One hurricane’s trash is another man’s treasure.

In this case, a bunch of bricks.

Progress report: Putting the Sanibel Lighthouse back together: What will it cost and how long will it take?

But according to Jason Garrison, a Fort Myers resident, the bricks he found early last year during several weekly sea turtle walks he did with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) to help clean up the beach area, these bricks are far from ordinary bricks.

“Lighthouse Beach was my zone.  I started walking the beach in front of the lighthouse April 15. At first there were a ton of bricks. At least 60-70. Every Saturday morning during my walks, I would notice that there was less and less bricks. I wasn’t sure if people were taking them or they were getting washed away so I decided to start picking up two every Saturday to save them,” Garrison said.

When Hurricane Ian plowed through Sanibel on Sept. 28, 2022 and other places in Southwest Florida, the catastrophic damage was wide-spread. Historic storm surge wiped out homes and businesses and damaged the Sanibel causeway. The iconic Sanibel lighthouse was squarely in the path of the intense storm as well. One of its four legs broke and the two historic keeper’s cottages next to it were destroyed.

Garrison said the bricks he found were not far from where the cottages once stood. Each cottage had a chimney.

“I figured whoever was in charge of the lighthouse, would like to have them back and maybe do something with them. By the time my turtle walks were over in October, they were all gone,” he said.

Garrison collected a total of 12 bricks, which weigh about four pounds each. He said some still have mortar on them but they are all separated. He has been storing the brick in his garage, hoping someone on Sanibel will want to take them.

Garrison said he contacted Sanibel councilwoman Holly Smith, but is waiting for a reply from her after an initial conversation where Smith told Garrison the bricks are city property. Smith was contacted by The News-Press on Monday (Jan. 8) and she said in an email she will be reconnecting with Garrison this week.

“I know the city would like to keep as many as they can and decide what we are going to do with them as the lighthouse and the cottages are (were) city property,” Smith said. “I was on site a few days after the storm and let the city manager know we needed to protect the historical items.”

Garrison said he understands the historic value these bricks have.

“The lighthouse is a historical monument and holds a special place in so many peoples hearts. Even if we can only save a little of what was, it’s worth it in my opinion,” he said.

Garrison posted a photo of the bricks on his Facebook page in December. He wrote:

Is there a historical society I can donate the bricks I salvaged from the lighthouse building chimneys? Picked up 12 from the water and brought them home.

Garrison received positive support in the comments thread. One commenter said she would buy a brick from him. Others said they had seen the bricks for sale on the internet. He has no intention of doing that.

“I’ll hold on to them until the right person with the city has them,” he said.

Like so many others, Garrison feels a special connection to the lighthouse.

“For me, lighthouses symbolize strength, safety, and most importantly, resilience,” Garrison said. “No matter what happens around it, the Sanibel lighthouse is always there. Even with only three legs.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Bricks from Sanibel lighthouse cottages found on beach