Frank's Island

In 1803, the still fledgling United States of America purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in order to establish control over the Mississipi River and its watershed. One of the first steps in marking the new territory was the construction of a lighthouse at the river's mouth. Just three months after the purchase was completed, Congress authorized $25,000 for a lighthouse to mark the river. However, unforeseen circumstances would delay its lighting for nearly two decades.

At the time, very few Americans had made it far enough west to see the river, and of the few who had, even fewer still could imagine a structure as imposing as a lighthouse balanced on the Mississippi's seemingly bottomless depths of mud and muck. The architect of the U.S. Capitol building, Benjamin H. Latrobe, proposed a magnificent Gothic Revival-style edifice to mark the Mississippi, surrounded by an ornate Doric customs complex. It seems that Latrobe fits rather squarely into the category of those who had never seen the river, nor known the dangers of its muddy depths.

Before any lighthouse could be built, the importance of the river shifted and grew exponentially. Originally, the river's importance was based on national security; the War of 1812, during which the river played a pivotal role, ended with the Battle of New Orleans, which further punctuated not only American Independence but also the importance of the Mississipi River for travel across the new American land. As the war ended and national security concerns were set aside, the economic importance of the river came to the fore. Americans were pouring into New Orleans, making it the United States's new capital of commerce and trade. The need for a lighthouse was never greater.

Of the early voices involved in the tower's establishment, those closest to the site, such as the local customs collector, warned strongly against the erection of a brick or stone tower, arguing that these materials would be much too difficult to obtain, and once obtained and the tower erected, they would sink or be washed away at the first flood. The customs collector, familiar with the whims of the river, proposed a practical and lightweight tower, constructed of hewn cypress timbers, measuring 80 to 100 feet tall. As a matter of fact, the collector preferred not to build a tower at all; he argued that a floating beacon could satisfy the mariners' needs and that it would be much more capable of withstanding the river's whims.

Unfortunately, the voices advocating for a wooden tower were not heard, and plans proceeded to build a lighthouse according to a modified version of Latrobe's designs. In 1816, Latrobe's son, Henry, drew up blueprints based upon his father's plan. Henry Latrobe eliminated some of the more pretentious aspects of his father's design, deciding that the federal complex was unnecessary to the light's function. However, he retained the circular dwelling, stone piazza, and inverted arch foundation. The posted contract received no bidders, as its complexity and design intensity frightened away reasonable contractors all too familiar with the waywardness of the muddy river. Finally, in 1817, the Treasury Department's commissioner of revenue goaded his old friend, Winslow Lewis, into taking the job. Lewis was a Boston ropemaker, inventor, and chandler who supplied lamps and sperm oil to light stations on the Atlantic Coast. The Frank's Island Light would be the first of more than 80 lights he would build for the United States.

Lewis was cautious on his first, and likely his most demanding, construction venture. He insisted on multiple provisions in the contract. First of all, he would attempt the experimental foundation only if he would be exonerated if it failed. Second, he insisted that the government choose an official inspector to oversee construction and ensure that Lewis and his men followed the complex plans exactly. Finally, he would accept no less than $79,000 for the whole work. No other lighthouse had cost this much nor would cost this much for decades to follow.

In 1818, Lewis purchased the materials for the light and began work on the island. By the end of the year, brickwork began to rise from the inverted arch foundation. But within a few months of the expected completion, the cracks started to appear. In January of 1819, one side of the foundation suddenly settled, only 8 days before the tower's completion. The masonry was a spiderweb of cracks. Columns toppled into the mud. 

Eventually, the U.S. attorney general ruled that Lewis should be paid over $85,000 for his work and the materials, as he had faithfully followed Latrobe's plans, however absurd. Lewis received payment in 1820, and later that year, Latrobe died of yellow fever. The U.S. government now owned a pile of ornate rubble at the mouth of the Mississippi. But Winston Lewis was not finished with Frank's Island. Lewis offered to rescue the endeavor, rebuilding the tower on a foundation of his own design. A tower serving the needs of the mariners, if not the architects of Washington, would cost just under $10,000. 

After a short construction, the tower was completed and lit in March of 1823. Its 30 lamps were elevated 82 feet above sea level, making it the tallest and most powerful lighthouse on the Gulf Coast until 1858. The Frank's Island Lighthouse guided mariners to the Mississippi River passes until 1856, when nearby Pass a l'Outre received an iron tower. The U.S. government learned a pricey, though perhaps quite valuable, lesson. Winslow Lewis could build lighthouses. Lewis went on to become the United State's premier lighthouse builder, completing over 80 different lights during his lifetime. His tower at Frank's Island still stands today, though the island itself has long since disappeared. The old tower stands in nearly a fathom of water.