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Lighthouse History
Built: 1820
Type: Conical Tower
Height: 80 feet
Status: Active - Private
Location: Darien
Deactivated: 1905 to 1998
Lens: 1820 Lewis lamp / 1854
Fourth Order Fresnel
Keepers: W.W. Brown (1868-1873)
James Cromley (1873-?) Robert Cromley(?-?)
Notes: Thomas Spalding sold
five acres for the sum of $1, at the southern end of the island for the
construction of a lighthouse. Winslow Lewis of Boston was contracted on
September 14, 1819 to build the brick tower and accompanying dwelling.
Lewis also provided the light source: fifteen of his sixteen-inch reflectors
and lamps, fitted on a triangular revolving iron frame. When the Sapelo
Island Lighthouse was activated in 1820, it served as a guide for mariners
transiting Doboy Sound to and from the Port of Darien. Located at the mouth
of the Altamaha River, Darien was a collecting point for lumber and crops
produced in Georgia's interior.
In the 1850s, most of America's
lighthouses were upgraded with a more efficient lighting apparatus, the
Fresnel lens. The Sapelo Lighthouse received a fourth-order Fresnel lens
in 1854. Confederate forces removed the lens before the Union Army occupied
the island in 1862. Spalding had constructed a plantation mansion called
"South End House" on the island in 1809. Although Thomas Spalding passed
away in 1851, his son continued to live in the mansion until being forced
to flee to the mainland by the advancing Union troops.
Following the war, the lighthouse
was reactivated in 1868, when it also received its distinctive daymark
- six alternating red and white bands. At this time, several free slaves
returned to the island and established a settlement on 434 acres deeded
to them by the Spaldings. The settlement was named Hog Hammock, after Sampson
Hog who served as caretaker for Spalding's hogs.
W.W. Brown was appointed
keeper when the Sapelo Lighthouse was reactivated following the war. James
Cromley succeeded Brown as keeper in 1873. Am accomplished cobbler and
boot maker, Cromley was able to supplement his meager keeper's income by
making footwear for the crews of the vessels that anchored near the lighthouse.
Members of the Cromely family served at the lighthouse for sixty years,
with Robert Cromley being the final keeper on Sapelo Island.
The Sapelo Lighthouse was
severely damaged by the hurricane and tidal wave of October 1898, and the
district inspector decided a new tower should be built on the island. Accordingly,
a 100-foot steel pyramidal tower was erected a few hundred feet north of
the brick tower. Two wooden dwellings were built adjacent to the tower,
which exhibited its third-order light for the first time on September 18
of 1905. The lamp in the tower was fueled by kerosene, which was stored
in a brick oil house located near base of the tower. In 1913, the lighting
system was upgraded to an incandescent oil vapor (IOV) lamp. Kerosene was
mixed with air under pressure, creating a fine mist that would saturate
a mantle and produce a brilliant light.
The skeleton tower served
alongside
the original lighthouse until 1933, when, due to the decline in shipping
in the area, it was determined that a light on Sapelo was no longer necessary.
The steel tower was dismantled and shipped to South Fox Island, located
in Lake Michigan, where it was active for several years and can still be
seen today.
In 1969, the northern part
of Sapelo Island was sold to the State of Georgia and became the R.J. Reynolds
Wildlife Refuge. The southern portion of the island was purchased jointly
by the State of Georgia and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
to be set aside as the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The original brick lighthouse,
oil house and cistern were meticulously restored in 1998. A spiral staircase
was rebuilt inside the lighthouse permitting visitors to climb the tower
for an elevated view of Doboy Sound. The original Sapelo Lighthouse was
painted with six bright stripes, and the lantern room, after having been
dark for almost a century, exhibits a light once again. |