South
Carolina Lighthouses
- * Governors
- 1985. Active (privately maintained and unofficial); continuous white
light. Approx. 50 ft (15 m) octagonal tower, painted with black and white
horizontal bands. Built by a developer in honor of South Carolina's
governors. Located on the Intracoastal Waterway just off US 17 in Little
River. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: Lightkeeper's
Village.
- Georgetown
(North Island) (2)
- 1867 (extensively rebuilt 1812 lighthouse; station established 1801).
Active; focal plane 85 ft (26 m); two white flashes every 15 s. 87 ft (27 m)
old-style
brick tower, painted white; solar-powered VRB-25 aerobeacon. 5º Fresnel
lens used prior to 1999 on display at Georgetown
Coast Guard Station. 1-story brick keeper's house; brick oilhouse (1890)
and boathouse (1894) also preserved. This is a rare early federal
lighthouse, although it was altered somewhat after the Civil War when its
height was raised from 72 to 87 ft (22 to 27 m). Wilmoth also has a nice photo.
Light station leased to the state in 1988 as part of a juvenile detention
and rehabilitation center, but plans for this center were abandoned in 1990.
In 2001, the light station was transferred to the state's Department of
Natural Resources, which already owned the rest of the island as the Tom
Yawkey Wildlife Preserve. Located on North Island on Winyah Bay opposite
Georgetown. Accessible only by boat; cruises
out of Georgetown visit the light station. Owner: S.C.
Dept. of Natural Resources, Site manager: Tom
Yawkey Wildlife Center Heritage Preserve. ARLHS USA-323; Admiralty
J2582; USCG 3-0120.
- Cape
Romain (1)
- 1827 (Winslow Lewis). Inactive since 1858. Ruined 65 ft (20 m) old-style
brick tower, no lantern. Endangered by isolation and neglect. Lower
third of the rare wooden spiral stairway has disappeared. Stephen Wilmoth
has current
photos from a 2004 visit. Watch
List. Site open, tower open but very hazardous. Owner: U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Site manager: Cape
Romain National Wildlife Refuge. ARLHS USA-134.
- Cape
Romain (2)
- 1858. Inactive since 1947. 150 ft (46 m) octagonal brick tower; upper half
with vertical black and white stripes, lower half white. Keeper's house
demolished in late 1950s. Located on Lighthouse Island (also called Raccoon
Key) southeast of McClellanville. Endangered by isolation and neglect. Watch
List. The tower has a long-standing lean of several degrees due to a
faulty foundation. The lighthouse was painted and the windows were replaced
in the early 1990s, but the rusting stairway is very dangerous. Lighthouse
Digest has posted Stephen Wilmoth's account and photos of a 2001
visit. Wilmoth has current
photos from a 2004 visit. Accessible
only by boat, and there is no dock, so visitors must wade ashore; tours
to the area are available from McClellanville. Guided tours (reservations
required) are available occasionally from the Sewee
Visitor and Environmental Education Center in Awendaw. Site open, tower
open but very hazardous. Owner: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Site
manager: Cape Romain National Wildlife
Refuge. ARLHS USA-133.
- * Charleston
(Sullivan's Island, New Charleston)
- 1962. Active; focal plane 163 ft (50 m); two quick white flashes,
separated by 5 s, every 30 s. 140 ft (43 m) aluminum (steel-framed)
trapezoidal tower with overhanging lantern, top half black, lower half
white; DCB-24 aerobeacon. The last federal lighthouse built, and the only
U.S. lighthouse with an elevator and air conditioning. The National Park
Service is seeking ownership of the light station and plans to include it in
the Fort Sumter National Monument,
which already includes the Sullivan's Island Lifesaving Station adjacent to
the lighthouse. Located on I'on Street off SC 703 in Sullivan's Island. Site
open (free), tower closed; group tours can be arranged. Owner: U.S. Coast
Guard. Site manager: USCG
Group Charleston. ARLHS USA-825; Admiralty J2646; USCG 3-0195.
- * St.
Philip's Church (Fort Sumter Range Rear)
- 1893. Inactive since 1915. Light formerly mounted in the steeple of St.
Philip's Episcopal Church. The church, one of the best known landmarks
of old Charleston, was built in the 1830s, but the steeple wasn't added
until the late 1840s. It carried the rear light of a range; the front light
was at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Only one other U.S. church, First
Baptist Church of Beverly MA, has been used as a lighthouse. Located at 146
Church Street in Charleston. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: St.
Philip's Church.
- Morris Island (Old
Charleston) (3)
- 1876 (Peter Hains;
station established 1767). Inactive since 1962. 161 ft (49 m) brick tower,
originally painted with horizontal red and white bands, but the red has
weathered to brown. Keeper's quarters destroyed 1939. Incredibly, the
original 1º Fresnel lens was sold at auction in 1938; the top of the lens
has been recovered and is on display at the visitor center at Hunting Island
Light. This is the second oldest light station in the South, established in
1767. The tower is gravely endangered; rapid beach erosion has left it
standing in the open Atlantic northeast of Folly Beach. Lighthouse
Digest Doomsday
List. Fund raising for preservation was kicked off in 1999 by a $500,000
appropriation from the South Carolina legislature. Preservationists purchased
the light from private owners in 1999. The SC Natural Resources Board voted
April 21, 2000 to buy the
light for $1 and lease it back for preservation. The sale was closed
on December 12. In 2001, following an engineering study, a preservation
plan was adopted, calling for stabilization of the existing foundation.
