Florida's tallest lighthouse was built alongside Mosquito Inlet in 1887. This treacherous cut along the Atlantic Coast near New Smyrna, received its first beacon in 1834. Oil to power the lamps never arrived. The following year, after construction, a powerful storm washed away the light keepers quarters and undermined the lighthouse foundation. The Seminole Indians finished off the structure, smashing the lantern room and setting the stairs on fire. The replacement lighthouse was built on the northern shore to avoid further erosion problems, using over a million bricks.
Today, the renamed inlet, Ponce de Leon, also carries over to this well preserved lighthouse station. The light bears the distinction as a National Historic Landmark. Personal small group tours are offered through a program called climb with the keepers. Museum exhibits add a fascinating look at lighthouse equipment, area shipwrecks and lives of the lighthouse keepers.