Imagine a “lighthouse” with no light! Such was the case when a brick, lightless beacon was constructed on Cockspur Island – which lies at the entrance to the Savannah River – between 1837 and 1839. It was converted to a real lighthouse in 1849, boasting five lamps with 14-inch reflectors at a focal plane of 25-feet above sea level and visible for nine nautical miles. Lying in the path of a coastal hurricane, the lighthouse was rebuilt in 1857 and outfitted with a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens in the 46-foot tower.

Situated near Tybee Island, Cockspur Island Light was directly between Fort Pulaski and Tybee. During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers were bunkered behind the Fort’s seven-foot thick walls, when it was fired on by the Union Army’s newest weapon: rifled Parrot guns that were able to drive their 36-pound shot about a mile to the Fort and penetrate two-feet into the walls. Some 5,000 such shots were fired between Tybee Island and Fort Pulaski, severely damaging the Fort. Miraculously, the little Cockspur Island lighthouse was unscathed. The lighthouse resumed operation following the war.

In 1909, Cockspur Island Light was deactivated. The Coast Guard abandoned the lighthouse in 1949. The National Park Service assumed control of the light in 1958.

Between 1995 and 2000, the tower was restored and made a part of the Fort Pulaski National Monument. Access to the lighthouse is by boat and the charming white brick sentinel is open to the public. It proudly stands as a symbol of the rich and colorful history that surrounds the Savannah.