The Cape Florida Lighthouse Survived a War

In 1836, during the Second Seminole War, warriors attacked the Cape Florida Lighthouse and set fire to the wooden stairs inside. The keeper, John Thompson, climbed to the top with a musket and a keg of gunpowder, survived by lying flat on the stone deck while the fire burned below him, and was rescued the next day by a Navy ship. The lighthouse has stood here since 1825, and that's probably the wildest thing that's ever happened on Key Biscayne, though spring break has made some attempts.

The guided tour climbs 109 iron steps. The docent tells Thompson's story at the halfway point where fire damage is still visible in the brick. Touch the scorch marks. They're faint but real and almost two hundred years old.

At the base, a small exhibit room has artifacts from the keeper's quarters — buttons, pottery shards, a corroded key. Most people blow through on their way to the beach, but these objects are what turn a building into a story.