... after Sanibel Island was developed as a successful cattle export location, merchants, cattlemen & seamen attempted to get a lighthouse assigned to their Point Ybel Port. Although requests were repeatedly filed, dated from 1856 forward... a light wasn't financed until 1883. A steel skeleton tower was prefabricated in Jersey City, New Jersey and transported by sea to Florida, where it promptly disappeared beneath the waves as the ship carrying the tower sank. The steel tower was recovered, salvaged and erected in 1884. When everything was back together, the 98-foot tall tower was lit with a 3rd-order, white Fresnel lens. The Sanibel Island light was electrified in 1962, the Fresnel lens removed and replaced by a 300 millimeter light from a scrapped lightship, then followed by a 190 millimeter beacon in the 1980's. The property was transferred from the Coast Guard to the Bureau of Land Management in 2000 and in 2004 to the City of Sanibel. This painting is from a 2017 road trip... the shore side is now overgrown & this inland view is the clearest look at the tower.