The Middle Bay Lighthouse, located in Mobile Bay, began operations on Dec. 1, 1885.

The facility was built on an iron undergirding, and both the tower and the hexagonal keeper's house it supported were patterned after lighthouses operating in Chesapeake Bay. When fog covered the bay, a bell sounded every five seconds as a fog signal. The lighthouse was automated in 1935 and deactivated in 1967.

After decades of neglect, the lighthouse underwent almost $350,000 in renovations under the guidance of the Alabama Historical Commission. The original iron tower and light were replaced with a pole topped by a solar-powered red light. The lighthouse is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Visitors can sail past the structure but are not allowed inside without special permission from the state. Blakeley State Park offers regular cruises past the lighthouse.