The iron tower of the Calcasieu Pass Lighthouse was prefabricated at a locomotive factory in Portland, Maine in 1872. It was shipped to New Orleans and stored in a warehouse until construction could begin after the Civil War. Built in 1876, the completed lighthouse was a 53 foot-high black, pyramidal tower, sheathed in boiler-plate iron with a cast iron cornice and lantern. The unique foundation was a cast iron screw pile substructure which was turned into the ground, not pounded, offering greater stability to withstand Gulf Coast winds and waves.

Although the outbuildings sustained damage or were destroyed during major storms and hurricanes through the years, the lighthouse stood firm. The sturdy tower provided shelter to area residents during fierce storms in 1877, 1916 and 1919, although it shook in gale-force winds.

After more than 60 years of service, the lighthouse was taken down for dredging to begin on a channel from the Calcasieu Pass to the Calcasieu River, expediting shipping from the Gulf to the port of Lake Charles. The tower was easily dismantled, but the unique screw pile foundation, built to withstand Gulf tides and storm surges, had to be blasted out of the Pass. The site of this once sturdy lighthouse is now in the middle of the Calcasieu ship channel.

This is the third painting commissioned by Cameron Communications from artist Suzy Lee Trahan. Trahan took particular interest in her subject since she is a native of Maine - where the Calcasieu Pass Lighthouse tower was constructed. Trahan is well-known in both Maine and Louisiana for capturing each state's unique features in her watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings.