Lighthouses and Range Lights Photographs at the National Archives

In honor of  National Lighthouse Day on August 7, I am posting some of the content I received from the National Archives Catalog e-newsletter on 9 July 2020. To see the 213 images of the South Carolina lighthouses and range lights, including some in Beaufort County, use this link: https://catalog.archives.gov/search?q=South%20Carolina&f.ancestorNaIds=513238  You Light Up My Life Lighthouse fans and photography aficionados! Allow us to navigate you to a completely digitized series of Coast Guard lighthouse photographs: 26-LG: Lighthouses, 1855 -1933. Photograph of the Construction of the St. George Reef Light Station in California, 1892. National Archives Identifier 7682787 The photographs, Coast Guard records that were originally taken by the Lighthouse Board and Lighthouse Service, document a fascinating period of U.S. Lighthouse history as well as the development of photographic technology.  Because they were taken between 1855 and 1933, the Albumen, Collodion, Gelatin-Silver Printing Out, and Gelatin-Silver Developing Out photographic processes are all represented in the series. There are also a few Cyanotypes. Most of the photographic prints were mounted, and mounts often contain caption information that was transcribed during the digitization process. Images (Including Cyanotypes) of Esophus Island, New York L: National Archives Identifier 45692947 R: National Archives Identifier 45692951 26-LG: Lighthouses, 1855 -1933 is completely digitized and available to view and download in the National Archives Catalog. The series was arranged by district number with each district corresponding to a geographic area. Within these districts, photos were then arranged in loose alphabetical order according to the name of the lighthouses. This arrangement is reflected in our Catalog, where the file units are listed geographically. To browse for photographs by location, navigate to the 26-LG series description and click on the link: “1125 file unit(s) described in the catalog.” This will take you to a list of file units within the series, grouped by location. When you select the location that interests you, the file unit description will provide you access to the images you wish to see. For example, if you click on “Maine — Egg Rock,” you will see a page that contains specific information about the photos of Egg Rock in Maine. Typically there will be nothing extraordinary here. However, you can see that there are 7 Egg Rock, Maine images described in the Catalog. By clicking on either “7 item(s) described in the catalog” or the “Search within this file unit” button, you will be able to access all 7 Egg Rock, Maine photos at once. Images of Egg Rock, Maine L: National Archives Identifier 18237567 R: National Archives Identifier 18237561 To search the entire series by keyword, begin at the 26-LG series description, and select the “Search within this series” button. This will take you to a page where you can search every image in 26-LG at once using keywords in the search bar. You will see the wildcard symbol *:* is already in the search bar at the top of the page. This is very important – it tells the Catalog to only look at records within the series you have selected. If you know the name of the lighthouse or location you are looking for, remove the wildcard symbols and type the name in the search bar.  For example, if you wish to look for Egg Rock photos, remove the wildcard symbol and type in “Egg Rock”. This will take you to all the photos in 26-LG related to Egg Rock. It is important to notice that your search results using this method will often be different – there is an Egg Rock in Massachusetts as well as in Maine, and using the keyword “Egg Rock” returns photos from both locations. Images of Egg Rock, Massachusetts L: National Archives Identifier 45691499 R: National Archives Identifier 45691501 The digital images from 26-LG were scanned at high resolution and may be downloaded directly from our Catalog. They are not subject to copyright. We hope you enjoy these images as much as we do, and we encourage you to share your favorites with us! Today’s post comes from Kelsey Noel, currently a supervisory archivist in the Accessioning and Basic Processing Section at the National Archives. Read the full post on the Unwritten Record blog. Up for some coloring? Try our Lighthouses Coloring book! You can learn more about these incredible photographs in a Know Your Records presentation by Kelsey Noel, former processing archivist in the National Archives Still Picture Branch.

Celebrating Beaufort District's Lighthouses and Range Lights

Latest update: 06 August 2026- gmc  

During the colonial period of American history, lighthouses were privately owned. The first tower  erected in England's the American colonies to aid navigation was located on Little Brewster Island near Boston. The first official lighthouse became operational in 1746 also in the Massachusetts colony on Nantucket Island. When the United States Constitution was ratified in 1789, one of the responsibilities of the new national government was interstate commerce. Thus in 1789, the US approved an "Act for the establishment and support of lighthouse, beacons, buoys, and public piers" took over the care of lighthouses from their previous owners. In 1852, the government set up the Lighthouse Board which eventually was transformed into the Lighthouse Service by 1910. The Lighthouse Service was responsible for managing and supervising lighthouses and lightships. In 1939 the U.S. Coast Guard became responsible for overseeing the lighthouses.  

