Lighting Carysfort Reef Vol 2: The Lighthouse

Book Review by Thomas A. Tag printed in the U.S. Lighthouse Society Keeper’s Log Summer 2018
Lighting Carysfort Reef (Two-Volume Set) by Neil E. Hurley
I enjoyed reading the books about Lighting Carysfort Reef because I found in these books not only a complete history of the lightships and lighthouse but also the detailed historical documents and photos that back up the stories. Each entry also includes endnotes that give you the sources of the historic information.
The lightships and lighthouse are covered from their inception to their current status. Included are all of the details of the keepers, history, construction, optics and more. After reading these books, you will have a thorough understanding of the history of the Carysfort Reef and all the happenings throughout its nautical history.
The books can be a bit hard to read because they are a compilation of many newspaper clippings, ship groundings, mariner’s notices, and official records. They have a number of very interesting stories of happenings on the lightships and at the lighthouse, as well as life in the 1800’s in the Florida Keys.
The first book covers the construction of the first lightship at Carysfort Reef, one of the worst-built lightships in U.S. history, and its replacement, along with stories about Indian uprisings, the death of the keeper of the lightship, and the events on the reef during the Civil War.
The second book covers the building of the lighthouse with its unusual dwelling, and the many problems that occurred during its construction. Also included is a history of the many ships sunk or grounded on this dangerous reef. You will learn about the government’s botched purchase of a Fresnel lens for the lighthouse and how that delayed its construction.
The book allows you to take an armchair trip along the coast of Florida to see life in the mid-to-late 1800’s.