A brief history of our lighthouse as it turns 150 years old this year.
Join us all year at various events as we celebrate this milestone.
The Haig Point Lighthouse is what is known as a fixed light and technically part of a range Light. A steadily burning light, or fixed light gives mariners accurate directional information in ports, harbours, and estuarial approaches. When you combine two fixed light lighthouses to form a range light, a very accurate method of giving directional instruction is created. The fixed lights of different elevation are located about half a nautical mile apart and the navigator steers the vessel to keep the two lights aligned one above the other.
The Haig Point Range Lights were range lights on Calibogue Sound at the northeastern end of Daufuskie Island. The Calibogue Sound is between Daufuskie and Hilton Head Islands. It connects the Intracoastal Waterway and the Harbour Town Marina with the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1871, the U.S. Congress authorized two sets of range lights on Daufuskie Island. The other range lights were the Bloody Point Range Lights on the south end of the island. Land was procured in 1872 at Haig’s Point for the first set. The Haig Point range lights were lit in 1873 and were maintained as an official aid to navigation until about 1924. The Rear Range Light house has been restored. It is a guest house for the Haig Point Club and serves as a private aid to navigation.
Rear Range Light
The Rear Range light, built by James H. Reed, had a square tower on top of the light keeper’s wooden, two-story Victorian house. The foundation for the house rests on the Tabby cement foundation of an old plantation house. The house and tower are painted white. The lantern has a red roof. The light was a 5th order Fresnel lens with a kerosene lamp. Later, an electric light was installed. In addition to the house, an oil house, and a A brief history of our lighthouse as it turns 150 years old this year. Join us all year at various events as we celebrate this milestone. 6,000 US gallon cistern were built. This light was manned until about 1924.
In 1925, the house was sold. Over time, it passed through several hands and fell into disrepair. In 1984, the house was purchased by the International Paper Realty Corporation. They began a restoration of the house as a guest house of the Haig Point Club. The oil house and cistern remain near the lighthouse.
In 1986, after about sixty years of darkness, a lamp was again activated in the Haig Point lighthouse. This light has an acrylic lens and is powered by solar cells and batteries. This flashing white light is a private aid to navigation. The rear range is a contributing property of the National Register of Historic Places’ Daufuskie Island Historic District. The nomination form and an additional picture is available from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. In addition, the Beaufort County Historical Surveys for both the lighthouse and the oil house are available. These have recent photographs.
Front Range Light
The Bloody Point Lighthouse, located at the southern tip of Daufuskie Island, has an uncommon story rich in history and duty. It all began in 1882 when the U.S. Government paid $425 for land to place the Bloody Point Light. The Lighthouse, designed by John Doyle who was also the first lighthouse keeper, was built on the ocean in 1883 to light the southern end of Daufuskie Island. It is a two-story building with the front light located in a small dormer window with a brass stand and wind-up clockwork to turn the light. There was also a rear range light tower.
This lighthouse allowed a ship to safely enter the channel when it lined up the front-range light with the rear range light. The placement of these range lights was very important in the early days to ensure safe passage into and out of the busy port of Savannah. The Bloody Point Lighthouse is very unique because it looks nothing like a typical lighthouse at all. In fact, the twostory structure is the same design as the keepers’ houses at the Tybee Island Light with the exception of the addition of a large dormer jutting out from the roof of Bloody Point where the light was kept. At night the dormer window opened, exposing a fixed reflector lens that shone in the direction of the other positioning light, transforming this normal-looking house into a lighthouse.
