Horn Island, a narrow barrier island guarding the entrance to Mississippi Sound, has long been both a refuge and a hazard for mariners navigating the northern Gulf of Mexico. Situated between Ship Island and Petit Bois Island, Horn Island lies athwart natural passes that connect the open Gulf with the protected waters of the Sound and the Pascagoula River. Its shifting sands, driven by storms, tides, and longshore currents, made it an uncertain foundation for permanent structures—but also an ideal vantage point for maritime navigation. The history of Horn Island Lighthouse is therefore not merely the story of a single beacon, but of repeated adaptation to a landscape in constant motion.

1886 drawing showing offshore location of present lighthouse and onshore site of planned lighthouse Photograph courtesy National Archives

In the years following the Civil War, commercial activity along the Mississippi coast increased rapidly. By 1868, the Pascagoula River had become an artery for the export of southern yellow pine harvested from the vast forests of southeastern Mississippi. Improvements to the river’s bar, combined with the natural deepening of Horn Island Pass, allowed vessels drawing up to fourteen feet of water to enter Mississippi Sound and anchor safely under the lee of Horn Island. Recognizing this growing importance, the Lighthouse Board recommended the erection of a new lighthouse on Horn Island.

The proposed site offered several advantages. The ground consisted of hard sand, elevated higher than Ship Island, and nearby sources provided abundant lumber and high-quality brick. A brick structure was initially recommended as economical and durable, with an estimated appropriation of $20,000. However, further study revealed that the island’s instability made a heavy masonry tower impractical.

By 1872, the Lighthouse Board refined its recommendation, emphasizing the necessity of a light at the eastern end of Horn Island to complete the chain of aids to navigation in Mississippi Sound and to mark Horn Island Pass from the Gulf. A screw-pile lighthouse of the type then commonly used in shallow coastal waters was proposed, with an estimated cost of $22,000. Congress authorized this appropriation on March 3, 1873.

That same year, a detailed survey of Horn Island Pass and the eastern end of the island was conducted. The results confirmed that a fourth-order wooden lighthouse supported on iron screw-piles—similar to the Cat Island Lighthouse—was the most suitable design. Contracts for the iron foundation and lantern were awarded to a Baltimore firm, while the wooden superstructure was constructed by hired labor.

The ironwork was completed and delivered in October 1873 but temporarily stored at Fort Morgan, Alabama, until the wooden framing was ready. In January 1874, the entire structure was transported to Horn Island aboard the lighthouse tender Pharos. Installation proved difficult. All of the original foundation screws broke during installation, causing months of delay while replacements were cast. Once new screws were obtained, work resumed in March, and five iron screw-piles were finally set successfully.

Construction advanced rapidly thereafter. By early June 1874, the lighthouse was complete, and on the evening of June 30, 1874, the light was exhibited for the first time. The structure consisted of a square wooden dwelling mounted on five iron screw-piles and surmounted by a lantern with an iron parapet. Its fourth-order lens displayed a fixed white light varied by red flashes, making it distinguishable from neighboring beacons. This was the first new lighthouse established on the Gulf Coast after the Civil War.

In 1875, a fog bell operated by machinery—authorized by Congress the previous year—was added to the station, enhancing its usefulness during frequent periods of reduced visibility.

1866 plans for new Horn Island Lighthouse Photograph courtesy National Archives

Almost immediately, the forces of erosion began to threaten the lighthouse. By 1879, maintenance work included repainting the dwelling, installing a hanging platform beneath the structure for fuel and stores, and relocating the fog bell to reduce vibration. In 1880, the Gulf shoreline had receded so dramatically that the Lighthouse Board attempted to protect the station with a brush bulkhead and projecting jetties. For a brief period, the shoreline advanced nearly sixty feet, but heavy weather in the spring destroyed the entire protective system.

With erosion accelerating, the Board ordered the lighthouse moved across the island to its north side. In 1881, the structure was relocated approximately one hundred yards north and placed on thirteen creosoted wooden piles driven sixty feet into the sand. The building was thoroughly repaired and repainted. Yet the island itself continued to migrate. By 1882, sand had built up north of the station, placing it once again in the Gulf rather than Mississippi Sound. Despite these changes, the deeply embedded piles ensured the structure’s stability.

Further reinforcement followed in 1882 and 1883, including iron tension rods to stiffen the foundation. The original iron screw-piles were removed and stored, and mineral-oil lamps replaced earlier illumination systems. By 1885, however, the station stood in seven feet of water, and heavy gales caused such severe vibration that the lens mechanism often failed to operate properly. It was clear that another relocation would soon be necessary.

