Although many colonial powers once contested the mouths of the Pascagoula River, American control was firmly established by the early nineteenth century. Following the brief appearance of the lone-star flag of the Republic of West Florida in 1810–1811, the Stars and Stripes were raised at the river’s mouth. On January 4, 1811, Louisiana territorial governor William C. C. Claiborne formally reported that “the flag of the United States has been reared at… the mouth of Pascagoula.” Soon thereafter, the coastlines of present-day Mississippi and Alabama were understood to be included within the Louisiana Purchase, placing the entire Pascagoula River watershed under United States jurisdiction.

Topographical survey showing station buildings in 1892 Photograph courtesy National Archives

Despite its strategic location on Mississippi Sound, the Pascagoula River remained difficult to enter. A shallow bar at the river’s mouth restricted access to only the smallest craft, though the sound itself provided protected anchorage for light-draft ocean vessels. Congress first appropriated funds for dredging the channel in 1827, but actual work was delayed until 1835. Even then, the eastern branch of the river was improved to only five feet deep and forty-five feet wide—adequate for river traffic but insufficient for larger seagoing vessels. As a result, early proposals for a lighthouse were met with skepticism.

In September 1850 Congress appropriated $3,000 “for a lighthouse at or near East Pascagoula River, in the State of Mississippi.” An inspection of the port reinforced prevailing doubts about the usefulness of a light at such a shallow entrance. Captain John Grant, a seasoned mariner described as a “man of the river,” had experimented with dredging at his own expense and concluded that a lighthouse would serve little purpose under existing conditions. Instead, Grant opened a private channel connecting Mississippi Sound to Mobile Bay and erected his own navigational aid, known as Grant’s Pass Lighthouse.

The money allocated for a lighthouse in 1850 was carried into the surplus fund, but Congress authorized a new appropriation of $5,000 on August 31, 1852, specifically for the erection of a lighthouse at or near the entrance of East Pascagoula River. In 1853, the Lighthouse Board announced that the station would receive early attention once a Coast Survey report determined the most suitable site.

During a U.S. Coast Survey in 1853, Lieutenant Benjamin F. Sands recommended the establishment of a small lighthouse or beacon at Spanish Point on the west side of the river entrance, noting that although the entrance was shallow, the Pascagoula River supported “a large and increasing trade in lumber” and possessed the potential to become a cotton port. Sands argued that all that was needed to unlock this potential was a safe harbor for seagoing ships. Nature intervened dramatically later that year, when an October hurricane sent storm tides through Horn Island Pass, scouring shoals and knolls and deepening the entrance channel to Pascagoula. The event transformed regional navigation prospects almost overnight.

Construction followed quickly after the site selection. A construction contract was awarded to John Lowry for a combination brick dwelling and tower, an economical design typical of smaller coastal stations of the era. By 1854, a keeper’s dwelling designed to display a light from its roof was under construction and progressing rapidly.

The lighthouse was completed by the end of 1854, and in March 1855 Celestin Dupont was appointed the first keeper at an annual salary of $400. Dupont served faithfully until 1860. The station was equipped with a fifth-order Fresnel lens, one of the earliest French lens installations on the Gulf Coast. Contemporary reports noted the superiority of the new optical system: a single fifth-order lens lamp provided illumination equivalent to five reflector lamps, reducing oil consumption by approximately fifty percent. East Pascagoula was among only two stations in the district to employ Fresnel lenses at that time.

The lighthouse soon proved its worth, though it did not escape the region’s frequent storms. In August 1860, powerful gales caused widespread destruction along the Gulf Coast. While the lighthouses at Bayou St. John and Proctorsville, Louisiana, were entirely destroyed, East Pascagoula sustained considerable damage along with Cat Island, Round Island, Choctaw Point, Rigolets, and Mobile Point. The onset of the Civil War the following year brought further disruption. Although surviving records do not indicate that the lens was removed during Confederate control, the station fell into disrepair and was later described as “dilapidated.” During this period the building reportedly served as a smallpox hospital under local authority.

New dwelling for keepers completed in July 1909 Photograph courtesy National Archives

Following the war, extensive repairs were undertaken at significant cost—reportedly exceeding $22,000, more than four times the original construction expense. On the evening of April 20, 1868, the light was re-exhibited for the first time since 1861, marking the station’s return to service. That same year, the Lighthouse Board acknowledged the growing commercial importance of the Pascagoula River, whose reaches penetrated deep into the pine forests of southern Mississippi. Improvements to the river bar and the natural deepening of Horn Island Pass prompted recommendations for a new lighthouse on Horn Island, while East Pascagoula remained an active and well-maintained station.

From the late nineteenth century onward, East Pascagoula River Lighthouse underwent continual maintenance and improvement. Renovations reported in 1879 included strengthening the slate roof, replastering and repainting the interior, and constructing a new boathouse. Further repairs in the 1880s addressed ironwork, whitewashing, breakwater maintenance, and site surveys. By 1888, government dredging had reshaped the river channel so significantly that the original lighthouse alone was no longer sufficient for safe navigation at night. As shipping increased—particularly timber exports—precise guidance through the narrow channel became essential.

In response, Congress appropriated $1,000 in 1889 for the establishment of Pascagoula River Range Lights. These were erected at the river’s entrance, consisting of front and rear beacon lights mounted on triangular pyramidal wooden frameworks supported by iron-cased piles. The front light displayed a fixed white light, while the rear light showed red, enabling mariners to align their vessels accurately within the channel. An assistant keeper was added to the station to help maintain these new aids.

The closing years of the nineteenth century saw further investments. Ballast was added repeatedly to protect the site from erosion, roofs were replaced, and additional rooms were added to the keeper’s dwelling in 1898. New platforms, walks, and repairs to the assistant keeper’s quarters reflected the station’s expanding operational needs. In 1902, the wooden breakwater was cut down and reinforced with approximately 350 tons of rock, a brick oil house was built, and new plank walks and a boathouse were added.

Disaster struck again on September 27, 1906, when a powerful hurricane devastated East Pascagoula River Light Station, leaving only two walls and the tower standing. The dwelling occupied by assistant keeper Gaston R. Poitevin was swept away entirely, resulting in personal losses amounting to $459.20 that were later reimbursed by Congress. Head Keeper Epps Danley received $331.70 for property he lost in the hurricane. Despite the devastation, the keepers survived, and reconstruction followed using appropriations for light-keepers’ dwellings.

Throughout the early twentieth century, the station’s keepers earned a reputation for exceptional service and bravery. Keeper Niels Nilsen, in particular, was repeatedly commended for rescues and assistance rendered to vessels and passengers in distress between 1919 and 1929. These included towing disabled launches, rescuing women and children from grounded boats, aiding yachts during storms, and saving two boys adrift in Mississippi Sound during hurricane warnings. Such acts underscored the lighthouse’s continuing role not merely as a navigational aid, but as a center of maritime safety and humanitarian service.

By mid-century, advances in navigation and automation reduced the need for manned light stations. The East Pascagoula River Lighthouse property at Spanish Point was ultimately sold to Jackson County and the City of Pascagoula on May 17, 1957, closing a chapter that had begun more than a century earlier.

Keepers:

• Head: Celestin Dupont (1855 – 1860), John Bellands (1860 – 1861), Charles C. Kennedy (1868 – 1869), Charles R. Hawkins (1869 – 1870), Peter B. Clark (1870 – 1885), Orrin P. Barnes (1885 – 1891), Robert A. Dimitry (1891 – 1896), John Murray (1896 – 1905), Epps Danley (1905 – 1916), Niels Nilsen (1916 – 1936), Joseph J. Olivier (1936 – 1937), Charles H. Carlson (1937 – 1940), Harry Brouwer (1940 – 1944), Samuel F. Draim (1944 – 1946), Joseph Brown (1948 – 1950), William G. Browder ( – 1953), Joseph Brown (1953 – 1954).
• First Assistant: Robert A. Dimitry (1890 – 1891), John A. Munch (1891 – 1892), John Whuon (1892 – 1896), Albert Sommer (1896 – 1899), Albert Lami (1899 – 1902), John C. Murray (1902), William Heinemann (1902 – 1904), Epps Danley (1905), Gaston R. Poitevin (1905 – 1910), Joseph P. LeBel (1925 – 1926), John R. Pounds (1926 – 1939), William E. Ewing (1940 – 1944).
• Second Assistant: Gaston R. Poitevin (1904 – 1905), Sydney Gibbon (1905 – 1906), Edward J. Murray (1906), William E. Ewing (1936 – 1939), Joseph P. Janczylik (1939 – 1941), William W. Bayly (1941).

References

1. Letters Sent Regarding the Light-House Service, 1852.
2. Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board, various years.
3. Lighthouses, Lightships, and the Gulf of Mexico, David Cipra, 1997.
4. Lighthouse Service Bulletin, various years.
5. Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses, various years.

No light exsits at this location today.

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