The Hauntings of the St. Augustine Lighthouse

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Everybody knows Florida for its inviting beaches and theme park entertainment, but tucked beneath the joy and wonder of its star attractions are historical locations populated with ethereal relics of yesteryear.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse oversees the state’s eastern shores. It sits about an hour south of Jacksonville on Anastasia Island, just across from downtown St. Augustine. Built at the tail end of the 19th century, the structure gazes out over the Atlantic horizon and warns maritime travelers, But it isn’t just a keeper of the seas. It’s a graveyard of memories, a conduit that connects what is with what used to be.

As the striped structure watches silently over the shoreline, its light glimmering against the blackness of night, something scurries amidst the shadows. Haunting footsteps and the eerie chill of an unseen presence from beyond serve as reminders of the lighthouse’s long and storied past.

The shadowy figures and ethereal curiosities of St. Augustine Lighthouse blend well with its century-long history, making it a phenomenal specimen.

Explore the rest of the haunted Old City on a ghost tour of St. Augustine with Old City Ghosts! Marvel at the rest of America’s oldest city’s penchant for attracting the strange and unusual on a chilling walking ghost tour of downtown St. Augustine.

The History of the St. Augustine Lighthouse
Building the Original Lighthouse
War Comes to the St. Augustine Lighthouse
Haunting Legends of the St. Augustine Lighthouse
What Happened to the Pittee Girls?
A Beach of History and Hauntings

What is the story behind the St. Augustine Lighthouse?

The foundation of the St. Augustine Lighthouse has been part of the United States East Coast history since before the arrival of the first European settlers in the Northeast. The historical moments it has witnessed and the people who have graced its grounds have all contributed to the energy that has built up within the towering structure.

From a former lighthouse keeper to the tragic presence of a young St. Augustine local, the lighthouse tells many stories through the eyes of the specters that remain a piece of the structure’s past, present, and future.

The History of the St. Augustine Lighthouse

Long before the current lighthouse was even conceived, Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles traversed the Atlantic on an expedition to stop the spread of French influence before eventually landing in Northeastern Florida.

Upon his arrival in 1565, predating the English settlers, the admiral prepared to push back against the French outpost that had been established at Fort Caroline (near modern-day Jacksonville) and reclaim Northeastern Florida for the Spanish.

The Spanish victory over the French was narrow. The devastation of a large maritime storm significantly weakened the French fleet. With the French defeated, the Spanish remained in St. Augustine (or San Augustin), seeing their presence as a deterrent for their European rivals. It was likely around this time that the first watch tower was built on Florida’s shorelines.

According to archival records, Baptista Boazio scribed a map of the St. Augustine area, specifically the assault of Sir Francis Drake in 1586. That map shows the first reference to the old wooden watch tower.

Described as a “beacon” in the attack records, the tower likely served a similar purpose as a modern lighthouse, especially considering the trade that flowed into the region. The Spanish later replaced this wooden tower in 1737 with a new structure built from coquina, though it had yet to be bestowed with the appropriate lighting.

The British Take—and Lose—St. Augustine

Despite the destruction Sir Francis Drake wrought, nearly burning the entirety of St. Augustine to the ground, the Spanish returned. By the turn of the 18th century, so, too, would the English.

Governor James Moore and James Oglethorpe both led sieges on St. Augustine nearly 40 years apart. Though the attempts to take Northeastern Florida failed, the British saw an opportunity to secure the territory without bloodshed during the Seven Year’s War.

With just one signature, the British flag was flying high over St. Augustine. Having captured Cuba and the Philippines, the British leveraged Spain’s desire to reclaim its land and, in exchange, force the Spanish from Florida. With the First Treaty of Paris in 1763, Britain was bestowed all of Florida, particularly St. Augustine, where it erected a small wooden lantern atop the coquina watchtower.

Florida changed hands again with the end of the American Revolution and the second Treaty of Paris (1783), which allowed the Spanish to reclaim what was theirs. Though so close to being built under Britain, the future of what would be the St. Augustine Lighthouse came into question when the Spanish removed the British addition to the tower.

