St. Simons Island Light
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| Location: | Saint Simons Island, Georgia |
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| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
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| Foundation: | Tabby |
| Construction: | Iron and Brick |
| Year first lit: | 1872 |
| Year first constructed: | 1811 |
| Automated: | 1954 |
| Tower shape: | Conical |
| Markings/Pattern: | White tower attached to a two-story brick dwelling with red roof |
| Height: | 104 ft |
| Original lens: | Third order Fresnel lens |
| Characteristic: | continuous white light with a more intense flash every 60 s. |
the St. Simons Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Georgia, United States, on the southern tip of Saint Simons Island, marking the entrance into St. Simons Sound. It uses a 1000-watt electrical light to transmit a beam visible for eighteeen miles.
[edit] Original structure
The original St. Simons Island lighthouse was built in 1810, which was a seventy-five foot tall early federal octagonal lighthouse topped by a ten foot oil-burning lamp. During the Civil War, US military forces employed a Naval blockade of the coast. An invasion by US troops in 1862 forced Confederate soldiers to abandon the area. The retreating troops destroyed the lighthouse to prevent it from being an aid to the navigation of US ships.
[edit] Current structure
The US government built a replacement for the original lighthouse to the west of the first. It is a 104-foot structure completed in 1872 and was outfitted with a third-order, biconvex Fresnel lens. A cast iron spiral stairway with 129 steps leads to the top. In 1876 the lighthouse was overhauled. In 1934 the kerosene-burning lamp was replaced by a 1000-watt electrical light. In 1939 the lighthouse was placed under the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard. About 1953 the lighthouse was fully automated. The tower underwent restoration in 1989-91 and again in 1997-98. In 2004, ownership of the lighthouse was transferred to the Coastal Georgia Historical Society under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.
As of 2007 the lighthouse is ttill in use. The lighthouse keeper's residence has been turned into a museum and the public can go up to the top of the lighthouse.
[edit] External links
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