Florida Keys Reef Lights

Lighthouse Keeper George Edward Billberry died on August 9, 1919, at the age of 50. Mr. Billberry was born in 1869 in Key West. The son of Keeper George R. Billberry, he followed in his father’s footsteps by, not only, going into the USLHS but also serving on three of the same lights as 2nd Assistant Keeper; Sombrero Key (1905-1907), Dry Tortugas (Loggerhead) (1907-1910), and Alligator Reef (1910-1912).
On May 25th, 2022, we joined the descendants of the Billberry’s to commemorate their service with the USLHS and place a bronze marker at their gravesite in the Key West Cemetery

What can you say! It always amazes me the preservation work done by Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park and their partners, Friends of Cape Florida, Inc.

Happy National Lighthouse Day!
On August 7th, 1789 Congress passed 'An Act for the Establishment and support of Lighthouse, Beacons, Buoys, and Public Piers'. Two hundred years later, in 1989, The 101st Congress passed a resolution for the recognition of National Lighthouse Day.

What do you think reef light fans? Click on the Florida Lighthouse Association post to give your answer.

🏝️💡 True or false: Sombrero Key Lighthouse is the tallest of Florida’s offshore reef lights.

📸 Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard
Florida Keys Reef Lights

What are you doing on National Lighthouse Day?

Join us THIS Friday, August 7th, as Friends of Cape Florida and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park celebrate National Lighthouse Day and our beloved Cape Florida Lighthouse!🗼🏝️

Spend a special evening at the park enjoying lighthouse tours, the new Keeper’s Cottage Museum, VR experiences, the Bill Baggs HoloPOD, Poetry, Family Art Activities, Music, refreshments, and more!

Together, we’ll also recognize the incredible volunteers, donors, partners, and supporters whose dedication helps us preserve, protect, and share this treasured landmark for generations to come. 💙

🗓️ August 7, 2026
🕔 5:00–8:00 PM
📍 Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park
🎟️ FREE with RSVP on Eventbrite, after paid park entry.
🔗 Link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bill-baggs-national-lighthouse-day-2026-tickets-1994624160558?aff=oddtdtcreator

Regular park admission applies.

Come celebrate the history, beauty, and community that make Cape Florida so special. 🌴🗼

Happy 236th birthday to the U.S. Coast Guard! Founded on August 4th, 1790 by Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, it was originally known as the Revenue Cutter Service. In 1915 the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service to become the Coast Guard. In 1939 the U.S. Lighthouse Service merged with the USCG.
Toady, among it's other duties, the U.S. Coast Guard still maintains responsibility for the aids to navigation. Two of the ships doing this important work, the USCGC BARBARA MABRITY, and USCGC JOSHUA APPLEBY, were named after two reef lights keepers.

The Rebecca Shoal Lighthouse was automated on August 1st, 1925. Built in 1886, the cottage style light would mark the shoals until it was removed in 1953, and a new automated beacon was placed on the remaining piles. The lantern room from the Rebecca Shoal Light was incorporated into the private Key Largo Lighthouse built in 1959.
(Image: Rebecca Shoal Lighthouse. Source: Florida Keys History Center - Monroe County Public Library)

In July 1980, American Shoal, Sombrero Key, and Alligator Reef Lights once again became manned stations. During the Mariel refugee crisis these lighthouses provided the United States Coast Guard with platforms for a radar station and lookouts to detect vessels bringing refugee Cubans north and monitor vessels heading south. The light towers were used for five months, from July to November. At the conclusion of their use for the refugee crisis the lights were returned to service as unmanned automated aids to navigation.

On July 27,1933 the Smith Shoals lighthouse was first lighted.
Smith Shoals was an unmanned light located about 11 miles NNW of Key West. It had a white hexagonal pyramidal skeletal upper structure on screw-pile foundation and a black lantern room. Smith Shoal was equipped with a fourth order Fresnel lens, similar to the other unmanned reef lights.