HALFMOON REEF LIGHT Port Lavaca, Texas - 1858 The fourth in a series of nine Texas Gulf Coast Lighthouses. The Hamilton Reef Lighthouse once stood on pilings in the middle of Matagorda Bay. Today it sits on land beside the Chamber of Commerce building in Port Lavaca, Texas. Erected in 1858, the lighthouse warned ships away from the dangerous Reef in Matagorda Bay. Although located over open water, it survived countless storms, including major hurricanes in 1864, 1875 and 1886. It took a truly calamitous hurricane in 1942 to put it out of service. The following year the lighthouse narrowly missed being blown to bits by a flight of WWII bombers. A crew had just arrived to load the sagging structure onto a barge ( it had been knocked off its pilings by the hurricane) and move it to land. The crew was still hard at work when a Coast Guard vessel pulled alongside with some alarming news. In less than thirty minutes the area was scheduled for use as a bombing range. Luckily, the Coast Guard managed to wave off the airplanes before they dropped their explosives. For many years the Halfmoon Reef Lighthouse sat dilapidated and abandoned at the Point Comfort dredging yard. But in 1979 it was moved overland to Port Lavaca where, instead of a coastal mark, it is now a landmark. The lighthouse retains its distinction, as its steps have become a popular place for weddings. For more information, you may contact the Port Lavaca - Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce (located next door to the lighthouse.) Information above is from a book of Gulf Coast Lighthouses. The first picture is from that same book the second picture is a simply drawing I own.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 21:15:15 +0000
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