The tower was originally 28 feet (8.5 m) and equipped with an array of eight lamps and reflectors, first lit in 1831; in 1857 this was replaced with a fourth-order Fresnel lens.

[1] The lighthouse and keeper's dwelling sat in the center of town on the main street on a half-acre (0.2 ha) plot purchased for $250 from Senator Edward Livingston of Louisiana.

In 1860, for example, complaints were registered as to a cupola on an adjoining store; proposal was made to increase the height of the tower in order to clear the obstruction.

[1][4] Restoration of the beacon came at the behest of citizens of the town, and the old lens (which had been located at war's end) was returned to the tower.

[1][4] Although objections were raised by shippers and local residents, they were to no avail: the light was extinguished in 1882 and the property sold the year after.