Sapelo Island Lighthouse is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, near the southern tip of

Sapelo Island Sapelo Island is a state-protected barrier island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is accessible only by aircraft or boat; the primary ferry comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mil ...

. It is the nation's second-oldest brick lighthouse and the oldest survivor among lighthouses designed by

Winslow Lewis Winslow Lewis ( Nathaniel Winslow Lewis; 11 May 1770 – 20 May 1850) was a sea captain, engineer, inventor and contractor active in the construction of many American lighthouses during the first half of the nineteenth century. Life and career ...

. The lighthouse, oil building, the cistern, the footing of the 1905 light, the ruins of the fortification, and the associated

range light Leading lights (also known as range lights in the United States) are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At night ...

were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1997. The lighthouse is a brick structure, about in diameter at the base and at the top. Its brick walls are several feet thick at the bottom, tapering to about two feet thick at the top. with

History

Sapelo Island Lighthouse was built in 1820. It was designed and built by Winslow Lewis. It had fifteen

Lewis lamp The Lewis lamp is a type of light fixture used in lighthouses. It was invented by Winslow Lewis who patented the design in 1810. The primary marketing point of the Lewis lamp was that it used less than half the oil of the prior oil lamps they re ...

s with reflectors. In the 1850s, the tower was raised by and a fourth-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

was installed in 1854. The lens was removed during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. It was extensively repaired after an 1867 storm and relit in 1868. The tower was damaged by a strong hurricane in 1898. A pyramidal

skeletal tower Skeletal frame light towers are lighthouse towers that have only an open frame. They are commonly built as aids to navigation; most of them are not considered to be lighthouses. However, during the late nineteenth century and the first years of ...

lighthouse with a third-order Fresnel lens was built in 1905. This tower was dismantled and relocated in 1934 to South Fox Island,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The 1820 lighthouse was inactive from 1905 to 1998, when it was restored to its 1890 appearance and was relit (with a modern light and lens). Is now maintained by the

Georgia Department of Natural Resources The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. The agency has statewide responsibilities for managing and conserving Georgia’s natural, cultural, and historical resources, and has five ...

and is unofficial.

Keepers

* Jeremiah Lester 1821 – 1825 * William Donnelly 1827 – 1841 * Henry M. Caulder 1843 - ? * William Thomas 1845 – 1847 * Robert B. Mason 1849 – 1851 * Robert Hale ? – 1853) * Alexander Hazzard 1853 – 1862, 1868 – 1869 * W.W. Brown 1869 * James C. Clark 1869 – 1870 * Montgomery P. Styles 1870 – 1871 * J.T. Clancy 1871 * Hiram Hammett 1871 – 1872 * John Bradwell 1872 – 1873 * James Cromley, Sr. 1873 – 1889 * William G. Cromley 1890 – 1900 * James Cromley, Jr. 1900 – 1921 * Robert H. Cromley 1928 – 1933Lighthouse friends
/ref>

References

External links

* {{authority control 1820 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in McIntosh County, Georgia Lighthouses completed in 1820 Lighthouses completed in 1905 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in McIntosh County, Georgia

History

Keepers

See also

References

External links