WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH! Did you know? The first female lighthouse keeper in Florida served at the St. Augustine Lighthouse! Maria de los Delores Menstre Andreu, wife of Joseph Andreu, who became the first female lighthouse keeper in Florida. Joseph Andreu was the lighthouse keeper from 1854-1859. He was the cousin of the first St. Augustine Lighthouse Keeper, Juan Andreu, who served from 1824-1845. This first lighthouse was originally called the Spanish Watchtower, completed in 1737 and made of coquina. It replaced a wooden watchtower that the Spanish built. The U.S. government made it Florida’s first lighthouse in 1824. Joseph and Maria Andreu were of Menorcan descent. Their ancestors arrived in Florida as indentured servants at Dr. Andrew Turnbull’s New Smyrna plantation in 1768. Like the other Menorcans, the Andreu family fled New Smyrna and traveled to St. Augustine when Turnbull abandoned his settlement in 1777. The Menorcans became a visible minority in the city, contributin...