Castle Pinckney Light

Castle Pinckney Light

Castle Pinckney from an 1861 illustration in Frank Leslie's Weekly
Location	Shutes' Folly Island, Charleston County, South Carolina
Coordinates	32°46′25.1″N 79°54′39.6″W
Tower
Constructed	1855; 170 years ago (1855)
Light
Deactivated	1917; 108 years ago (1917)
Focal height	50 feet (15 m) (1855)
Lens	5th order Fresnel lens (1855)

Castle Pinckney Light is a former lighthouse on Shutes' Folly Island in Charleston Harbor, Charleston County, South Carolina.[1][2][3][4]

Castle Pinckney was a c. 1810 U.S. coastal fortification, which was built upon the site of Fort Pinckney, a 1797 fort destroyed during an 1804 hurricane.

Castle Pinckney was occupied by Confederate forces during the Civil War.

History

In 1855, a yellow tower with a focal plane of 50 feet (15 m) was built at Castle Pinckney. It had a 5th order Fresnel lens.[1][2]

In 1878, Castle Pinckney was transferred to the Lighthouse Board for use as a lighthouse depot for the Sixth District. A new lighthouse was constructed in 1880. A third lighthouse was constructed in 1890, and it was made a lighthouse station.[1][2]

In 1916, the lighthouse depot was moved to Tradd Street in Charleston. The lighthouse station was deactivated in 1917, and Castle Pinckney was transferred to the War Department for a time.

The lighthouse was probably destroyed in 1938.[1][2]

References

1. Clary, Margie Willis, The Beacons of South Carolina, Sandlapper Publishing Co., Inc., Orangeburg, SC, 2005, pp. xii-xiii, 101-102, ISBN 0-87844-176-X.
2. "History of Castle Pinckney". South Carolina State Port Authority. Archived from the original on 2011-01-09. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
3. "Castle Pinckney National Monument". Glimpses of Historical Areas East of the Mississippi River. U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
4. "Castle Pinckney Light". Lighthouse Depot. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-09.