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USF Libraries Exhibits

Wreckers

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Dunn, Hampton. Key's Lighthouses Wrecked the 'Wreckers'. Tampa, Fla.: Hampton Dunn, [196-?].

Naval navigation could be extremely hazardous in the waters around Key West.  Lighthouses provided some guidance in the dark, but not enough.  Recovering property from wrecks was so profitable that it became a popular practice to place decoy lights along the shore to coax unsuspecting ships into treacherous shallows.