Slightly Odd Road Trips: St. Augustine Lighthouse, St. Augustine, FL
The smell of cigar smoke hits you at the top of the 219 steps. No one’s been smoking. The keeper’s office has been empty since 1955.
Skip the beaches and the fountain of youth line. Florida’s
oldest port hides a 165-foot tower where two little girls died playing, and
people say they never stopped.
The Legends: Documented as Reported
Legend #1: The Pittee Girls
In 1873, during construction, lighthouse keeper HezekiahPittee’s daughters were playing on a cart used to haul supplies. The cart
broke, plunged into the bay, and both girls drowned. Visitors and staff report
giggling on the tower stairs, small handprints on the lens room glass, and a
girl in a blue velvet dress on the catwalk. Ghost Hunters filmed here and
caught audio of a child saying, “Help me.” Night security guards report
seeing children at the top when the tower is locked.
Legend #2: The Smoking Keeper
Peter Rasmussen was the keeper from 1885 to 1909. He smoked cigars
in the watch room. People report the strong smell of cigar smoke at the top,
even when it’s windy. Staff says the door to the lens room opens on its own.
Some visitors report a man in a blue keeper’s uniform nodding at them before
vanishing.
Legend #3: The Man in Blue
Beyond Rasmussen, guests report a tall man in a 19th-century
keeper’s uniform on the grounds. He’s been seen near the oil house and walking the seawall at dusk. He doesn’t respond to questions. Maritime museum staff
have logged dozens of reports over 30 years.
But it’s not just legends. It’s Real History.
St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European
settlement in the US, founded in 1565. The current lighthouse was built between
1871 and 1874, replacing an older Spanish watchtower. The Pittee girls’ deaths
are documented in local records from July 10, 1873. The lighthouse was manned
until 1955, then automated. The keeper’s house burned in 1970. The site is now
the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. The tower is active, and it’s
still an aid for navigation. Over 200,000 people climb it yearly. It’s on the
National Register of Historic Places.
St. Augustine Lighthouse Tour Info:
📍 100 Red Cox Dr, St.
Augustine, FL 32080
🕐 Open: 9am-6pm daily
| Last tower climb at 5:30pm | Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas
💵 Admission: $14.95
adult, $12.95 senior/child | It includes museum and tower climb
📞 904-829-0745 |
staugustinelighthouse.org
🅿 Free parking on site |
It gets packed, so arrive early
⚠ Note: 219 steps to the top
with no elevator. The tower closes in high winds and lightning. It’s very hot
in summer, but the keeper’s house museum has A/C.
Perfect for ghost hunters, history buffs, and anyone Googling
“most haunted lighthouse in America” or “St. Augustine ghost tours.”
⚠ Warning: Those 219 steps are
narrow and steep. If you have heart issues or a fear of heights, stay in the
museum. Don’t climb during storms. Lightning loves that tower. Remember that
it’s an active aid to navigation. Don’t mess with the lens.
👻 Have you heard the
girls giggling on the stairs? Have you smelled cigar smoke? Drop your
lighthouse story below and tag the friend who’d climb 219 steps for a ghost.
Slightly Odd Society
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About the Author
Author Ed Sweeney documents folklore, odd history, hauntings, and cryptid cases at slightlyoddamerica.com. He wrote Slightly Odd Fitchburg: The Odd and Haunted History of Central Massachusetts, is a content creator, and founder of the Slightly Odd Society
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