Pointe Aux Herbes

Alternate Name(s):
Grassy Point and Isle Aux Herbes
Year Established:
1875
Existing:
No
Source:
LL-1908
Download:
File Type:
jpg (image/jpeg)

LOCATION

Location:
Lake Pontchartrain
Latitude:
30° 9.29'
Longitude:
89° 51.20'
U.S. State:
Louisiana
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
No
Light List Data:
  1. Pointe Aux Herbes
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Disposition:
Fire Destroyed Superstructure in 1950s
Year Tower Established:
1875
Tower Construction Material:
Wood
Tower Foundation:
Five Piers
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
38
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
38
Tower Shape:
Square
Tower Daymark:
White with Black Lantern
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
No
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1875
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
Wood

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
No
Original Optic Type:
Fifth Order Fresnel, Red
Year Original Lens Installed:
1875
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No

Comments:

Named for its tall grasses, or perhaps its ubiquitous anchor-fouling seaweed, Pointe Aux Herbes (Grassy Point) is located a few miles inside of the Rigolets, on the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The point was marked by a lighthouse in 1875. The congressional appropriation considered it a replacement for the northern shore Bayou Bonfouca Light, which burned during the Civil War, though the light's significantly different placement made it serve a whole new purpose, that of guiding vessels between the Rigolets and the lakeshore ports.

Drawing on previous poor experiences with lighthouses disappearing into the alluvial Louisiana soil, local engineers opted for a foundation similar to that of the massive Southwest Pass Light on the Mississippi River delta. Original plans called for a 28-foot-square, straw-colored building resting on 8-foot brick piers, 4 feet square, resting on a 30-inch-thick slab of concrete and timber. However, the spongy soil of Pointe Aux Herbes proved to be even worse for construction than predicted, and the engineers abandoned all hope of pilings. Instead, a smaller square building with a lantern centered on top was built. The light was first exhibited August 1, 1875, with a red, fifth-order Fresnel lens.

Though the Pointe Aux Herbes Light was protected from southerly storms by the mainland, it was fully exposed to waves from every other direction. In 1888 and 1890, gales washed away all but the lighthouse itself. Over the years, at least five breakwaters were built to protect the site. The station was active until World War II, after which it was discontinued. In the 1950s, vandals burned the superstructure. The remains of the foundation are still visible from the northbound lanes of Interstate 10 as they leave the southern shore of the lake.


Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jan 15, 2018