I skipped a week for the Lighthouse of the Week during my hiatus (which I haven't done very often). So I'm getting back to the schedule at the end of this week.
And for this week, I'm featuring the Hunting Island lighthouse in South Carolina, another two-tone, black-and-white type.
As I said, it's in South Carolina, located here. I zoomed out a bit so its location can be seen in relation to Hilton Head and Kiawah islands.
This lighthouse has some history, so I'm going to start with what Lighthouse Friends says about that.
"Obviously, the original Hunting Island Lighthouse is no longer standing, but its demise was not due to the advancing ocean but rather to a retreating army. Confederate forces blew up the lighthouse in 1861 to hinder the approach of the Union fleet before the Battle of Port Royal.
At 9:50 p.m. on August 31, 1886, the effects of the Charleston earthquake were felt at the station. It was easy to note the exact time, as the clock in the lighthouse was stopped by the tremor. The first shock, which lasted for about four minutes, was so strong that a bucket that was half full of water on the top landing in the tower was nearly drained. The two assistants atop the tower couldn’t stand up without holding onto something. One assistant was outside on the gallery and was thrown back and forth between the railing and the tower. The station’s chickens were shaken from their perches and ran out of the coop in seemingly great terror."
Next, excerpts from the info provided by the Lighthouse Directory.
"1875 (station established 1859). Reactivated (inactive 1933-1995, now maintained by the state of South Carolina); focal plane 132 ft (40 m); continuous white light with a more intense flash every 30 s. 136 ft (41 m) round cast iron tower, upper third painted black, lower 2/3 white.Below I have lots of things; a video, a StreetView, and pictures.
This lighthouse replaced an 1859 tower destroyed during the Civil War. Fears of beach erosion caused the lighthouse to be relocated 1.3 miles (2.2 km) inland in 1889. Rapid beach erosion in the area continues and is threatening the lighthouse again; in September 2014 the Friends of Hunting Island State Park warned that erosion could reach the lighthouse in 5-10 years."
No comments:
Post a Comment