Who We Are

The Florida Lighthouse Association was founded in 1996 for the purpose of creating awareness of Florida's 31 remaining historic lighthouses, the peril in which they exist and the heroic efforts of citizen activists in protecting, preserving and restoring these treasures. Each lighthouse is unique in history and architecture.

The Florida Lighthouse Association is a consortium of the individual lighthouse organizations and interested individuals from across Florida and the nation. We meet three times annually, rotating the meetings among the various lighthouses. This gives us an opportunity to allow members to personally experience each lighthouse and encourage the membership to support the member lighthouses.

Our Mission

Protecting, Preserving and Restoring Florida's Lighthouses!

The Florida Lighthouse Association is a nonprofit group of citizen activists dedicated to the preservation of the 31 remaining historic lighthouses that line our state's 1350-mile coastline. Once central to the economic growth and settlement of our nation, many of Florida's lighthouses face uncertain futures.

Our mission is to preserve, restore, protect and defend Florida's lighthouse towers, along with their material culture, buildings, artifacts and records to assure that the magic of Florida's lighthouses and lighthouse keepers will be available for the enjoyment and understanding of future generations.

Meet the President

Jon Hill has served as the CEO/Executive Director of the Pensacola Lighthouse and Maritime Museum in Pensacola, Florida since 2009. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology/History & Maritime Studies from the University of West Florida. He has also studied Museology & Organizational Management at Northwestern University. During his tenure, the Pensacola Lighthouse has seen phenominal growth and undergone major, historic restoration.

Regarding the Lighthouse Renovation project, Jon says, “This was the most complicated project I’ve had the pleasure to manage. There were a lot of moving parts and multiple contractors from out of state that were brought together to make this restoration possible. To keep things interesting we had multiple buildings getting new custom roofs in the midst of hurricane season.

In 2017, when the Lighthouse desperately need an administration building, Jon and his team worked to get that done. “We needed an administration building for the museum.” Says Jon, “This project started with a photo of a building that was once on the property, and the proverbial back of the napkin drawing of a suitable floor plan. After a year of budgeting and planning and securing the funds, we broke ground on a replica of the Fort McCree Buoy Tender’s Cottage. For the immediate future it will house the offices, but it was built to easily be converted to either an income generating bed-n-breakfast or additional exhibit space.”

Jon is no stranger to the restoration needs of Florida’s Lighthouses. And his experiences in Pensacola make him well suited to lead the Florida Lighthouse Association into the future.

From the President

Come explore Florida’s lighthouses! Florida didn’t gain statehood until 1845 but there were already 13 lighthouses and 2 lightships protecting our coast and keys. Regrettably, only two of those lighthouses are still standing (Amelia Island and St. Marks). Today, there are 31 lighthouse towers dotted along our 1,350 miles of coastline and 113 miles of keys. These lighthouses need your support and all need continuing restoration work so they will be preserved for future generations.

Florida Lighthouse Association (FLA) is a not-for-profit membership organization. Our members play a critical role in our mission of preserving, restoring, protecting and defending Florida’s remaining lighthouse towers. By joining FLA, you support our mission and will enjoy our three membership meetings that end with a lighthouse visit. Speakers include local historians and sometimes, keeper’s descendants.

Run by a volunteer Board of Directors, FLA supports lighthouse organizations through knowledge sharing and two types of grants. Financial support for FLA’s mission comes from membership dues, charitable gifts and “Visit our Lights” license plate sales.

You can protect Florida’s lighthouses! Here’s how…

• Become a member and support FLA’s mission.
• Make a charitable gift to FLA – gifts from individuals play a major role in helping us operate as an organization and finances our educational and support grants.
• Florida residents buy our specialty license plate for your car. We receive $25 for each new “Visit Our Lights” plate and renewals. FLA commits 90% of these proceeds to grants for Florida lighthouse groups’ 
• historic restoration and preservation efforts.
• Volunteer to serve on a committee.
• Visit a Florida lighthouse.

Thank you for visiting our site and for your interest in lighthouses. Your opinion matters – please send me your comments: President@FloridaLighthouses.org.

Please help keep our lights bright!

Jon Hill
President