Cockspur Island Lighthouse

Title

Cockspur Island Lighthouse

Artist

Pat Turner

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photos

Description

Cockspur Island Lighthouse Tybee Island Georgia.

The Cockspur Island Light is the smallest lighthouse in Georgia it ceased operation as an active beacon in 1909.

This photo is from the 1990's when for a brief time it did not have a cap on it.

The lighthouse is built on an oyster and mussel bed and held up by wood piles in oyster bed.
This lighthouse is unique in that the base is shaped like the prow of a ship to reduce the impact of the waves on the structure.

The lighthouse was initially built as a daymarker without lights to indicate the entrance to the South Channel of the Savannah River. Construction lasted from March 1837 to November 1839. By 1848 it was retrofitted with lights and reflectors. It housed a fixed white light from five lamps with 14 inch reflectors that shone 9 miles (14 km) at a height of 25 feet (7.6 m) above sea level. It was damaged by a hurricane in 1854. The larger 46' tall replacement that was built in 1855 on the same foundation.

Starting in 1995 and lasting until 2000, the upper portions of the lighthouse were restored, although the foundations still require protection from wave action and tidal erosion.

On March 18, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. the lighthouse was relit in a ceremony hosted by the National Park Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.

In early 2013 additional rocks were added around the lighthouse to protect it from strong currents at high tide.

Uploaded

February 23rd, 2016

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