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Mobile Bay, Mobile, Alabama
All Photos © Tim N. Touchton
Each photograph
is available as an 8x10 for a cost of $ 12.00
plus $2.00 shipping. Check or money order only please.
I took this picture in August 1999 from a friends boat. Sam, his son Jonathan,
me and my son, Richard, went for a nice Saturday boat ride in the bay. It
was a
pretty nice day for a boat ride and the waves were somewhat choppy, but not
too
bad. We left from the boat launch and headed "due east" and after
a while you could see
the silhouette of the light far on the horizon. It was the first time I had
ever seen this
lighthouse and I'd lived in Mobile for 19 years. Sorry to you other lighthouse
lovers, but I just
never really had the opportunity. This time, I invited my son and myself for
this boat ride
trip to specifically take lighthouse pictures of both Middle Bay and Sand
Island lighthouses.
Sam usually only goes on his boat for one purpose, to catch fish, so it was
nice that he took
us out for a photographic trip.
It was spectacular as we approached the old light. It's lens had long since
been removed
and the US Coast Guard had replaced it with a light beacon on top of a tower
where the
lens used to be. There was a family out in their boat and several of the older
boys were
climbing the metal work up to the walkway going around the lighthouse. They
then climbed
up the outside of the old wooden house and then jump off the top of the lighthouse.
That
activity made it difficult for me to get a good photograph without the boys
or the boat in the
photograph. I also saw a flock of pelicans flying very low, barely above the
waves, and heading
directly between our boat and the lighthouse. I did have enough time to take
one picture, but just
barely. The photograph turned out okay, and you could see the line of pelicans
in front of the lighthouse,
but I cut off the top of the beacon tower in my rush to take the picture.
The only way to get to this lighthouse is by boat or helicopter. You cannot
see it from the shore, to it's
west, in Mobile. I don't remember the name of the boat launch, but it was
directly due east from the
launch. It is directly due north as you head up and into Mobile Bay from the
Gulf of Mexico. I wanted
to climb up the metal work myself to take some close up photographs (not to
dive, which is dangerous),
but that'll have to be another trip. This lighthouse is very similar to Drum
Point, MD Lighthouse.
History and facts about Mobile Middle Bay Lighthouse:
This lighthouse was built in 1885 and consists of a hexagonal-shaped cottage
with a
lantern perched on top. In the summer of 1916, the light-keeper's wife gave
birth
and the lighthouse keeper had a problem, because his wife was unable to nurse
their
new baby. There was no refrigerator, freezer or normal household appliances
that
they would have on the mainland. Supplies were also inconsistent and for the
most
part they lived an isolated life. His solution, to bring a cow to the lighthouse
and keep
in on the outside deck area. (You lighthouse lovers know this from your
Harbour Lights
"Mobile Middle Bay" collectable #187, 1996. I am lucky enough to
have one of those myself.)
Anyway, today the light is decommissioned but still stands as a day marker
for ships
and boats in the bay area. This is the sister light of Hooper Strait Lighthouse,
Tangier Sound, MD.
It was damaged in a hurricane of 1916. It has been restored by the Middle
Bay Light Centennial
Commission in 1984 and stabilization took place in 1993. The original lantern
room is under renovation.
Important Specifics:
· 1885 Station Established
· 1885 Light first lit
· 1885 Original Lens Installed
· 1935 Station Automated
· 1967 Station Deactivated
Foundation materials: Iron screw pilings
Construction materials: wood
Markings/patterns: white with red pilings
Shape: hexagonal
Height: 54 feet
Present Optic: 6 inch hazard warning
Focal plane height: 54 feet
USCG loaned the original lens to the Ft. Morgan Museum for display in 1996
Number of stories: 1.5
Current owner: Alabama Historical Commission, Mobile Middle Bay
Lighthouse Centennial Committee, National Register #74000429
Special thanks to the Alabama Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources
Marine Resources Division
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