Morris Island Light is a lighthouse on Morris Island
in South Carolina. The light stands on the southern side of the
entrance to Charleston Harbor, north of the town of Folly
Beach.
The lighthouse is unusual in that it now stands
several hundred feet offshore. When constructed in 1876 the light
was approximately 1200 feet from the water's edge. However, the
construction in 1889 of the jetties which protect the shipping lanes
leading to Charleston Harbor altered ocean currents, resulting in
the rapid erosion of Morris Island and the destruction of many
structures and historical sites (such as Fort Wagner). By 1938 the
shoreline had reached the lighthouse, forcing its automation as it
was no longer safe or practical to keep it manned. In 1962 the
Morris Island Light was decommissioned and replaced by the Sullivan
Island Lighthouse on the north side of the harbor.
The
Charleston Light, located on Morris Island, at the entrance to the
harbor of Charleston, SC, was one of the colonial lights turned over
to the Federal Government under the terms of the act of August 7,
1789. The light was in a brick tower, built by the Colony of South
Carolina in 1767. On May 7, 1800, Congress appropriated $5,000 for
repairing the lighthouse. In 1838 the light was described as a
revolving light, the tower being 102 feet from the base to the
lantern. A new first-order lens was installed in the tower on
January 1, 1858.
On December 20, 1860, on receiving reports from the
lighthouse inspector at Charleston regarding the probable seizure of
the lighthouse property by the Confederacy, the Secretary of the
Lighthouse Board wrote the Secretary of the Treasury that he would
not recommend "that the coast of South Carolina be lighted by the
Federal Government against her will." Ten days later the inspector
at Charleston informed the Board that "the Governor of the State of
South Carolina has requested me to leave the State. I am informed
that forcible possession has been taken of the lights, buoys, etc.,
of this harbor, and that similar measures will be adopted in regard
to all lights in the State." Early in January 1861, the Rattlesnake
Shoal Lightship was towed into Charleston and the lighthouse tenders
were seized. By the latter part of April 1861, practically all
lights were extinguished, lightships removed, and other aids removed
or destroyed from the Chesapeake to the Rio Grande, with the
exception of some of the lights on the Florida coast and
reefs.
In 1862 the Lighthouse Board reported "Charleston,
lens and lantern destroyed." In all, 164 lights were forcibly
discontinued during the Civil War on the southern coasts. These were
relighted from time to time, and by 1866, the greater part had been
restored. The Charleston Channel was re-marked promptly on the
occupation of the city by Union troops in February 1865. In 1865 the
Lighthouse Board reported "that an almost total change had taken
place, leaving no channel in the harbor as it was in 1860, and
opening new ones. Under this altered state of things it became
necessary to establish lights temporarily at such places as would be
useful guides through existing channels and omit all
other.
On March 3, 1873, Congress made the first of three
appropriations for a new lighthouse on Morris Island. $60,000 was
granted on that date for "commencing the rebuilding of a first-order
seacoast light on Morris Island destroyed during the war." Two other
appropriations totaling $90,000 in 1874 and 1875 were for completing
the work. The new structure was to be at or near the same spot as
the old tower, 150 feet high and built of brick, with a first-order
flashing light. Foundation piles were driven and the space between
them filled with concrete 8 feet thick. The new tower, when
completed in 1876, was 161 feet in height and the cost was
$149,993.50. A first-order Fresnel lens was installed. In 1884 the
illuminating apparatus was changed for the use of mineral oil
instead of lard oil.
The cyclone of August 25, 1885, destroyed the rear
beacon of the Morris Island range, overturned part of the brick wall
which enclosed the tower and dwelling of the main light, carried
away the bridge between the beacons, and destroyed a large part of
the plank walks connecting the several lights and dwellings, and
overturned the boathouse. The range was reestablished 3 days later
by a temporary beacon. A new wooden skeleton structure 40 feet high
was built in 1885.
The earthquake of August 1886 threw the lens of the
main light out of position and cracked the tower extensively in two
places, but not so as to endanger its stability. The lens was
replaced and the cracks repaired without delay.
Erosion of land caused the Coast Guard to begin
construction of a new Charleston Light in 1960. The new light was
commissioned on June 15, 1962. The tower stands 140 ft (42.7 m) high
on the north side of Charleston Harbor entrance on Sullivan's
Island.
In 1999 Save The Light, Inc. purchased the historic
lighthouse for $75,000 to preserve it for the people of South
Carolina. In 2000, the lighthouse is transferred to the State of
South Carolina through the Department of Natural Resources. The
lighthouse was leased to Save The Light, Inc. for 99 years to
coordinate the stabilization, erosion control, restoration and to
raise the necessary funds for that work.
