H

arbour Lights Lighthouses

HarbourLights.com

Cape Romain South Carolina
Harbour Lights #283

Near McClellanville lies an idyllic island seemingly untouched by man. Visitors are in awe of nature’s landscape as they approach the isolated Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. Yet standing amidst all this rural beauty are two lone sentinels with memories of times past. These two lighthouses have a story to tell and history to spare.

Located on Raccoon Key, locally called “Lighthouse Island”, the first sentinel was built in the early 1800’s. After workers removed a windmill from the site, a sixty-five foot, red brick tower was erected. The work was contracted to the infamous lighthouse builder, Winslow Lewis. Despite his vast experience, a vital error was made in the design of the tower. Halfway through construction, workers discovered that the walls did not slope at the proper angles. Even though orders were given to correct the error, the tower was completed despite the lean caused by poor construction. 

Not withstanding good intentions, the sentinel’s service lasted only 31 years. The 87-foot tower was deemed inadequate and the optic was removed for use in a newer, taller tower. But workers did not destroy the old tower as they built a new one, electing to save the old structure and use it for storage. The new lighthouse was built in 1858 of wood and brick. This sentinel’s 150-foot height and octagonal shape provided great assistance to vessels, not only with its bright beacon, but also with its contrasting paint scheme that served as a daymark. 

To everyone’s amazement, the new tower was beginning to resemble the old one, with a discernable lean. Within only fifteen years, the keepers reported cracks near the windows and along the west face. In fact, the lens required continual adjustment as the west portion of the tower sank. The deflection of the tower exceeded 27 inches from the vertical and officials became concerned for the sentinel’s fate.

Finally, samples were taken of the earth on which Cape Romain stood. Not surprisingly, they found that the island’s soil consisted of sand, mud, clay and shells, an unpredictable mixture. But more importantly, architects found that a solid bed of sand lay at a depth of 52 feet, with no solid rock for anchorage. Although further shifting (or tilting) of the sentinel halted, the Lighthouse Board continued to monitor the sentinel’s movements and worry about its future.

Known by locals as the “Leaning Lighthouse”, Cape Romain was decommissioned in 1947 and left to endure the ravages of time and vandalism. Windows were shattered and rain entered the sentinel, causing extensive water damage. Despite the apparent unstableness of the structures, both lighthouses have endured strong earthquakes and powerful storms, including a direct hit from hurricane Hugo. Modern structures on the island did not fair as well. Current efforts are underway to restore the two lighthouses. The beacons belong to the U.S. Coast Guard who continue to use them as daymarks. 

A former keeper’s daughter, born at the lighthouse in 1907, recalls, “When I was scheduled to arrive in February, Dr. Edward McClellan came over from McClellanville to deliver me. The birth was delayed so the doctor and my father went out fishing. My father caught a big channel bass. As he was coming up the walk to the house from the dock, he saw Hessie, the midwife, in the window of my mother’s room. He held up the fish and said, ‘Hessie, look what I caught.’ Hessie opened the window and held me up and said, ‘Look what I caught!’”

| Top | Home | Archives | Copyright | Contacts |