The Sapelo Island Range Front Light (or Sapelo Island Range Beacon) 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 ...

range light on

Sapelo Island, Georgia 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-mi ...

, U.S. It is near the

Sapelo Island Light Sapelo Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Georgia, United States, near the southern tip of Sapelo Island. It is the nation's second-oldest brick lighthouse and the oldest survivor among lighthouses designed by Winslow Lewis. The lighthouse, oi ...

and is a contributor to its 1997

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 ...

nomination.

History

In 1855 a wooden beacon light was built near the main lighthouse. It was damaged or destroyed during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and replaced in 1868. That structure fell into disrepair and was replaced with the current iron structure in 1877. It was used until 1899, after which it was dismantled. It was reassembled and used by the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to look for submarines. It was restored in 1997 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which manages most of Sapelo Island.LighthouseFriends
/ref> It is thought to be the oldest surviving iron structure in Georgia.

References

External links

* Buildings and structures in McIntosh County, Georgia Lighthouses completed in 1877 Lighthouses in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in McIntosh County, Georgia Historic district contributing properties in Georgia (U.S. state) Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) 1877 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Sapelo Island {{GeorgiaUS-struct-stub