List of lighthouses in Georgia (U.S. state)

Last updated

This is a list of all lighthouses in the U.S. state of Georgia as identified by the United States Coast Guard. There are three active lights in the state including one maintained as a private aid; four are standing but inactive, and one has been replaced by an automated skeleton tower, and one destroyed by a ship collision. One tower, the second Sapelo Island Light, was moved to Michigan; the first tower on the site is still standing and was relit in 1998.

The earliest lighthouse in the state was erected in 1736; the oldest surviving tower is the Sapelo Island Light, though the present Tybee Island Light, erected in 1867, incorporates the base of its 1773 predecessor. [1] The last lighthouse in the state, the Savannah Light, was constructed in 1964. [1]

The lighthouses on Cumberland Island, Sapelo Island, and St. Simons Island are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Old Harbor Light in Savannah is a contributing property to a National Historic Landmark district.

If not otherwise noted, focal height and coordinates are taken from the United States Coast Guard Light List , [2] while location and dates of activation, automation, and deactivation are taken from the United States Coast Guard Historical information site for lighthouses. [3]

NameImageLocationCoordinatesYear first litAutomatedYear deactivatedCurrent LensFocal Height
Cockspur Island Light Cockspur Island Lighthouse, Chatham county, GA, US.jpg Savannah 32°01′22″N80°52′48″W / 32.0227°N 80.8800°W / 32.0227; -80.8800 (Cockspur Island Light) 1849 [4] (First)
1857 [4] (Current)
NeverActive [4]
(Inactive: 1909–2007)
Unknown25 ft (7.6 m) [4]
(Original tower)
Little Cumberland Island Light Littlecumberlandisland.jpg Cumberland Island 30°58′34″N81°24′47″W / 30.97620°N 81.41311°W / 30.97620; -81.41311 (Little Cumberland Island Light) 1838Never1915NoneUnknown
Sapelo Island Light A Sapelo Island Lighthouse, GA, US.jpg Sapelo Island 31°23′29″N81°17′08″W / 31.39126°N 81.28568°W / 31.39126; -81.28568 (Sapelo Island Light) 1820 B 1998
(Relit)
Active
(Inactive: 1905–1998)
Unknown C Unknown
Sapelo Island Range
Front Light
Sapelo Island Range Light (2), GA, US.jpg Sapelo Island 31°23′24″N81°17′03″W / 31.38991°N 81.28414°W / 31.38991; -81.28414 (Sapelo Island Range Front Light) 1856 (First)
1877 (Current)
Never1898NoneUnknown
Old Harbor Light
(aka: Savannah Harbor Light)
Old Harbor Light, Savannah, GA, US.JPG Savannah 32°04′46″N81°05′03″W / 32.07931°N 81.08425°W / 32.07931; -81.08425 (Old Harbor Light) 1858AlwaysActive D Unknown77 ft (23 m)
Savannah Light Savannah Light (Georgia, US State).jpg Savannah River 31°08′03″N80°40′59″W / 31.1341°N 80.683°W / 31.1341; -80.683 (Savannah Light) [5] 1964Always1996
(Destroyed)
None85 ft (26 m)
St. Simons Island Light StSimonsLight3.jpg St. Simons Island 31°08′03″N81°23′37″W / 31.13411°N 81.39358°W / 31.13411; -81.39358 (St. Simons Island Light) 1810 (First)
1872 (Current)
1954ActiveThird-order Fresnel lens104 ft (32 m)
Tybee Island Light Tybee Island Light.jpg Tybee Island 32°01′20″N80°50′44″W / 32.02223°N 80.84566°W / 32.02223; -80.84566 (Tybee Island Light) 1773 (First)
1867 (Current)
1972ActiveFirst-order Fresnel144 ft (44 m)
Tybee Island Range Front Light Tybee Cut Front Range Light (Chatam County, Georgia).jpg Cockspur Island 32°02′00″N80°53′55″W / 32.0333°N 80.8985°W / 32.0333; -80.8985 (Tybee Knoll Range Front Light) 1878UnknownUnknown E NoneUnknown

Notes

A. ^ Sapelo Island Light also served as a rear range light from 1856 to 1898.
B. ^ The second Sapelo Island Light was a steel tower built in 1905, it was later re-erected at South Fox Island Light (Michigan) in 1933. The original brick 1820 tower was reactivated in 1998 and still stands today.
C. ^ Sapelo Island Light originally had a Fourth-order Fresnel lens but it has since been replaced by an unknown modern optic.
D. ^ There isn't any evidence that this is still used for navigational purposes. The light remains lit as a decorative piece.
E. ^ Replaced with a skeleton tower at an unknown date. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Georgia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  2. Light List, Volume III, Atlantic Coast, Little River, South Carolina to Econfina River, Florida (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012.
  3. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Georgia". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Cockspur Island Lighthouse". Lighthouse Friends. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  5. Tybee Island to Doboy Sound (Map). 1:80,000. NOAA. 1980. Chart 11509. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2012.