St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum

What St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum does

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Inc. is a Florida-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1988 by the Junior Service League of St. Augustine, operating the historic 1874 St. Augustine Light Station — a 165-foot working lighthouse with an original first-order Fresnel lens — as a publicly accessible heritage destination. The organization generates revenue across eight streams: general admission tickets, premium specialty tours (Dark of the Moon Ghost Experience, Sunset Moonrise, Twilight at the Top, Lighthouse Keeper's Tour, and a $500/person Lens Room Tour), seven-tier annual memberships ($35-$500), an e-commerce gift shop, an annual boat-drawing raffle ($5/ticket), donations, private event rentals, and educational programs. The core technology footprint is unusual for a museum: a working aid-to-navigation equipped with the Stationkeeper system that integrates with the U.S. Coast Guard's Automatic Identification System (AIS) to transmit vessel advisories and whale-sighting data.

The museum operates a research arm, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP, est. 1997), which has conserved over 3,400 objects from submerged archaeological sites and partners with Florida State University, Texas A&M, the University of the French Antilles, and the Institute of Maritime History on projects including the Junon frigate identification. The permanent collection exceeds 25,000 items spanning lighthouse keeper tools to WWII Coast Guard artifacts. The Heritage Boatworks volunteer program (est. 2007) has produced 19+ period-accurate wooden watercraft using archival plans. Customer segments are predominantly individual visitors and families (primary), with secondary segments in K-12 school groups, private event hosts, and annual members/donors. Distribution is via the museum's e-commerce ticketing platform, walk-up sales at the visitor center, and direct school-group bookings. Leadership includes Executive Director Kathy Fleming, LAMP Director Chuck Meide, Chief Curator Jason Titcomb, Retail and Finance Director Lee Capitano, and Education Manager Hannah Millhollon. The organization completed a property acquisition in 2022 to consolidate operations and provide permanent collection-storage expansion.

Name

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum

Legal name

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Inc.

Website

https://staugustinelighthouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum is a Florida nonprofit that operates the 1874 historic lighthouse as a heritage visitor destination, offering tower climbs, premium specialty tours, tiered memberships, educational programs, archaeological research via LAMP, and a volunteer boatbuilding program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Museum & Cultural Heritage Tourism

NAICS

Museums (71211), Historical Sites (712120)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Monuments, Statues & Memorials (THAJACAB)

Keywords

• Maritime museum services
• Historic lighthouse tours
• Maritime archaeology research
• Heritage boatbuilding education
• Museum educational programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Augustine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. General Admission Tickets: Visitors pay for admission to climb the lighthouse tower, explore the Keepers' House, visit exhibits, and access grounds. Children under 44 inches are admitted free. Pricing varies by age category (adult, senior, child).
2. Specialty Tours: Premium experiences including Dark of the Moon Ghost Tours, Sunset Moonrise tours with champagne and hors d'oeuvres, Twilight at the Top, Lighthouse Keeper's Tours, and exclusive Lens Room Tours ($500/person before sunrise.
3. Membership Subscriptions: Annual memberships (Lamplighter $35 to Guardian $500) provide unlimited admission, gift shop discounts, tour discounts, restaurant partner discounts, and event access. All memberships expire one year from purchase.
4. Gift Shop Sales: E-commerce storefront selling lighthouse-themed merchandise including books, apparel, souvenirs, ornaments, and collectibles. Brick and naming opportunity purchases also generate revenue.
5. Heritage Boat Works Boat Drawing: Annual raffle held during Luminary Night offering hand-crafted wooden boats. Tickets cost $5 each with winners selected at the event.
6. Donations: Tax-deductible charitable contributions from individuals, corporate sponsors, and donors supporting preservation, education, and maritime heritage programs.
7. Private Events & Rentals: After-hours private experiences, ghost tours, engagements, elopements, specialty school programs, and limited wedding ceremonies hosted on grounds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum operates a working 1874 lighthouse and maritime museum offering general admission, specialty guided tours, educational programs, exhibits, heritage boatbuilding, and archaeological research. The nonprofit sells ticketed visitor experiences, annual memberships, gift shop merchandise, summer camps, school programs, and private event rentals, with all activities centered on preserving and presenting 500+ years of maritime history tied to the Nation's Oldest Port.

