Cockspur Island Lighthouse, Savannah River, Chatham County, Georgia
COCKSPUR ISLAND LIGHT
Location: OFF THE EASTERLY END OF COCKSPUR ISLAND, AND ON THE NORTHERLY SIDE OF THE CHANNEL PASSING TO THE SOUTHWARD OF THE ISLAND, SAVANNAH RIVER
Station Established: 1772
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1857
Operational: No
Automated? No
Deactivated: 1909
Foundation Materials: Oyster Shell
Construction Materials: Brick
Tower Shape / Markings / Pattern: White conical tower
Height: 22'
Relationship to Other Structure: Separate
Original Lens: Fourth Order, Fresnel, 1857
Characteristic: Fixed white
Fog Signal:
Historical Information:
- Also known as the South Channel Light or Little Tybee Light.
- Between 1837 and 1839 a brick tower was built for use as a daymark.
- 1848 - 1st illuminated tower built.
- 1853 - Keeper Cornelius Mather capsized his boat and drowned.
- 1857 - Lighthouse rebuilt.
- 1862 - Fort Pulaski attacked by Union troops.
- 1866 - Light relit after the end of the Civil War.
- 1880 – Keeper’s house struck by lightning.
- 1881 - Hurricane blew away the rest of the Keeper’s house.
- 1891 - New Keeper’s house built on top of Fort Pulaski.
- 1909 - Light deactivated.
- 1958 - National Park Service took over the lighthouse.
- 1960, 1978, 1996 - Tower restored by National Park Service.
Keepers:
- John Lightburn (1849)
- Cornelius Maher (1851-1853)
- Mary Maher (1853-1856)
- Thomas Quinfiven (1856 for 4 months)
- Patrick Egan (c. 1871)
- Charles Poland (unknown)
- George Washington Martus (1881 - 1886)
- Jeremiah Keane (c. 1893)
- Charles Sisson (Asst. Keeper c. 1893)
Researched and written by Marie Vincent, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.