Enter Keyword - Search usalights.com
Home | Lighthouse Map | Georgia | Cockspur Island

Cockspur Island, GA


Lighthouse History

Built: 1857

Type: Conical Tower with Bow Shaped Base

Height: 46 feet

Status: Active - Does not serve as an Aids to Navigation

Location: Islet just off the eastern end of Cockspur Island

Deactivated: 1909

Lens: Fourth order fresnel

Keepers: John Lightburn(1857 - ?), Cornelius Maher(? - ?), Mary Maher (?-?)

Notes: The first Tybee Island tower was built in 1736 to mark the entrance to the Savannah River, but mariners had to travel seventeen miles up the river to reach the port of Savannah. Several islands, including Cockspur, Long and Elba, lie between the river's mouth and the port, dissecting the river into two main channels: the north channel, and the south channel. In 1849, a lighthouse was built on an islet just off the eastern end of Cockspur Island to mark the entrance to the south channel of the Savannah River. The lighthouse, whose light source consisted of five lamps with 14-inch reflectors, was short-lived, and a replacement was built on its oyster bed foundation in 1857.
The second Cockspur Lighthouse was built of brick and exhibited a light from a fourth-order Fresnel lens. The forty-six-foot tower has a unique feature - it's eastern side is shaped like the prow of a ship to better withstand the force of high seas. A twin tower was built nearby on Oyster Bed Island to mark the river's north channel, but the structure fell victim to the storms that buffet the area.
The first keeper of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse was appropriately named John Lightburn. The keeper lived on Cockspur Island, near Fort Pulaski, and would make daily trips to the tower to service the light. The lighthouse's second keeper, Cornelius Maher, drowned near the tower when his boat capsized while he was trying to help someone in distress. Maher's wife, Mary, replaced her husband as keeper and remained at the light for three more years. 
This lighthouse was initially built as a daymarker without lights to indicate the entrance to the south channel of the Savannah River. Construction lasted from March 1837 to November 1839. By 1848 it was retrofitted with lights and reflectors. It housed a fixed white light from five lamps with 14 inch reflectors that shone 9 miles at a height of 25 feet above sea level. It was damaged by a hurricane in 1854. The larger replacement that was built in 1855 on the same foundation was designed by New York architect John S. Norris.
The light was extinguished for a time during the American Civil War during the battle that brought the defeat of Fort Pulaski. The lighthouse suffered little or no damage, even though it was in direct line of fire. It was relit in 1866.
On June 1, 1909, the light was finally extinguished because the south channel was infrequently used, compared to the much more popular north channel, which was deeper and wider. The United States Coast Guard relinquished control of this lighthouse to the National Park Service on August 14, 1958. Along with the entire National Monument, the lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Starting in 1995 and lasting until 2000, the upper portions of the lighthouse were restored, although the foundations still require protection from wave action and tidal erosion.
On March 18, 2007 at 7:30pm the lighthouse was relit in a ceremony hosted by the National Park Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.


Related Merchandise... To find out more click the links below!

You Can  Now Copyright Credits
Contact Us usalights Store Shopping Center

View Shopping Cart