Early on, it was recognized that protecting this vital link from foreign invaders was crucial to the security of New Orleans. Accordingly, a wooden fort was built near the western extreme of the Rigolets. The fort, named Petite Coquilles, was manned during the War of 1812, but did not witness extensive action. The success of the British elsewhere during the war demonstrated that the U.S. coastal defenses were inadequate. This deficiency prompted President Monroe to direct the erection of numerous fortifications following the war to protect the nation’s strategic ports. One of these new forts was Fort Pike, constructed of red brick, which replaced the wooden fort on the Rigolets.

West Rigolets Light Station flooded by a storm Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

To guide friendly vessels to the Rigolets, a lighthouse was authorized for its eastern entrance in 1831. However, it took a couple of years before it was actually built. A companion lighthouse for the western entrance to the Rigolets was proposed as early as 1832, but the East Rigolets Lighthouse was deemed sufficient for marking the passage. In 1855, the recently created Lighthouse Board built three new matching lighthouses for the three New Orleans ports on Lake Pontchartrain. That same year, a lighthouse based on the same design was built to mark the entrance to the Rigolets from Lake Pontchartain. Called the West Rigolets Lighthouse, the structure consisted of a square dwelling with a hipped roof, surmounted by a circular lantern room.

The lighthouse was active until July 6, 1861, when it was darkened due to the Civil War, which was being contested nearby. Union forces eventually gained control of the area, and the lighthouse was reactivated in November of 1862, with a ship’s lantern being used as the light. Apparently hostilities in the area had not been suppressed, as keeper Thomas Harrison was found shot on the lighthouse wharf, just two days after the light returned to service. Harrison is the only keeper killed during the War Between the States. The party responsible for the shooting was never determined.

A fifth-order Fresnel lens was returned to the lantern room in 1863, when the station was completely overhauled. John M. Read was the keeper, and he served for thirty-six years. Following his death, Read was succeeded by his wife Anna. During Read’s tenure, the lighthouse received substantial damage from two hurricanes. The lighthouse was further threatened by the encroachment of the muddy water of the Rigolets. In 1917, the lighthouse was raised six feet and placed on a new foundation of concrete pilings.

The West Rigolets Lighthouse was abandoned in 1945, when an automated electric light was established nearby. The structure was subsequently sold to a private owner, Mike Vujnovich, for the sum of $2,500. When Vujnovich passed away in 1960, the lighthouse was left to his three nephews. Anton Zanki obtained sole control of the lighthouse after he bought out the other two nephews. Zanki’s son has expressed interest in restoring the lighthouse, but no work had started as of April, 2003. Besides the lighthouse itself, a brick oil house and two large circular brick supports that once held the station’s wooden cisterns remain standing.

The West Rigolets Lighthouse is located just over a half mile northwest of Fort Pike. These two historic neighbors are a reminder of the important role the Rigolets played in New Orleans’ commerce and defense. Both of these 19th century structures are worthy of preservation.

The West Rigolets lighthouse was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. This picture of the lighthouse was taken by Matthew White just a few weeks before the hurricane came ashore. Of the 700 homes located on the island where the West Rigolets Lighthouse stood, only twelve survived Katrina. Matthew White's house was one of those lost.

1. Lighthouses, Lightships, and the Gulf of Mexico, David Cipra, 1997.
2. "Louisiana’s West Rigolets Lighthouse," Jeremy D'Entremont, Lighthouse Digest, May 2002.