It was only after the United States peaceably secured Florida from Spain, which had its attention drawn to colonies across the globe by Napoleon, that St. Augustine would get its first official lighthouse.

Building the Original Lighthouse

Signed in 1819, the Adams-Onis Treaty transferred ownership of Florida to the United States, knocking all other parties out of St. Augustine’s progression and development. Before U.S. control of the vital Florida coastal town, the shores of St. Augustine were no stranger to shipwrecks.

As the growing nation added more coastline to its map, it sought to provide the safety measures needed to ensure clear passage for trade. Efforts made by the U.S. government, including a $5,000 grant to improve the Spanish tower, led to the conversion of the first lighthouse of St. Augustine.

March 25, 1824, marked the first operational day for St. Augustine’s new beacon. Outfitted with ten lamps and ten 14-inch reflectors (the composition of a Fresnel lens), the lighthouse welcomed its first keeper, Juan Andreu. The son of former Menorcan servants of the New Smyrna plantation, he became the first Hispanic-American to oversee any federal installation. He was later retroactively dubbed a member of the United States Coast Guard.

Juan remained the lighthouse keeper until 1845, at which point an unknown keeper took over for four years, though the Menorcan legacy continued in 1845 when Juan Carrera stepped into the position.

Carrera is the first to pass away while in service of the original St. Augustine Lighthouse, marking the first documented death directly tied to the structure’s history. The second was Joseph Andreu, another Menorcan and cousin to the inaugural keeper, Juan.

Joseph was the fourth lighthouse keeper, his short four-year role lasting only from 1854 to his untimely demise in 1859. According to historical records, Joseph was refreshing the tower’s paint job when the scaffolding failed, sending him falling 60 feet to his grizzly death.

With the tragedy of Joseph’s death lingering like a dark cloud over the lighthouse, St. Augustine was about to enter into another dark period. On February 8, 1861, the Confederate States of America was formed, and Florida joined them in the fight for control of the United States.

War Comes To The St. Augustine Lighthouse

At the start of the Civil War, St. Augustine belonged to the Confederates. The lighthouse posed a threat, signaling to Union ships the bearings needed to launch an aquatic attack on the Confederates. To darken the waters, Confederates concealed the lens and removed inner mechanics, hoping to disorient enemy vessels.

Exactly one year and 20 days from when the Confederate States came to be, the Union landed in a near-empty St. Augustine. The Union arrival was expected, and rather than fight for the coast, the Confederates relinquished their control.

Two years after the end of the Civil War in 1865, the lighthouse was relit and once again in service. Unfortunately, there proved to be an issue that brought into question the lighthouse’s future. In 1871, the U.S. government shared concerns that coastline erosion would eventually end with the lighthouse lost.

The oil-fueled lamp inside a new St. Augustine Lighthouse was lit for the first time on October 15, 1874. It rose 165 feet above the Floridian coastline. For many, this marked an important moment for St. Augustine. Little did they know just a year prior, three young lives were lost, an unspoken tragedy with eternal ramifications.

The Unique Design of the Lighthouse

What was left of the original Spanish design of the tower would later vanish and be replaced by the current structure. However, as lighthouses are a sort of stationary maritime GPS, the new tower needed to stand out from others built across the U.S. coastline.

When sailors approached the St. Augustine Lighthouse, they’d know at first sight where they were. That’s due to the painted striped pattern—or daymark—which is unique to the Northeastern Florida lighthouse. The barber shop striping isn’t the only unique feature of the St. Augustine Lighthouse, as when night falls, captains still need an identifier to know where they are.

Atop the coquina tower sits a red lantern, which completes one full rotation every 30 seconds. Like the striped paint job, this increment and light pattern is specific only to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. The beam, which extends 20 miles offshore, was last fully upgraded in 1991, when the Coast Guard removed the original lens, which had been shot and damaged, and replaced it with the modernized airport lantern.

