A second order Fresnel lens was provided; during the Civil War Confederate forces raided the tower and carried away the lens and lantern glass, eventually removing them to St. Martinville, but they were recovered at the end of the war.
Domengeaux did not seek reelection to Congress in 1948; instead he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in a race ultimately won by Russell B. Long, son of the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr. He was succeeded in the House by the freshman State Senator Edwin Edward Willis of St. Martinville, the seat of St. Martin Parish.
The disappointed Fitzmorris and three other major Democratic gubernatorial candidates all endorsed Treen: Secretary of State Paul J. Hardy, originally from St. Martinville, state Senator Edgar G. "Sonny" Mouton, Jr., of Lafayette, and outgoing House Speaker Edgerton L. "Bubba" Henry of Jonesboro in Jackson Parish in north Louisiana.