{"nrhp_refnum":"76002014","name":"Point Isabel Lighthouse","other_names":["Port Isabel Lighthouse"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Off TX 100","address_restricted":false,"city":"Port Isabel","county":"Cameron County","state":"TX","lat":26.077807561000043,"lon":-97.20867801199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-04-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Communications"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An 82-foot brick lighthouse tower on State Highway 100 in Port Isabel, Cameron County, Texas, built in 1852 by the U.S. Treasury Department to guide shipping through Brazos Santiago Pass.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the lighthouse is one of the oldest functioning lighthouses on the Texas Gulf Coast. It served as a lookout post for both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War and has aided mariners near the mouth of the Rio Grande for over a century, with some interruptions.","narrative":"Rising 82 feet above Port Isabel on the Texas Gulf Coast, this brick lighthouse was built in 1852 by the U.S. Treasury Department to guide growing ship traffic through Brazos Santiago Pass near the mouth of the Rio Grande. During the Civil War, soldiers from both sides used it as a lookout, and cannon and musket balls were later found in its walls. The light was refitted in 1866, interrupted in 1888 over a land title dispute, relit in 1895, and extinguished in 1905. It was sold in 1927, then donated to the Texas State Park Board in 1950. The board restored it in 1951 and 1952, adding plaster to the exterior, a concrete platform, and a raised glass dome for visitor access. Today it operates as a state historic park and still works as a navigational aid, making it one of the oldest functioning lighthouses on the Texas coast.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"U. S. Department of Treasury (construction contract with John Garey of Brownsville)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, operated as a state historic park and a functioning navigational aid; restored 1951-52.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.660154-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/9714/40971473/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/76002014.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002014/c00b8a01ec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002014/c00b8a01ec-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Point_Isabel_Lighthouse,_Northeast_of_Brownsville,_Port_Isabel,_Cameron_County,_TX_HABS_TEX,31-POISA,1-_(sheet_0_of_4).tif\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Point_Isabel_Lighthouse,_Northeast_of_Brownsville,_Port_Isabel,_Cameron_County,_TX_HABS_TEX,31-POISA,1-_(sheet_0_of_4).tif"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971473","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Isabel_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7208052"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/cameron-county/point-isabel-lighthouse-76002014/"}