In 2003, International Chimney Corporation completed a plan for complete
restoration. In September 2003 funding for the initial work (some $2.6
million) was nearly complete and a construction start was planned
for July 2004. After several delays, the state approved
the project in January 2005, but in March the Corps of Engineers announced
it had no
funds to start the project. The total project could cost as much as $6
million. In 2001 Charleston County purchased as a park the 5.5 (2 ha) acre
tract (the former Coast Guard station) overlooking the lighthouse. A Lighthouse
Digest report
describes the history of the lighthouse and the preservation effort.
Accessible only by boat; boat
tours are available from Folly Beach. Site and tower closed. Owner:
State of South Carolina. Site manager: Save
the Light, Inc. ARLHS USA-515.
- *** Hunting
Island (2)
- 1875 (station established 1859). Reactivated (inactive 1933-1995, now
privately maintained); focal plane 132 ft (40 m); continuous white light
with a more intense flash every 30 s. 136 ft (41 m) cast iron tower, upper
third painted black, lower 2/3 white. Relocated 1.3 miles (2 km) inland in
1889. Keeper's house demolished, but the oil house and two storage buildings
survive. Part of the Morris Island Light 1º
Fresnel lens is on display in the base of the tower. This lighthouse
replaced an 1859 tower destroyed during the Civil War. Tower renovated 1991.
Increasingly endangered by beach erosion. In May 2003, the lighthouse was
closed after a broken step was discovered; it reopened in February 2005
after $108,000 in repairs. Wilmoth has posted photos
taken at the time of the reopening. Park visitor center has historical
displays. Site open daily year round (state park entry fee); tower closed
indefinitely for repairs. Owner: South
Carolina State Parks. Site manager: Hunting
Island State Park. ARLHS USA-392; Admiralty J2744.5; USCG 3-4065.
- [Parris
Island Range Rear]
- 1881. Inactive since about 1912. The rear light was on a 131 ft (40 m)
triangular pyramidal cast iron skeletal tower. The tower was demolished long
ago, along with the keeper's house and the 45 ft (13.5 m) wooden front
light. The brick oil house remains. Located on the southwest side of the
island within the Parris Island marine base. Site closed. Owner: U.S. Marine
Corps. Site manager: Marine Corps
Recruit Depot Parris Island. ARLHS USA-1195.
- * Hilton
Head Range Rear (Leamington)
- 1880. Inactive since 1932 (a decorative sodium vapor light is now
displayed). 94 ft (29 m) cast iron hexagonal pyramidal skeletal
tower with central cylinder, painted white. The brick oil house (1892)
remains. The two keeper's houses have been relocated to Harbour Town, where
one serves as a café and the other as a real estate office. This lighthouse
has a unique design. Tower restored by Palmetto Dunes developer in 1985.
Located on the Arthur Hills Golf Course at Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head
Island. Site open by appointment (call ahead), tower closed. Owner/site
manager: Palmetto Dunes Resort.
ARLHS USA-972.
- *** Harbour
Town
- 1970. Active (privately maintained); focal plane 90 ft (27 m); white flash
every 2.5 s. 90 ft (27 m) octagonal cylindrical stucco tower, painted with
horizontal red and white bands; acrylic lens. Well known as the symbol of
Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island. In 2000-01 a $200,000 renovation
added air conditioning, improved lighting, and historical displays. Located
at the end of Lighthouse Road, on the north side of the harbor entrance off
Calibogue Sound, overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Site and tower open
daily year round (small entry fee for tower). Owner/site manager: Sea
Pines Plantation. ARLHS USA-1135; Admiralty J2765.7; USCG 3-4395.
- Haig Point
(Daufuskie Island) Range Rear
- 1872. Reactivated (inactive 1924-1987, now privately maintained); focal
plane 47 ft (14 m); white flash every 14 s. 2-1/2 story Victorian frame
keeper's house surmounted by square cylindrical frame tower, painted white;
acrylic lens. Coast Guard has a historic
photo. Front
range light demolished. The dilapidated lighthouse was first restored in
1965-67by George H. Bostwick. When International Paper Realty bought all of
the area in 1984, the company carried out an archaeological study and then
carefully restored the building to its original appearance. It is used as a
guest house. Located on the northeast point of Daufuskie Island opposite the
Harbour Town Light, overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Visible at a
distance from Harbour Town Light. Accessible by guided
tours from Harbour Town. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: Haig
Point Community. ARLHS USA-217; Admiralty J2766; USCG 3-4370.
- Bloody
Point Range Front
- 1883. Inactive since 1899. 1-1/2 story frame keeper's house; the light was
displayed from a dormer window on the upper story. Currently the house is
painted red with white trim. Lamp house (very rare) and oil house also
preserved. Relocated inland in 1899 and used thereafter strictly as a
keeper's quarters until the range was deactivated in 1922. Private
residence. The owner wrote a feature
article on the lighthouse for Lighthouse Digest. Anderson has a
good account
and excellent photos. Located at the southern end of Daufuskie Island near
the sixth tee of the Bloody Point golf course. Site closed. Owner/site
manager: private; the owner, Joe Yocius, is a realtor doing business as Low
Country Joe. ARLHS USA-1003.
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