The Dames Point Light marked an 8-foot-deep (2.4 m) shoal at a sharp bend in the St. Johns River in Florida that was a danger to ships heading to or from Jacksonville.

During the Civil War, the lightship was towed to Jacksonville, and all equipment was stored on shore.

On March 3, 1871 Congress appropriated $20,000 "for erecting an iron screw-pile lighthouse on the shoals off Dames Point, St. John's River in the State of Florida".

During the winter of 1871-1872 the structure was framed at the workshop at Lazaretto Point, Maryland and the iron work prepared under contract.

The lighthouse stood on a shoal in 8 feet of water, being built on six wood piles, with cast iron sleeves, and had two fender-piles, one up and the other down stream.