In 1859, a woman lighthouse keeper

St. Augustine Historical Society

In 1859, a Minorcan woman, Maria Andreu, became lighthouse keeper at the St Augustine Lighthouse after her husband died in a fall from a scaffolding when he was whitwashing the light tower. The St. Augustine Record tells the story of this tough early Florida resident who became the first Hispanic American woman to serve in the Coast Guard. She was lighthouse keeper from 1859 until 1862.