Maria Mestre de los Dolores Andreu (April 25, 1801 – after 1860) was an American known as the second US Coastguard female employee.
[1] Marilyn Dykman said of her "Maria Andreu's leadership and perseverance as keeper of the lighthouse inspired generations of women to shine as female employees within federal service through her beacon of light."
[2] Andreu was the first Hispanic woman to serve in the Coast Guard and the first to command a federal shore installation.
According to a report in the St. Augustine Examiner on December 10, 1859, he was whitewashing the tower when the scaffolding collapsed and he fell about 60 feet onto the roof of the building where oil for the light was stored.
[4] Maria served as keeper at a salary of $400 ($13,564 in 2023) a year until 1861, when the light was ordered darkened by the then Confederate States Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, and George C.