a work of the imagination, it’s so cool to know this is actually a sight you can see on the historic Florida coast again.
I would love to hear what attracts you to this lighthouse art? Are you familiar with St Marks? Or perhaps you’re simply a fan of lighthouses in general? I hope you’ll share your story in the comments or if you have questions or comments you’d like to share privately, please feel free to send a message.