St. Simons Island Light

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St. Simons Island Light
Location:	Saint Simons Island, Georgia
Coordinates	31°08′00″N 81°23′36″W / 31.1334°N 81.3933°W / 31.1334; -81.3933
Year first constructed:	1811
Year first lit:	1872
Automated:	1954
Foundation:	Tabby
Construction:	Iron and Brick
Tower shape:	Frustrum of a Cone
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.
Admiralty number:	J2842
ARLHS number:	USA-805[1][2]
USCG number:	3-0520

The St. Simons Island Light 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 electric light to transmit a beam visible for 23 miles (37 kilometers).

Contents 1 Original structure 2 Current structure 3 Notes 4 Further reading 5 External links

[edit] Original structure

The original St. Simons Island lighthouse was built in 1810, which was a 75-foot tall early federal octagonal lighthouse topped by a 10 foot oil-burning lamp. During the American Civil War, U.S. military forces employed a Naval blockade of the coast. An invasion by U.S. 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 U.S. warships.

[edit] Current structure

The U.S. 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 2008 the lighthouse is still 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.

Having an operational Fresnel lens is a relative rarity. The Fresnel lens is still operative, being one of only 70 such lenses that remain operational in the United States. Sixteen of those are in use on the Great Lakes of which eight are in Michigan.^[3]

The light is picturesque, and is the subject of paintings and other artistic renderings.^[4]

[edit] Notes

Original lighthouse, in 1848.

Current lighthouse, in 2008.

Lighthouse, long view, 2008.

[edit] Further reading

• Jones, Ray, (1988) Southeastern Lighthouses.
• McCarthy, Kevin (1988) Georgia's Lighthouses and Historic Coastal Sites.
• Sullivan, Buddy, The Lighthouses of Georgia, The Keeper's Log, Spring 1988.

v • d • e United States Lighthouse Resources United States Lighthouse Resources "A History of the Lighthouse Act of 1789 " U.S. Senate Historical Office, 1991. Web. PDF 2.94 MB. Browning, Robert. "Lighthouse Evolution and Typology." United States Coast Guard, 22 Jul. 2008. Web. Crompton, Samuel, W; Rhein, Michael, J. The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 2002. ISBN 1-59223-102-0. Jones, Ray; Roberts, Bruce. American Lighthouses. Globe Pequot, 1998. 1st ed. ISBN 0-7627-0324-5. Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference. Globe Pequot, 2004. 1st ed. ISBN 0-7627-2735-7. Maritime Heritage Program. Inventory of Historic Light Stations. National Park Service. 26 Oct. 2006. Web. Noble, Dennis. Lighthouses & Keepers: U.S. Lighthouse Service and its Legacy. Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2004. ISBN 1-59114-626-7. Price, Scott, T. "Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography." United States Coast Guard, 6 Jan. 2009. Web. Putnam, George, R. "Beacons of the Sea: Lighting the Coast of the United States." National Geographic XXIV.1 (January, 1913): 19. ISSN 1044-6613. Putnam, George, R. Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1933. Roberts, Bruce; Jones, Ray. (September 2002) American Lighthouses, 2nd: A Definitive Guide Globe Pequot Press 304 pp. ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027; ISBN 9780762722693. Strobridge, Truman, R. "Chronology of Aids to Navigation and the United States Lighthouse Service, 1716–1939." Washington, D.C.: United States Coast Guard. United States Coast Guard. Aids to Navigation. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1945. United States Coast Guard. Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography. The U. S. Coast Guard Light List which is in PDF form here., Volumes 1-7 or in print form from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Weiss, George. The Lighthouse Service, Its History, Activities and Organization. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1926.

[edit] External links

• Coastal Georgia Historical Society
• Georgia's Coastal Lighthouses
• Coastal Georgia Historical Society, St. Simons Island Lighthouse website.
• Huelse, Klaus -- Meine Leuchtturm-Seite: Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten -- Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses, Historic Post Card View — St. Simons Island Lighthouse.
• Lighthouse Friends, St. Simons Island Lighthouse.
• Rowlett, Russ, Lighthouse Directory, Lighthouses of Georgia., St. Simon’s Island Lighthouse. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

v • d • e Lighthouses of Georgia Cockspur Island Light • Little Cumberland Island Light • Sapelo Island Light • Sapelo Island Range Front Light • Savannah Light • St. Simons Island Light • Tybee Island Light • Tybee Island Light Station • Tybee Island Range Front Light