In 1885, a prefabricated screwpile lighthouse which was hexagonal-shaped and made of wood, was shipped from the north to Mobile to aid in navigation on Mobile Bay. It had a roof that slopped upwards to the centrally located lantern room. It was supported by seven legs, one in the middle and a single leg extending from each corner of the structure. After the piles had been screwed into the bottom of the bay, the structure settled seven and one-half feet. Wooden piles were driven around the screwpiles and stabilized the lighthouse. On December 1, 1885, a fourth-order Fresnel lens first cast its beam from atop the lighthouse.

Twenty years had passed and the lens and lantern room were removed from the lighthouse and two actelyne lights were placed on a pile protruding from the roof. During WW1, the keeper responsible for the lights and his wife had a baby. When the mother was unable to nurse the infant, the keeper created a coral on the lighthouse gallery and a milk cow was transported to the station. In 1935, the light was electrified. At that point, and for several decades later, no keepers tended to the lighthouse and it became in a state of disrepair. In 1967, the Coast Guard received permission to demolish the dilapidated lighthouse. Several parties protested plus the Mobile Bar Pilots Association argued that the lighthouse served a vital navigational role as it was more readily picked up on ships' radars than the small modern buoys. The lighthouse was saved.

The Mobile Bay Lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and the Alabama Historical Commission assumed responsiblity for the lighthouse. As it's 100th anniversary approached, the Middle Bay Light Centennial Commission was established to restore the lighthouse. It was refurbished and on December 1, 1985, yachts converged on the lighthouse to participate in the anniversary celebration. Now, the Alabama Lighthouse Association is looking after the lighthouse.