Egmont Key is getting a much needed feather in its cap after an unfortunate remodel 30 years ago that left this Florida landmark one of the least picturesque lighthouses in our state. In a win-win situation, channel dredging is allowing ships to travel freely to local Ports in Tampa and Manatee County as well as adding sand to the Northwest shore of Egmont Key. The new sand is shaping up to create a wide beachy playground families can enjoy for years to come.
The new, wider beach is expected to be complete in early March 2015. The shipping channel is dredged every 7 years as part of a regular maintenance program. The sand would typically be dumped in the Gulf, but the Corps of Engineers thought the sand would be of better use restoring Egmont Key. By the end of the project, the project will have moved 600,000 cubic yards of sand from the shipping channel to the shores of Egmont Key.
On a recent trip to pull down Egmont Key Lighthouse’s holiday decorations, Egmont Key Alliance volunteers got to see the striking changes being made to their beloved historic landmark. They were amazed at the contrast between the “old” beach, a skinny stretch of white sand, and the “new” expansive beach. Volunteers recognized that the huge job currently in the works would bring Egmont Key to the forefront of heavenly places in Florida to lay a blanket and soak up some rays.
If you’ve ventured on or near Egmont Key, you may not have noticed that there is at least a day’s worth of activities waiting on the island. Egmont Key was once home to 70 buildings including everything from a barbershop to a jail. Of these 70 buildings, enough ruins remain to give a visitor a glimpse of what life was like on Egmont Key back at the turn of the 19th Century when the island served as an Army facility- Fort Dade (1898-1916). Finely laid brick roads navigate the remaining structures, to take visitors on a magical journey into the past.
Volunteers and visitors frequent the island for many reasons. Some take the trip for the island’s natural landscape including sea grapes, osprey nests and wandering gopher turtles. Others visit for the island’s rich history. Members from the Seminole Indian tribe as well as Confederate and Union soldiers have left their footprints on the islands white sandy beaches. “For me, it’s great escapism,” says volunteer Doug Bradley of Clearwater. Bradley has been visiting the pristine beauty on Egmont Key for roughly 20 years. Still there are some who are simply lighthouse groupies. Bradley remarks, “I get a chuckle out of the people who want their collection books stamped. They travel to all the lighthouses. They’re crazy for lighthouses.”
Volunteers have been sprucing up the island for years, planting fir trees, painting and tending to whatever chores need to be done. Chris Cargo, a volunteer from St. Petersburg, looks forward to adding plantings when the ‘new’ beach is finished. Egmont Key Alliance President, Richard Sanchez guesses they would need about $1.5M* to restore the gallant looks of the original Egmont Key lighthouse. Volunteers such as Doug Bradley would like these restorations to include a foghorn for visitors to see (and hear, adding to the historical character of the Egmont Key experience. Sanchez, however, maintains that the Alliance’s primary focus is for the lighthouse and its island to be, “Restored. Preserved. Protected.”
If you want to further explore the history of Egmont Key, you can pick up a copy of Egmont Key: A History by local Egmont Key Alliance volunteers- Don and Carol Thompson. To find out how you can get involved with the Egmont Key Alliance visit their website at http://www.egmontkey.info/ or email info@egmontkey.info.
* $1.5 million represents Egmont Key’s portion of a survey done a number of years ago by Ken Smith Architects that studied all the lighthouses in Florida at the request of the State. The total cost to restore Florida Lighthouses was $20 million. The restoration would require re-casting all of the iron parts that were removed and replacing the bricks of the watch room.
Information received from Janis Froelich. Story by Kaeley Dawson. Photos courtesy of the Egmont Key Alliance.
