Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Daytona Beach

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You just must not miss seeing the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse while you are on vacation in Daytona Beach. Of course, you want to spend plenty of time catching rays out on the white sandy beaches and you certainly should not miss any of the motor racing attractions that are available. Those two things are synonymous with Daytona Beach which bills itself as ‘The World’s Most Beautiful Beach’ and ‘The Birthplace of Speed’.

There are so many things to do, so many places to go and so many things to see when you are vacationing in Daytona Beach but you really should make time to go see what has been called the most beautiful lighthouse in the world. It is worth your time as well as the energy you will expend climbing to the top of the 175 foot structure.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse was first named Mosquito Inlet Lighthouse when it was constructed. The United States purchased ten acres of land in 1883 upon which to construct the lighthouse. The lighthouse was designed by Francis Hopkinson Smith. Francis Hopkinson Smith was a well-known writer and engineer. When the inspectors first saw the lighthouse they declared it to be "the most beautiful and best proportioned tower in the district." It remains so today.

Construction began with a tragedy. The chief engineer on the lighthouse building project was Orville E. Babcock. He drowned in the inlet just as construction was about to begin in 1883. However, construction was begun on schedule and the lighthouse was completed in 1887 even though it was rocked by the great Charleston Earthquake in 1886.

The first lighthouse keeper was a man by the name of William Rowlinski. William Rowlinski was born in Russia in 1833. He immigrated to the United States at age 17 and Settled in Charleston, South Carolina.  Rowlinski fought in the Civil War on the Confederate side. After the war he and his wife and six children relocated to Florida where he joined what was known as the Lighthouse Establishment.

The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse (then called Mosquito Inlet Lighthouse was equipped with a kerosene lantern whose light was enhanced by a first-order fixed Fresnel lens. The lens was made by Barbier et Fenestre in Paris in 1867. The light could be seen from twenty miles out to sea!

The second lighthouse keeper was Thomas Patrick O’Hagan. While O’Hagan was the lighthouse keeper, Steven Crane, the author, was shipwrecked off shore. Crane, the injured captain, and two other sailors managed to get to a lifeboat about twelve miles off the coast of Daytona Beach. They saw the beacon from the lighthouse at Mosquito Inlet.  The men were able to row the boat to shore. One of Stephen Crane's most famous short stories, "The Open Boat", was based on this very real and most terrifying experience.

The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Daytona Beach has a long and storied history. A visit to in on your Daytona Beach vacation is a must.

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