The is located in
Hunting Island State Park on
Hunting Island near
Beaufort, South Carolina .
Construction started in
1859 , but was set back as the tower was destroyed during the
Civil War in
1862 . In
1875 construction was completed and the tower was lit.
Erosion quickly led to the need to move the tower. In
1889 , the tower was taken apart and moved block by block further inland. It continued operation until deactivation in
1933 . As part of
Hunting Island State Park , the tower remains open to the public.
The tower is made mostly of brick with a cast iron shell. The conical tower is 136 feet tall with a second order,
Fresnel light (the light is no longer lit and the lenses are at the base of the tower for the public to view). The top third of the tower is painted black and the lower two-thirds is painted white. A fog horn was not installed. The only sound signal is a large bell.
Continued remodelling of the tower is made possible by
South Carolina funding and a small charge per visitor to the tower.
Listed in the
National Register Of Historic Places in 1977 as reference #70000561.
