But it wasn't always so.

In 1821, the U.S. government sent the U.S. schooner Alligator to put an end to the pirating off the Florida Keys coastline. That same year, the Alligator engaged the pirates and commanding officer Lieutenant William Allen was killed. Later, the Alligator ran aground on the coral reef. Today, we know that reef as Alligator.

Plans by the U.S. government for building a lighthouse were postponed when Florida joined the Confederacy in 1861, It wasn't until eight years after the end of the Civil War that workers completed the lighthouse at a cost of $185,000 -- $85,000 over budget. Bad weather had caused many delays. And securing the lighthouse to the coral was slow and arduous. A powerful steam engine would lift a 2,000-pound pile driver 18 feet into the air. Each blow of its hammer would result in a one-inch drive into the hard coral rock. Over 125 years later, its foundation still stands secure. A testament to its engineers.

In fact, because of its strong foundation and spindled design, it survived the infamous 1935 Labor Day hurricane that pounded the lighthouse with 20-foot swells and 200-mile-an-hour wind. Waves and water passed right through its base.

Today, visitors and locals are drawn to Alligator and its many fish, underwater plants and coral reefs. The beautiful shallow-water live-coral reef teems with life. The emerald-green water is so clear that some days you can count the grains of sand on the ocean's floor right from the surface.

Best of all, you can enjoy snorkeling, diving, fishing or just cruising around all-year long at Alligator.