Fort Sumter Range Lighthouse

Year Built

1855

Cost

N/A

Type

Pyramidal church steeple (St. Philip's)

Height

140 feet

Location

Charleston Harbor

Automated Year

N/A

First Lit

1855

Lens Type

White lantern

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1915

Color

N/A

Last Keeper - Date

James H. Gullette (1939 – at least 1940)

Description

The light was extinguished and was replaced by daymarkers.

Brief History

•  In 1872, the tower was relocated from the east face of Fort Sumter to the center of its southwest face due to improvements being made to the fort.
•  On August 27, 1893, a major hurricane, which came to be known as the Sea Islands Hurricane, struck the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, killing more than 1,000 people.
•  The vestry originally granted permission to use their steeple only through December 31, 1894, forcing the Lighthouse Board to develop plans to erect a skeletal tower on the waterfront in Charleston to hold a rear range light.
•  By 1906, the range lights no longer marked the center of the shipping channel.
•  Station was disestablished in 1950 after the National Park Service requested that the Coast Guard remove the radio beacon at Fort Sumter so they could erect a new monument.