As early as 1851 plans were made for the erection of a series of great offshore lighthouses to mark the dangerous Florida Reef.

[3] American Shoal was built by a Trenton, New Jersey firm and took only 13 months to fabricate, ship, and erect on site.

[3] American Shoal Light was built in wrought iron on a screw-pile foundation with a platform and a skeletal tower.

[10] Elements of the United States Coast Guard repatriated four of the refugees, and interned the other twenty at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.

[12] In late 2021 the U.S. General Services Administration put out an invitation for bids for the auction of the lighthouse.