The 167-year-old brick St. Johns River Lighthouse, long inaccessible behind the fences of Naval Station Mayport, could be relocated to public waterfront land in Mayport Village. A new feasibility study suggests the lighthouse can be moved to city-owned riverfront property, restored for public access, and incorporated as a landmark in Mayport’s waterfront development plans.
Study finds the move is possible
As reported by Spot On Florida, highlights from a 2025 feasibility study indicate that relocating the St. Johns River Lighthouse off the base and onto city-owned waterfront property is technically doable. Preservation leaders say the study examined the tower’s structural condition, potential methods for lifting and transporting the brick structure, and conceptual locations on Mayport Village land.
Spot On Florida also shared a short video from First Coast News that offers a quick look at the tower and the early relocation talk.
Why the move matters
First lit in 1859 and decommissioned in 1929, the 81-foot St. Johns River Lighthouse is one of Mayport’s oldest surviving maritime landmarks. Today, it sits behind a fence at Naval Station Mayport, largely out of reach for the public and mostly visible to people who already work on base.
Local reporting and preservation advocates note that when the Navy built an airfield in the 1940s, fill dirt buried the lighthouse’s original doorway. Volunteers now have to climb in through a window to access the interior, which is not exactly a visitor-friendly setup.
The Mayport Lighthouse Association has already gathered proposals from experienced heavy-structure movers, including ICC Commonwealth, to study how the brick tower could be safely lifted, carried off federal land and set down intact on a new waterfront site.
Funding and who’s behind it
The Mayport Lighthouse Association has landed key early grants to get the project moving. Action News Jax reported that the group received $75,000 from the Florida Lighthouse Association and $10,000 from the United States Lighthouse Society. According to the United States Lighthouse Society, the feasibility award is listed among its recent grants.
That seed money covered the 2025 feasibility work and helped the association bring in engineers and preservation contractors to sketch out what a full relocation and restoration would look like, from the engineering details down to the public-access experience.
Next steps and timeline
The association shared highlights from the 2025 feasibility work at a January anniversary event, outlining what it would take to give the lighthouse a new public home. Leaders say the next move is to seek a formal transfer of the site from the Navy before they start raising serious money for an actual relocation.
Jacksonville Today reported that organizers are eyeing a five- to ten-year window for the move, depending on how quickly they can secure federal approvals and private and public funding. In other words, this will not be an overnight operation, but the roadmap is starting to take shape.
Legal and ownership hurdles
For now, the lighthouse sits on federal property inside Naval Station Mayport, which means any relocation hinges on the Navy. Preservation leaders and local reporting point out that the project would require formal Navy sign-off and likely a structured disposal or conveyance process before the tower can legally leave the base.
On top of that, supporters say they still need to work through clear title, additional engineering reviews, historic preservation approvals and a funding stack that will probably involve multiple agencies and private donors. Those, they say, are the biggest remaining obstacles between the lighthouse and a new public address.
Supporters say the project could result in a restored, publicly accessible landmark that highlights Mayport’s maritime history and serves as a visual centerpiece for future waterfront development. The Mayport Lighthouse Association continues community outreach and posts feasibility study results, event updates, and donation information on its website as it moves into the next phase of planning and fundraising.
