Free previewStop 7 of Key West Walking Tour: Mallory Square to the Southernmost Point
The Widow Who Kept the Light
You're on Whitehead Street, and the tall white tower rising above the trees is the Key West Lighthouse. Look at the black lantern room at the very top. Then look down at its base. That tower wasn't always this tall, and it isn't the first lighthouse Key West had. The first one is gone entirely, and the woman who kept it is the reason this one matters.
The first Key West lighthouse was finished in 1825, a 65-foot tower with 15 lamps set in reflectors, meant to steer ships off the reefs. Building it began with a loss. The brickmason hired for the job, Samuel B. Lincoln, sailed for Florida and never arrived. His ship most likely went down in a hurricane. The planners had wanted the light on an outer key, until they found those little islands were completely underwater at different times of the year.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 7 of Key West Walking Tour: Mallory Square to the Southernmost Point (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
