| In his book "Lighthouses and lightshops of the Northern Gulf of Mexico" (1976), David Cipra states: " The first U.S. lighthouses on the northern Gulf Coast were apparently copies of the proven New England brick towers. In fact, much of the brick used on the Gulf was shipped from New England, despite the availability locally of high-quality clay. . . . The Service soon found that the massive wegith of a brick tower was too much for the softer soil on the Gulf Coast. Of the 40 or more brick lighthouses constructed, at least 25 sank into the bottom or blew down, having no solid footing." In this respect, the Round Island Lighthouse is significant as it represent one of the oldest standing structures of its type on the Gulf Coast. Round Island was a part of the land granted by the Spanish Governor Grimarest to Francisco Krebs on Dec. 13, 1783 and recorded in translated records in the probate court at Mobile, Alabama. This structure was listed on the National Register on 9 October 1986, from a nomination prepared by Richard Brook, an archaeologist with the Bureau of Land Management. It was designated a Mississippi Landmark on 25 February 1987. The lighthouse was severely damaged by Hurricane Georges in October 1998. Recognized by MHT as one of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi in 1999, it was subsequently partially re-built. It received even heavier damage in Hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005. |