Biloxi Lighthouse, MS, photo by Alex North

If you travel on Highway 90 along the Gulf coast in Biloxi, Mississippi, you might be surprised to see a lighthouse in the median of the four-lane highway.

The Biloxi Lighthouse is unique for several reasons. One is its place in the median of a highway, the only lighthouse with such a location. Of course, it wasn’t always in that situation. Originally, a two-lane road passed by the lighthouse on the north side behind the keepers house. But after a storm destroyed the keepers house and removed some of the sand beneath the lighthouse causing it to lean, the land was reinforced and another two-lanes of road was added on the Gulf side, leaving the lighthouse in the middle.

Biloxi Lighthouse, 1901, showing keepers house and oil house behind, Library of Congress photo

Another special feature of the lighthouse is its history of women lighthouse keepers. Although the first keeper was a man, in the next 92 years the lighthouse earned the distinction of being kept by female keepers for more years than any other lighthouse in the United States. In fact one of the keepers, Maria Younghans served for 51 years, retiring at age 77.

But why is the Biloxi lighthouse the only Mississippi lighthouse still standing of the original ten built to mark the Mississippi coastline? Despite being hit by several hurricanes, including two of the worst in Gulf Coast history, Camille in 1969 and Katrina in 2005, why has it remained? The answer is its core. Stephen Pleasonton, Fifth Auditor of the United States Treasury Department, announced he planned to put a cast iron lighthouse at Biloxi to prove its strength. Following a $12,000 appropriation by Congress on March 3, 1847 and competed in 1848, the Biloxi Lighthouse became the first cast-iron tower in the South.

And even though the storm surge of hurricanes managed to do some damage, with Camille reaching 17.5 feet on the tower and Katrina reaching 21.5 feet, the cast-iron tower survived.

Biloxi Lighthouse, photo by Kraig Anderson

 

The importance of having a strong core can be applied to people as well. There are many times we encounter the storms of life and feel as though we might cave in, but our faith in God carries us through. That faith, belief and trust that God is our strength, is our core, and will keep us standing no matter what comes our way.

 

 

The Bible says in Isaiah 41, verse 10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”