The Morris Island Lighthouse

Pictured above is the Morris Island Lighthouse in 1914.

United States Coast Guard - Original work of the US Federal Government - public domain

An observation tower built on the lighthouse ruins during the Civil War.

Haas & Peale, photographer - created 1863 - public domain

The Morris Island Lighthouse as it exists today.

Courtesy of Save the Light, Inc. - permission obtained

1767 - The First Morris Island Lighthouse

The Lighthouse located off of Morris Island has existed in several iterations.  The first lighthouse was constructed in 1767 by the South Carolina colony.  This first lighthouse stood 42 feet tall and was built with the intention of guiding ships into the Charleston Harbor.  By the time of the first lighthouse's construction, the Charleston port had become increasingly busy with 800 ships entering the harbor annually.  The Charleston lighthouse existed as one of only 10 pre-revolutionary lighthouses constructed in the Colonies.  The lights were extinguished during the revolutionary war as to not aid British ships seeking to enter the harbor.  

The 9th Act of the First Congress of the United States, viewed as the very first public works Act, transferred ownership of the Morris Island Lighthouse to the federal government.  The Act transferred the 12 lighthouses that existed in America at the time to the government.  The Act declared that the federal government would provide "the necessary support, maintenance and repairs of all lighthouses, beacons, buoys and public piers erected, placed, or sunk before the passing of this Act, at the entrance of, or within any bay, inlet, harbor, or port of the United States, for rendering the navigation thereof easy and safe."  In May of 1800, Congress apportioned $5,000 for repair of the lighthouse.

1838 - The Second Morris Island Lighthouse

Construction on a new lighthouse tower, set to replace the original, began in 1837.  The tower was completed in 1838, bringing the lighthouse height to 102 feet tall.  The newer tower was equipped with a "revolving" light which was actually 12 lamps designed with 21-inch reflectors.  Appropriations for beacons were passed by congress in 1850, 1853, and 1854 based on the increase in importance and traffic of the Charleston harbor. In September of 1854, Charleston was ravaged by a hurricane which destroyed the keepers’ house, the five beacons, and severely damaged the lighthouse. In response, Congress apportioned more funds for repairing the lighthouse and constructing more beacons.  Lighthouse repairs and new illumination was complete in 1858.

With the lighthouse being owned by the federal government and the Civil War beginning in 1861, tensions around the lighthouse began to rise. In December of 1860, the Charleston lighthouse inspector reported to Washington that it was likely the lighthouse would be seized by South Carolina troops.  The lighthouse was in fact seized by South Carolina shortly thereafter.  On January 7, 1861 news reached Charleston that a ship out of New York was on the way to the harbor to attempt to resupply the troops held up in Fort Sumter.  In response, the light of the lighthouse was removed and buried.  By April 1861, lights from Virginia to Texas, totaling around 164 lights, had been removed for the war.  In 1862, with Morris Island a victim of one of the longest sieges of the Civil War, the lighthouse was destroyed by the Confederacy to prevent its use by Union troops.

1873 - The Third Morris Island Lighthouse

Beginning in 1873, post Civil War, Congress made the first of three appropriations to construct a new lighthouse off of Morris Island.  The first appropriation of $60,000 was granted on that date for "commencing the rebuilding of a first-order seacoast light on Morris Island destroyed during the war."  The other two appropriations totaled $90,000 and took place in 1874 and 1875 to complete work on the lighthouse.  When the tower was complete it measured 33 feet in diameter at the base and 16 ft. 8 in. at the top.  The tower extended a total of 161 feet into the sky from the base to top of the lantern. This would make it the largest lighthouse in South Carolina, and still the 13th tallest in the United States. 

By 1876, the new Morris Island Lighthouse was fully operational.  The base of the lighthouse featured a three-story dwelling where the keepers and assistants lived. The lighthouse complex included 15 buildings on the grounds: three keepers residences, outbuildings, barns, chicken coops, and a one-room schoolhouse for the keepers’ children. The lighthouse and its grounds would be damaged by a cyclone in 1885 and the Charleston earthquake of 1886. 

1962 - The Lighthouse is Decommissioned 

In June 1962, the Morris Island lighthouse was extinguished when the Sullivan Island lighthouse began operation.  The lighthouse was sold by the government as surplus property to a private citizen in 1965.  The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo destroyed all of the remaining buildings at the base of the lighthouse.  Only the dock remained until 2017, when it was destroyed by Hurricane Irma. 

In 1999, the citizens' group Save the Light, Inc. bought the lighthouse from its private owner for $75,000.  You can learn more about Save the Light, Inc. on their website.  They are an organization made up of concerned citizens with a goal of preserving the lighthouse for future generations.  In 2000, the lighthouse was transferred from Save the Light to South Carolina through the Department of Natural Resources for $1.00.  The lighthouse has been leased to Save the Light, Inc. for 99 years "to coordinate the stabilization, erosion control and restoration of the lighthouse and to raise the necessary funds for that work."  In 2021, the Department of Natural Resources transferred the property to the State of South Carolina by and through the Department of Administration.  Preservation efforts continue to this date.