Southwest Reef Light is a historic lighthouse built in 1856 at the end of Southwest Reef in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana to replace lightships which had been stationed there for ten years.[2][3][4][5] It served to guide vessels around the reef and into the main channel of the Atchafalaya River. It was discontinued in 1916 after a new, shorter and deeper, channel had been dredged across the reef, making it obsolete. Point Au Fer Reef Light took over its function.
 The original location in Atchafalaya Bay with home for the lighthouse keeper. | |
 | |
| Location | Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 29°41′39.4″N 91°12′58.7″W / 29.694278°N 91.216306°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1848, Lightship; 1856 |
| Foundation | Pile with two platforms |
| Construction | Iron plate |
| Shape | Square pyramid on skeleton |
| Markings | Red |
| Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place  |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1858 Current tower |
| Deactivated | 1916 |
| Lens | 4th order Fresnel lens |
Southwest Reef Lighthouse | |
 The relocated lighthouse on the Berwick waterfront. | |
| Location | Jct. of Bellevue Front and Canton Sts., Berwick, Louisiana |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1858 |
| Architectural style | Egyptian Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 91001152[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 12, 1991 |
Relocation edit
It sat, rusting, in shallow water[2] on the reef until 1987 when the town of Berwick, Louisiana paid to have it moved about 25 miles (40 km) upriver to a park in the town on the Atchafalaya River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as Southwest Reef Lighthouse.
The location given in the title bar and the National Register box is the current location in Berwick. The location given in the upper box is its original location on the reef.
References edit
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b NOAA Chart: Point Au Fer to Marsh Island, 1/80,000. 11351. 2004.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Louisiana". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ (January 11, 2010). "Lighthouses of Louisiana". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ "Southwest Reef Light". Inventory of Historic Light Stations: Louisiana Lighthouses. National Park Service. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
External links edit
Media related to Southwest Reef Lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons
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