HILLSBORO INLET LIGHTHOUSE

This lighthouse is one of five skeletal cast-iron towers built by the Russel Wheel and Foundry Co. in Detroit, Michigan. The optical system was built in 1906 by Barbier Benard et Turren in Paris, France. Following its construction, the lighthouse was barged down the Mississippi River, through the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys, and then to the Hillsboro River inlet. The giant Fresnel lens, 9 feet in diameter and weighing 2.5 metric tons, floated on a pool of mercury. The first light was fueled by kerosene vapor, which had to be carried up the 175-step lantern room staircase by hand. In the 1920s, the lighthouse was electrified and a 250-watt lightbulb replaced the kerosene lantern. A new 1,000-watt bulb was installed in 1966. In 1995, a hazmat crew decontaminated the toxic mercury after the failure of the flotation system three years earlier. A Coast Guard Auxiliary team, led by Commander Art Makenian restored operation of the classic lens in 2000 using a ball bearing concept that featured a 60-inch bearing made in North Carolina. This lighthouse is one of the brightest in the United States sending out a white flash every 20 seconds, visible up to 28 nautical miles.