Location Information
(for the Biloxi Lighthouse)
Name:Biloxi Lighthouse
Address:1061 Beach Boulevard
City/County:Biloxi, Harrison County
Architectural Information
Construction Date:1848
No. of Stories:48FT.
Registration Information
NR Listing Date:03 Oct 1973
View National Register Nomination Form
Mississippi Landmark Information
Designated:06-10-1987
Recorded:11-04-1987
Book/Vol. No.:V. 189, p. 446
Local Designation Information
Local District Name:West Central Historic District
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Local Landmark Listing Date:07 Sep 2010
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Context/Comments
Most prominent landmark on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Conveyed to the City of Biloxi by the U.S. Coast Guard in August 1968.

This structure was listed on the National Register on 3 October 1973. It was designated a Mississippi Landmark on 10 June 1987.

The Biloxi Lighthouse is included in "The Buildings of Biloxi" (1976, 2000, and 2010); "Maritime Biloxi (Images pf America)" (2000) (p. 10); "The Majesty of Eastern Mississippi and the Coast" (2004) (p. 90); "Must See Mississippi" (2007) (pp. 66-68); "Biloxi (Images pf America)" (2009) (p. 58); and "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (pp. 352-353, GC34).
Brief Description
This is a 61-ft.-tall, cast-iron, tapered cylindrical lighthouse with a cast-iron dome and weathervane finial. A cast-iron picketed balustrade encircles the watch room. Inside the tower, the walls are brick veneer and a spiral cast iron stair, affixed to the central post, extends from the base to the watch room. There are four windows. The light house has a 3 ft. circular concrete base surrounded by a picketed balustrade.
Historic Information
The Biloxi Lighthouse was engineered in Baltimore, and shipped to Biloxi in pieces in 1848, making it the first cast-iron lighthouse to be erected in the south and only the second in the U.S. From 1861-1866 the lighthouse was non-operational due to the Civil War. Following the Civil War, Marie Younghands served as Keeper of the Lighthouse from 1867-1919, serving in this role longer than any other individual. The lighthouse was automated in 1926. From 1939-1968, the U.S. Coast Guard obtained responsibility for the site, after which the lighthouse was deeded to the City of Biloxi. Significant damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in Aug. 2005 was repaired by the Collins Construction Co. from 2008 to 2010.