Product overview

The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum is a nonprofit maritime heritage organization offering a unified visitor experience centered on its historic 1874 lighthouse and preserved light station. The core product is General Admission, which includes climbing the 165-foot tower and accessing indoor exhibits (WRECKED!, Shrimpin' Ain't Easy), outdoor Heritage Boatworks, and nature trails. The portfolio includes premium add-on experiences (Lens Room Tours at $500/person, Sunset Moonrise, Twilight at the Top, Dark of the Moon Ghost Experience) and seasonal events (Lighthouse Illuminations during holidays). Education products include Summer Camp (ages 6-10) and Group Tours for schools. Revenue products include Gift Shop retail, Membership subscriptions (7 tiers from $35-$500), and commemorative Bricks & Naming Opportunities. The Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) conducts underwater archaeology research but is not a visitor-facing product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Admission Full-day museum admission including climbing the 1874 lighthouse tower (219 steps), access to all indoor and outdoor exhibits, Heritage Boatworks viewing, nature trails, and daily interpretive programs; pricing varies by adult, senior, and child age categories with children under 44 inches admitted free.
• Lighthouse Keeper's Tour

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Alliance of MuseumscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional museum organization providing accreditation standards, best practices guidance, and industry credibility for museum operations and collections management.
• Florida Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and Florida Council on Arts & CulturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState arts and culture agency providing partial sponsorship for interpretative programs and Heritage Boatworks educational programming.
• Florida Lighthouse AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit supporting historic preservation, restoration and educational programs at Florida's light stations. Provided Gene Oakes Grant for Coastal Barracks roof project.
• Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) Research PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Florida State University, Texas A&M University, University of the French Antilles in Martinique, and Institute of Maritime History for archaeological research projects including Junon frigate identification.
• Museum of Florida HistoryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsors annual National History Day State Competition; museum provides judges and prizes including specialty award category 'Lighting the Way to Education.'
• Junior Service League of St. AugustinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal founding organization that led restoration effort beginning 1980, raised $1.2 million, restored Keepers' House after 1970 fire, and opened museum in 1988.
• St. Johns CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounty purchased property from US Coast Guard in 1971 with intention of demolishing Keepers' House; partnership enabled preservation and museum development.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (National Park Service): An iconic U.S. lighthouse managed within a national seashore, offering climbs and interpretive programming. Comparable lighthouse attraction but operated by the NPS at a different governance and scale.
• Split Rock Lighthouse (Minnesota Historical Society): A historic lighthouse site operated as a state historic site with museum, tower, and educational programming. Comparable lighthouse heritage attraction under a different governance and geographic model.
• The Mariners' Museum: A major U.S. maritime museum with extensive collection, USS Monitor Center, and research library. Same category — maritime heritage museum — but at a far larger institutional scale.
• Mystic Seaport Museum: A much larger New England maritime museum with shipyard exhibits, historic vessels, boatbuilding demonstrations, and school programs. Same core category but significantly larger scale, broader scope, and more developed educational offerings.

Direct peers

• Ponce Inlet Lighthouse & Museum: A Florida lighthouse museum operating a historic tower climb, keeper tours, and educational programs. Directly comparable to St. Augustine in scale, geography, lighthouse-climb product, and nonprofit visitor attraction model.
• Portland Head Light & Museum: A historic New England lighthouse site with museum exhibits, keeper's quarters tours, and seasonal programming. Comparable as a working lighthouse museum with tower climbs and educational interpretation.
• Tybee Island Light Station & Museum: A Southeast U.S. lighthouse museum offering tower climbs, guided tours, and heritage programming. Closely comparable operating model and product mix to the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum.
• Salem Maritime National Historic Site: A National Park Service site preserving a historic seaport with visitor centers, ranger tours, and maritime interpretation. Comparable as a destination maritime heritage attraction with educational programming and conservation mission.
• USS Constitution Museum: A nonprofit maritime museum adjacent to a historic naval vessel, offering exhibits, family programming, and school group experiences. Highly comparable nonprofit operating model and maritime heritage focus.
• Key West Lighthouse & Shipwreck Museum: A Florida-based lighthouse museum combining tower climbs with shipwreck and maritime heritage exhibits. Overlaps directly on lighthouse tourism plus maritime history narrative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/StAugustineLH
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/St-Augustine-Lighthouse-and-Museum/84623540271
• Instagraminstagram.com/stauglighthouse
• Xx.com/firstlighthouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lighthouse-archaeological-maritime-program

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum