I fell in love with this neglected little structure a few years ago. Located on the eastern end of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, the West Rigolets Lighthouse marks the spot where the lake meets the western end of the Rigolets (which connects the lake to a few other bodies of water, and eventually out to the Gulf of Mexico).

The lighthouse is visible when driving across the Hwy. 90 bridge that crosses the Rigolets. It stands just a mile or so away from Fort Pike, a Civil War era fort that is open to the public. The lighthouse is not accessible by land.

First, a little history. Built in 1855, it has the distinction of being the only lighthouse whose keeper was killed during the Civil War. This particular keeper was found shot to death after just his second night on the job. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1945, and is now privately owned.

Anyway, I had casually noticed this lonely looking, isolated building numerous times, but never paid much attention to it, thinking it was just a fishing camp or something. It wasn’t until I came across it while boating with my wife and kids and saw it up close that I realized it was actually an abandoned lighthouse.

From then on, I more frequently chose to take this longer route home from work (which involves going around the lake instead of across it), just to catch a quick glance of the lighthouse. For some reason, learning that this was a historic lighthouse, and having seen it up close, caused me to become very interested in it.

I had recently taken photographs from the opposite shore, but was not satisfied with the results. Of course, the best way to photograph it would obviously be from a boat, so I went out on a pleasant, but slightly chilly Saturday in February 2002 to get some good photos of the lighthouse.

When I arrived at the site, I took several shots of the exterior from the boat.

I then proceeded to figure out a way to get into the building. I had brought along a ladder, but needed first to find a way to get onto land near the station, preferably keeping my shoes dry. The water immediately around the lighthouse turned out to be very shallow (as would be expected), but was also full of partially submerged chunks of concrete and other boat-unfriendly stuff.

After several failed attempts of finding a decent place to beach the boat, I finally gave up and just gently plowed onto some soft mud in shallow water (about 10 feet or so away from the shore), which my feet promptly sank into upon exiting the boat (so much for keeping my shoes clean and dry!). After wrestling the ladder out, and tying up to a small fallen tree branch (just to make sure the boat didn’t float away), all while struggling through the gooey mud, I made it to dry land.

The first thing I noticed was that the wood beams on the underside of the structure were charred.

It appears that someone had camped out in the building, and decided to built a campfire on the wooden floor. This lighthouse almost met the same fate as the Point Aux Herbes station which was located several miles away on the south shore of the lake and was burned down in the 1950’s by vandals.

Also, the concrete pilings on which the structure rests appeared to be in poor condition, with many cracks readily apparent, and eroded concrete revealing parts of the reinforcing iron.

Interestingly, the water level of the lake in relation to this piece of land seems to have dropped considerably (or the tide was just very low when I was there)... an old photo of the station taken when it was still in use shows water covering pretty much all the ground in the vicinity of the lighthouse.

Behind the lighthouse were two rather large brick cylinders.

A little research reveals that these were bases on which sat a pair of large wooden cisterns, which held the station's water supply. Note what appears to be a clearly visible waterline a little more than halfway up.

Next to these were the remains of a structure that vaguely resembled a boat lift, with pilings extending out into the water.

I have since been told that this was actually an add-on kitchen, as seen in these photos, which were taken about 10 years ago:

(courtesy Anton Zanki Jr.)

(courtesy Anton Zanki Jr.)

This somewhat frail looking building was destroyed sometime around 1998.

Off to the other side, a little further away from the main building stood a small brick building which was where the lamp oil was stored.

Next to this building, pairs of pilings begin, which extend off a few hundred feet into the distance.

I am told these pilings are all that's left of a foot bridge that, at one time, provided access to the lighthouse by land.

(courtesy Anton Zanki Jr.)

In this undated photo, probably taken sometime in the 1950's, the first private owner of the lighthouse, Mike Vujnovich (center), sits with friends on the foot bridge.

Some additional photos of the exterior.

Next, I climbed up onto the deck of the lighthouse. I chose to enter at the rear of the building, as most of the outer deck was still present here and due to the slope of the shore, was a shorter climb (by a few rungs, at least). There were boards resting on one of the cistern bases, and up to the deck, which was likely the method of entry for some of the prior curious visitors of the lighthouse.

