💡Celebrating 151 years on October 15, 2025! The second St. Augustine Lighthouse was first lit on October 15, 1874! On October 15, 1874, lighthouse keeper William R. Russell lit the oil lamp inside the new, first-order Fresnel lens for the first time. He most likely walked to the tower from his residence at the old St. Augustine Light Station, upon which the sea was rapidly encroaching. The first lighthouse fell into the ocean by 1880. The lens is 9-feet tall, and Russell would have had to climb inside it to light the lamps. #staugustinelighthouse #light #staugustine #florida #floridahistory #lighthouse