The United States Lighthouse Society hosts lots of excellent educational information about past and current lighthouses and light tenders on its website.

In 1989 the Congress honored the bicentennial of the federal responsibility for lighthouses and marine navigation with a "National Lighthouse Day." The Hon. William J. Hughes of New Jersey said: This celebration "will provide some long overdue recognition for the important role which lighthouses played in the history of our country ... [including] protecting our coasts to guiding our sailors." Since 1989 fans of lighthouses has kept the celebration though it is not on the official holiday calendar. 

South Carolina has 10 lighthouses and one facsimile lighthouse. Only the Georgetown Light on North Island and the Charleston Light on Sullivan's Island are still maintained and operated by the United States Coast Guard. There are five structures commonly called lighthouses in Beaufort County today though some are actually range lights and one is not truly a lighthouse at all: 

1. Bloody Point Rear Range Light (1883)

2. Haig Point Rear Range Light (1873)

3. Harbour Town Lighthouse (1970) (the facsimile one)

4. Hunting Island Lighthouse (1859, 1875, 1889)

5. Hilton Head Rear Range Light (1881) 

Which of course, begs the question: "What is the difference between a lighthouse and a range light?" 

According to the United States Lighthouse Society, lighthouses have only one light while range lights consist of two lights and usually help guide boats into a river's channel. The front range light is the shorter of the two; the rear range light is always taller than the front range light. When you are on course to enter the river properly, the two lights will line up one on top of the other. If you go off course, the difference in the height of the two range lights will let the navigator know whether to steer left or right to get back on course. 

Haig Point and Bloody Point range lights are on Daufuskie Island. The Haig Point front light was destroyed by erosion. According to Jenny Hersch's and Sallie Ann Robinson's Daufuskie Island (2018), the Haig Point Rear Light had three lighthouse keepers between 1873 and 1924: Patrick Comer; Richard Stonebridge; and Charles L. Sisson. The Haig Point Rear Range Light still stands on Daufuskie Island. The Bloody Point Range lights were also subjected to erosion and relocated. Among lighthouse keepers for Bloody Point were John Michael Doyle and Gustaf Ohman. 

(BDC Postcard Collection)

 

The Harbour Town Lighthouse was built as part of the Sea Pines Plantation development as an iconic easily recognizable feature in tourist brochures and as a background for broadcasters with the goal of publicizing the resort. It is termed a facsimile light.

(BDC Postcard Collection)

The Hilton Head Rear Range Light is also called the Leamington Light. It is located on Hole 5 of the Arthur Hills Golf Course in Palmetto Dunes Plantation. During World War II a unit of the Coast Guard 6th Naval District Mounted Beach Patrol watched for German submarines from Camp McDougall which was located around the rear range light beginning in 1942.  

(Hunting Island by Culp, 1950s;  copyright owned by BDC)

The first Hunting Island Lighthouse was built of brick and completed in 1859. When the Civil War broke out, Confederates destroyed the lighthouse in order to prevent the Union Navy from using it as an aid to navigation. A new lighthouse was built in 1875 though encroachment of the sea required that it be moved in 1889 to a spot one mile distant. The 130 feet stall 1889 structure is now within the Hunting Island State Park. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1933. It has long been a favorite climb for locals and tourists as the only lighthouse in South Carolina accessible to the general public. Over the years, the number of climbers on a daily basis led to damages and safety concerns. Structural concerns and restoration work closed the structure in 2022. The community rejoiced upon its re-opening on May 26, 2026. 

 

The Beaufort District Collection Research Room recommends the following sources:

• You can read a synopsis of the lighthouse's history on the Hunting Island State Park website.
• Up Here : The Hunting Island Lighthouse and Its Lightkeepers by Theodore J. Panayotoff, 2024.
• Wild Island Nature : Hunting Island State Park and Saint Phillips Island : The Beauty of Our Changing World by Carol Corbin, 2021. 
• South Carolina Lighthouses : 15 Historic Postcards by Margie Willis Clary, 2008. 
• Several vertical files full of magazine and clippings about Beaufort District's lights only in our Research Room: 
• LIGHTHOUSES 
• HUNTING ISLAND - LIGHTHOUSE
• LIGHTHOUSES - HARBOUR TOWN LIGHTHOUSE
• LIGHTHOUSES - LEAMINGTON RANGE LIGHT

Special Presentation, 150th Lighthouse Anniversary: October 16th - 18th [2009], Grand Ceremony [DVD] and a poster, "Interpretive Lighthouse Tour : November 9th and 30th [2017]."

