January 7, 1860 was the day Maria Mestre de los Dolores Andreu made history and paved a way for Hispanic-Americans in not only Florida, but around the world. Maria Andreu was the first woman to become a lighthouse keeper, the first Hispanic-American woman to serve in the Coast Guard, and the first Hispanic-American woman to command a federal shore installation. Maria Andreu served as the St. Augustine lighthouse keeper after her husband, Juan Andreu, died in 1859 from a scaffolding incident. Many people saw that Maria was the most qualified person to become the new keeper, due to her living in the lighthouse and assisting her husband in his work. As said on “staugustine.com” with the experience and knowledge that she had, the people in the community of St. Augustine rallied together and got Maria Andreu to become the new keeper for the St. Augustine lighthouse. The job of a lighthouse keeper was not an easy task. Lighthouse keepers were …show more content…
In Maria’s case, she had to take care of her five children by herself, feed, and educate them. But not only did the keeper have to take care of their family, they were also expected to take care of any mariners that were in distress. Maria Andreu served as the St. Augustine lighthouse keeper for 3 years and up until the Civil War began. As said on the website, “America Comes Alive” in the “Hispanic Heritage” section, “When the Civil War began, Florida, a Confederate state, did not want to provide guidance for Union vessels that were trying to take over as many ports as they could along the east coast.” So with that in mind, Maria Andreu and harbormaster Paul Arnau hid the lens to keep the Union ships away. Even though the lens was hidden, in 1862 the Confederate army decided to extinguish the lighthouse since it could make St. Augustine a target for Union