World War II Comes to American Shores

The remainder of the 19th century and much of the 20th century proved fairly quiet for St. Augustine Lighthouse. By the 1880s, low tide proved an eventful time of day near the base of the lighthouse, as travelers staying in hotels owned by Henry Flagler sat upon the rubble and enjoyed their seaside escape from reality. They sipped tea and enjoyed oysters cooked by the local recently-freed African Americans.

The period of peace at St. Augustine ended after the Japanese Imperial Navy assaulted Pearl Harbor in 1941. While the East Coast remained quite isolated from the conflict, tensions rose in 1942 after the sinking of the SS Gulfamerica off Jacksonville’s coast.

On the other side of the country, businesses practiced lights out come dark since the 1941 bombing, hoping to hide densely populated cities from potential Japanese attackers. Since Germany hadn’t made a physical threat against the East Coast, there was more leniency. Gulfamerica changed that.

As the threat of Nazi Germany coming to the United States lingered over St. Augustine, the air grew heavy, and the lighthouse was dimmed. The United States Navy and Coast Guard sent troops to St. Augustine, and the lighthouse became a guardpost. Nearby, Flagler College and St. Johns County were converted into training centers for men being sent to Europe.

The intensity of the aura brought about by the threat of a coastal landing seeped itself into St. Augustine Lighthouse’s porous materials. Coupled with the old artifacts now on display at the maritime museum, the proximity of the war magnified the ethereal energy charging the air around the coastal structure.

Just as the light atop the tower serves as a beacon for passing ships, the accumulation of emotionally raw events tied to the tower’s history. Those specifically linked to the old Spanish structure are now a beacon for the spiritual world. They ensure those that would have otherwise crossed over remain behind as a fixture of the St. Augustine Lighthouse.

Haunting Legends of the St. Augustine Lighthouse

The echo of footsteps fills the cylindrical tower, their bellow growing as they reverberate off the 219 steps of the spiral iron staircase. In the maritime museum, a sudden cold spot spreads its frigid tendrils as an unseen presence watches over a century’s worth of artifacts. St. Augustine’s lighthouse is more than a guide for seafaring vessels. It’s a beacon for the undead, a hotspot for unexplainable activity and eerie encounters.

Though the modern structure is only 150 years old, there are more than 4 centuries of history tied to the timeline of the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Influences of the original Spanish settlers and their ongoing feud with British aggressors still linger despite the loss of the original watchtower. The Confederate and Union occupation of the coastal town left behind a tension that’s slowly eroded away at the fabric of reality that separates the world of the living from the spectral plane.

Shows like “Ghost Hunters” picked up on the supernatural presence, capturing what appeared to be a shadow figure looking down over the staircase railing. With no crew traversing the steps above, the spine-tingling imagery lends credence to one of the lighthouse’s haunting tales, a keeper who continued their tenure long after their heart stopped beating.

Since the TAPS team found evidence of potential entities that have crossed the veil, amateur teams and curious travelers have set their sights on the historic Floridian lighthouse, all hoping to verify the haunting legends tied to the 150-year-old structure.

Lighthouse Keepers Still On the Job

Over its years in operation, many keepers have tended to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. It’s an often grueling job, demanding one to climb over 200 steps to maintain the lantern that shines over the Atlantic. Many moons ago, that lantern was fueled by oil, requiring keepers to carry enough to keep the light burning up the spiral staircase.

In the history of any lighthouse, death is not uncommon, be it the gradual aging of its keepers or an unexpected tragedy. St. Augustine is no exception, as indicated by its recorded history and, more recently, the suspected presence of at least one spectral keeper who refuses to quit. Though the ghostly worker could be any of the keepers who kept the light burning, it’s believed that one Pierre Rasmussen has decided to stay—though not entirely for reasons you may expect.

Pierre lived at the lighthouse with his wife, whom he adored. But, before his time as keeper came to an end, she passed away. The circumstances of her demise are unknown. He stayed at the lighthouse for a spell after her death but eventually left and, years later, died far from where he lost his wife. Lighthouse workers today suspect that one ghastly apparition is Pierre, forever looking for his love.

It’s likely that Pierre is not the only one attached to the lighthouse. The range of noises heard throughout the museum and tower suggests more lowly apparitions stuck in a loop of their former routine. There’s no maliciousness in any keeper’s presence, as these residual haunts replay history time and time again. Their shadowy figures have been spotted near the lighthouse lantern as if still servicing the structure’s most crucial element.

What Happened To The Pittee Girls?

As time wore on the old Spanish watchtower, concerns grew over when it would eventually be lost to the sea. With land eroding around it, Congress allocated funds to develop a new lighthouse before the original could be swept away.

With money in place, Congress tapped the Superintendent of Lighthouse Construction to oversee the development of the new tower. The superintendent at the time, Hezekiah Pittee, moved from Maine to Florida, bringing his wife and four children, Eliza, Edward, Mary Adelaide, and Carrie, along for the duration of the project.

The Pittee children became known around the construction site, as they often frequented it to play and pass the time. Among their favorite activities was riding a supply cart down to the water as if cruising down a speedy rollercoaster. Typically, the ride ended with a wooden board that kept the cart from going over the edge. On one ill-fated day in July 1873, something went horribly wrong, and the wooden board was missing.

The Pittee girls made friends with the daughter of an African American worker, who enjoyed riding the cart as much as they did. Sadly, on their last ride down, the cart continued into the water, trapping all four girls underneath. Nearby, a young worker, Dan Sessions, watched the cart tip over the edge of the ridge and immediately ran to help. Despite his efforts, only the youngest Pittee girl, Carrie, survived that day.

Construction on the lighthouse shut down, allowing the Pittee family to return the girls to their hometown for a proper burial. Whatever happened to the African American girl who died with them is still a mystery, though the pitter-patter of children’s feet running along the lighthouse catwalk may hold the key to an answer.

Have the Pittee girls returned to the site of their tragic death, their residual energy embedded in the permeable composition of the historic tower? Or are the remains of the unidentified African American buried in St. Augustine, seeking some retribution for being forgotten amongst the three white children she died alongside?

Whoever is still trapped within the walls of the lighthouse is no quiet specter, their childlike laughter known to take visitors by surprise. There’s no maliciousness to their energy as they merely tinker within the tower as they did more than 150 years ago.

Should you feel a swift breeze rush by you, a light rush of a comforting presence, then you may have just met one of the Pittee girls.

A Beacon of History and Hauntings

More than just a beacon of light to guide sailors on their unending journeys across the vast deep blue, the St. Augustine Lighthouse is a symbol of hope and resilience. Its legacy spans centuries of conflict and uncertain futures, including the Spanish and British back-and-forth control of the original watchtower, and has been marked by powerful events, from untimely deaths to the threat of war.

Visitors of the St. Augustine Lighthouse can experience an intersection of the past and the present, as keepers of yesteryear are spotted trying to keep the current lantern maintained and lit. Their lingering forms may give a fright, but their benevolence has no ill will against those fascinated by the lighthouse and its history.

The giggling of the Pittee spirits or the young African American girl is naught to fear. Even if a sudden manifestation of a running specter takes your breath away. The St. Augustine Lighthouse sits on the rim of two planes, allowing the spirits of yesteryear to flow through its porous materials and absorb centuries worth of generated energy.

For a chance to spot or feel one of the tower’s ghosts, St. Augustine Lighthouse Hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. The lighthouse and maritime museum stop selling tickets at 5:30 p.m. every night to ensure all guests have the opportunity to explore the haunted grounds fully.

America's Most Haunted

The United States is full of haunted locations that fascinate and strike fear in our hearts. Many have surface-level stories that are more complex than they appear. Continue reading our series on America’s Most Haunted Places if you enjoyed this in-depth look into the St. Augustine Lighthouse.

Take a ghost tour with US Ghost Adventures the next time you are in America’s oldest city. There are many more haunted hotspots in a city whose history stretches back further than the nation.

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