Check out the DVD of the award winning documentary by Suzanne Larsen and Paul Keyserling, A Light on Treacherous Waters: The Story of the Hunting Island, South Carolina, Light Station, from the local history section of your favorite branch library. 

If you prefer to borrow an e-book A History of South Carolina Lighthouses by John Hairr is available on the Library's Hoopla service.  

Hunting Island Lighthouse

Hunting Island Lighthouse, Beaufort, SC (postcard) c1890

Verso says:
A 95 foot tower was completed in 1859 to replace a lightship.  Destroyed by Confederate troops in 1862, another light was not built until 1875 about one miles inland due to erosion.

Learn more about the structure and its past uses on the Hunting Island State Park Lighthouse website at http://www.huntingisland.com/light.htm. 

Check out A Light on Treacherous Waters:The Story of the Hunting Island, South Carolina, Light Station, an award-winning documentary written and produced by Suzanne Larsen, in collaboration with Paul Keyserling, the Friends of Hunting Island Lighthouse, and WJWJ, c2001.  DVDs are available in the Local History sections (Call # 975.799 LIG)

Visit the BDC Research Room 10 am to 5 pm, Mondays through Fridays to see some of the many items that we hold in trust for the community. 

Become a Local Heritage Tourist: Chapter 1 Hunting Island State Park and Lighthouse

Hunting Island State Park is "South Carolina’s single most popular state park, attracting more than a million human visitors a year." Among the non-human visitors are loggerhead turtles, painted buntings, alligators, pelicans, dolphins, deer, raccoons, and snakes. (No mention of UFOs or ghosts).

While many folks visit Hunting Island just for fun in the sand and surf, there are opportunities inside for local heritage tourists, too.

Climb the Lighthouse. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it's the only publicly accessible lighthouse in South Carolina. From the top, you can see for miles and miles.

Visit the lighthouse keeper's house to learn about his duties and challenges or register for the "Lighthouse Life" program.

Interested in how the coastal Indians lived 1500 years ago or more? Sign up for the SC Native Americans program.

Add a splash of eco-tourism/environmentalism by visiting the natural history exhibits and live animals near and in the Nature Center by the pier. Alligators, Sharks, Blue Crabs, Snakes, anyone? You can watch the rangers feed the animals, too.

Take a beach walk with a naturalist.

Hike one of the 8 trails.

For more details, schedules and fees, contact the Hunting Island State Park.
2555 Sea Island PKWY
Hunting Island,SC 29920
Phone: (843) 838-2011
Fax: (843) 838-4263

Enjoy a day being a local heritage tourist!

The Aerial image of the lighthouse is a photograph taken by the SCDAH for the National Register of Historic Places.

"People of the Light" on the County Channel

28 June 2024 - Jan Beaudrie of The County Channel confirmed that no known recording of the play exists in their archive. We do not have a copy here in the BDC Research Room. -- gmc 

"People of the Light," a play written by County PIO Suzanne Larson in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Hunting Island Lighthouse will be shown on The County Channel, tonight at 8 p.m. with a reprise Sunday night at 8 p.m. You can also see and hear Dr. Larry Rowland, Professor Emeritus, USC-B talk about the history of the lighthouse during the broadcast.

The play stars County employees Dennis Adams (Library) and Christine Grefe (Solicitor) as well as Quentin Bell, the son of Belinda Green (Finance) who sings every year at our tree lighting ceremony. The play was funded through a grant from the S.C. Humanities Council and is based on the history of the Hunting Island Lighthouse. Grant advisors include Dennis Adams, Grace Cordial (Library) and Ian Hill (Planning).

The County Channel is a service of Beaufort County government. It is streamed on the home page of the County website, www.bcgov.net and broadcast on Charter Cable channel 20, Comcast Cable channel 2, Hargray Cable channel 252, Time Warner Cable Hilton Head Island channel 66 and Time Warner Cable Sun City channel 63.

The Beaufort County Library contains a number of materials on the subject of lighthouses, but the most interesting for us locals is the award winning documentary film, A light on treacherous waters : the story of the Hunting Island, South Carolina, Light Station produced by Larson. The video (call Number 387.1 LIG) is available at all our branch libraries in either/or VHS or DVD format.

Drop by the BDC to see these vertical files:
• Hunting Island – Lighthouse
• Lighthouses