The floor felt fairly sturdy, though I still took very careful steps, just in case.

There is a deck around the outer perimeter of the building, though sections of it are missing.

The interior had a floorplan approximately like this.

As seen from underneath, a fairly large hole had been burned through the floor. This was the largest of the 4 rooms, and contained doorways to all the other rooms.

The small room off to the right looked as though it may have served as the kitchen (prior to the above mentioned add-on kitchen being built).

The lower section of a brick chimney was visible in this small room, but it did not protrude from the roof, nor did there appear to be a hole where the chimney used to be. Apparently at some point it was removed, and the hole was roofed over.

The other two rooms were approximately the same size, with one having a doorway facing the Rigolets, and the other having a ladder made of 2x4 lumber leading up to where the lamp used to be.

Note the unusual looking vent hole near the top of the wall... this is directly on the other side of the wall from the above mentioned chimney. This room also featured a small closet.

I don't know if this was the original ladder, or was added more recently by a visitor wanting access to the upper level. Judging by the old, weathered look of the wood, I think it's original (though the piece of plywood at the bottom looks improvised).

Climbing the ladder first brings you to a small space underneath the lamp room. I am told that this was where the keeper would usually stay during the night, as it provided shelter from the elements while still allowing him to monitor and tend to the light. This also appeared to be a storage area, with some cubbyholes and a little door that opened, revealing attic space.

Up just a few more steps on another small ladder is the cramped lamp room (obviously any traces of the lighting equipment have long since vanished).

Looking up at the lamp room.

The floor and access opening of the lamp room.

The view is quite nice from up here.

Here is my boat (stuck in the mud).

Looking out across the Rigolets: a passing sailboat, its occupants likely wondering what the heck I'm doing up here.

Looking east: the Hwy. 90 bridge that crosses the Rigolets.

Here are some photos of the lighthouse when it was in use
(thanks, Jeremy D'Entremont of lighthousedigest.com)

(U.S. Coast Guard)

(National Archives)

The West Rigolets Lighthouse is a unique piece of history, and it would be a shame to see it continue to rot away. Hopefully something can be done soon to save it. It is currently on the Lighthouse Digest's Doomsday List, meaning it is in serious danger of being lost. Fortunately, the lighthouse was apparently very well built, as it has survived numerous hurricanes, while almost all of the secondary structures on the site have vanished over the years.

The good news is that the current owners, the Zanki family of New Orleans, do indeed wish to restore the lighthouse. Of course, this will no doubt be a very difficult project logistically, as access to the site is difficult at best. But the fact that the owners are indeed interested in a restoration is very welcome news.

New Orleans artist Ron Picou has featured the West Rigolets Lighthouse in two of his limited edition serigraphs. (click for larger image)

Lighthouse, 10.5" x16", ©1988 Ron Picou, limited edition of 2,500

Spring Tide, 26" x 15", ©1994 Ron Picou, limited edition of 1,500

Visit Ron's site for more information about these and other beautiful prints available for purchase.

Here is an editorial written by a James Daspit Sr. of Slidell, LA which appeared in the local paper around 1998, arguing against what was apparently a proposed move of the lighthouse (click for larger size):

(courtesy Anton Zanki Jr.)

Anton Zanki Jr. says he was quite surprised when he saw the part that reads "Now there are plans to relocate the lighthouse to Madisonville and restore it as a museum." since his family knew nothing of these plans!

Here are a few more sites with information on the West Rigolets Lighthouse:

http://www.lighthousedigest.com/

http://thelighthousepeople.com/

http://www.harbourlights.com/

http://www.pclnet.net/users/jrmull/westrigolets.html

Here is a great book about lighthouses on and around the Gulf of Mexico by the late David Cipra:

http://users.sitestar.net/~cypress/gulf.htm

Feel free to with questions or comments! I'm not a lighthouse expert, so if you spot any innaccurate information in this page, please let me know!

All photos copyright ©2002 Michael E. Caswell unless otherwise noted