In 1887, a completely new structure was built approximately a mile west and south of the original site, on what was believed to be the most stable portion of Horn Island. The new station, completed on May 15, 1887, consisted of a one-and-a-half-story framed dwelling topped by a lantern, with multiple living spaces and separate outbuildings, including an oil house, wood shed, and large cistern. The lens and lighting apparatus were transferred from the old lighthouse. The former structure was dismantled and stripped of reusable materials, leaving its piles and frame as a daymark. The fog signal was discontinued that same year.

Over the next two decades, Horn Island Light Station underwent continual maintenance and incremental improvements. Surveys were conducted, reservation boundaries marked, fences erected to protect vegetation from grazing cattle, and new oil houses, cisterns, wharves, and plank walks constructed. Despite these efforts, erosion remained relentless.

By 1900, surveys revealed that the sand hill supporting the lighthouse was washing away rapidly, placing the station once again in danger. Orders were issued to move the structure into shallow water north of its existing location, where it could be supported on wooden piles encased in terra-cotta pipe filled with cement mortar. This relocation was completed in 1901, with the station reestablished on seventeen protected foundation piles in approximately two feet of water. Additional improvements followed, including new braces, rebuilt storehouses, and expanded wharf and boat facilities.

All previous efforts were rendered futile by the catastrophic hurricane of September 27, 1906. The storm obliterated the eastern end of Horn Island entirely. The lighthouse was destroyed, and Keeper Charles Johnson, along with his wife and daughter, perished in the storm; their bodies were never recovered. Where the lighthouse once stood, a navigable channel now cut through the island. Horn Island, long known for its instability, appeared to have finally defeated permanent occupation.

1887 lighthouse with ships anchored in lee of Horn Island Photograph courtesy National Archives

Congress responded swiftly, appropriating $10,000 in March 1907 for a replacement station. A new site was selected on the westerly side of Horn Island Pass, near Petit Bois Island. Completed in early 1908, the new wooden dwelling with lantern was lit on March 15 of that year. Unlike its predecessors, this station stood in deeper water alongside a dredged channel and used acetylene gas for illumination.

This final Horn Island Light proved far more durable. Though it endured hurricanes—including severe storms in 1917—it remained intact, thanks to its offshore foundation. During this period, keepers and assistant keepers distinguished themselves through acts of bravery, rescuing shipwrecked crews and disabled mariners, often under dangerous conditions.

In 1941, the Coast Guard automated the light and removed the keepers, although personnel were temporarily reassigned during World War II. Full automation followed in 1951. By the early 1960s, improved navigational technology and the construction of range lights between Horn Island and Petit Bois Island rendered the lighthouse redundant. In 1961, Horn Island Lighthouse was officially discontinued.

Keepers:

• Head: Valentine B. McArthur (1874), Martin Freeman (1874 – 1894), Charles Johnson (1894 – 1906), William Hill (1908), William B. Thompson (1908), Charles A. Johnson (1908 – 1909), John W. St. G. Gibbon (1909 – 1914), Frederick A. Schrieber (1914 – 1915), Andrew E. Steiner (1915 – 1918), Maurice Durabb (1918), Frank P. Spratley (1918 – 1919), Louis Buras (1919 – 1920), Andrew E. Steiner (1920 – 1924), Will J. Laughlin (1924 – 1925), Harry Brouwer (1925 – 1940), Samuel F. Draim (1942 – 1944).
• Assistant: Lewis McArthur (1874), Marshall Seal (1874 – 1876), Thomas R. Jones (1876 – 1879), Anna Freeman (1879 – 1891), Martin Freeman, Jr. (1891 – 1895), Kate Johnson (1896 – 1906), Thorwald Hansen (1908 – 1909), John A. Richards (1909 – 1910), Frederick A. Schrieber (1910), George W. Fullerton (1910 – 1911), Charles Bogdahn (1911 – 1912),Louis Buras (1912 – 1913), Charles Bogdahn (1913), Frederick A. Schrieber (1913 – 1914), Hardy Crawford (1914 – 1915), Bengt Larson (1915 – 1916), Walter D. Eiland (at least 1917 – 1918), William W. Smith (1918), William E. Stowell (1918), Albin Johannesson (1918), William E. Stowell (1918 – 1919), Sidney E. Spratley (1919), John Anes (1919), Sidney E. Spratley (1919), Ollie K. Clayton (1919), Eugene Mathieu (1919 – 1920), Eli A. Malone (1920), John Lee (1920 – 1921), Will J. Laughlin (1921 – 1924), John R. Pounds (1924 – 1926), Joseph P. LeBel (1926 – 1930), William W. Bayly (1930 – 1941).

References

1. Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board, various years.
2. Lighthouses, Lightships, and the Gulf of Mexico, David Cipra, 1997.
3. Lighthouse Service Bulletin, various years.
4. Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses, various years.

No light exists at this location today.

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