About Us

The St. Augustine Lighthouse is dedicated to discovering, preserving, presenting and keeping alive the story of nation's oldest port. We do this in many ways:

• Educational opportunities
• Local and national preservation efforts
• Maritime archaeological research
• Safeguarding the memories and precious belongings of those that came before us.

On-Going Preservation

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the effort to save the lighthouse. The Keepers' House was the target of arson and had fallen into disrepair when the Junior Service League adopted the project. As a result of this successful preservation effort, the St. Augustine Lighthouse has become a model for other lighthouses nationwide. Lighthouse staff is now recognized as national experts in restoration and museum operations. So much so that the lighthouse has been sought after to develop and facilitate conferences and to mentor museums nationwide.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse lobbies for national preservation issues in Tallahassee and Capitol Hill. We proudly work directly with government agencies to insure that America's castles survive for generations to come.

Preserving the Past for Future Generations

The lighthouse stores a vast collection of WWII artifacts including thousands of pictures (some were saved from being sent to the dumpster). The lighthouse also has an oral history library in its permanent collection that continues to grow.

Among our efforts is a desire to grow our entire collection. We are an official partner of the Library of Congress' Veteran's History Project.

• Through our Maritime Memory Project, we are expanding our knowledge of WWII military service in the waters of the first coast.
• We are actively seeking local stories to share about this great time in the First Coast's history.

LAMP

Through our research arm, we study, investigate, preserve and interpret the waters of St. Augustine and Northeast Florida. There are over 270 known shipwrecks off of the coast of St. Augustine and its surrounding waters. We are working to uncover these wrecks in order to strengthen our knowledge of the nation's oldest port. We work to preserve the artifacts brought up from these wrecks in order to tell their stories. These waters are submerged cultural resources for our country.

Our Work with Young People

LAMP was instrumental in developing the first underwater archaeology program to enter a public school system. We work with local high schools to put students in the water with marine archaeologists. We introduce over 54,000 school age children to the marine sciences and maritime history through:

• Summer camps
• Home-school days
• Hands-on tours
• Program scholarships for disadvantaged youth

We are changing the lives of high school and college students through:

• Internships
• Encouraging scholarly investigations
• Influencing career choices

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