#37: The Cockspur Island Lighthouse

“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does.

Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining—they just shine.”

—Dwight L. Moody

The Cockspur Island Lighthouse

Cockspur Island sits aside the south channel of the Savannah River and is located a short distance northwest of Tybee Island. Sail twelve miles upstream to the west and you’ll reach the Savannah port.

It was on Cockspur Island that John Wesley initially landed in the ‘new world’ on February 6, 1736. Wesley would spend his time serving the spiritual needs of the new colony of Georgia in Savannah, then under the direction of founder James Oglethorpe. His time in Savannah proved a bitterly disappointing experience for John Wesley. He returned to England to later become the founder of Methodism.

Between 1837 and 1839, the Cockspur Lighthouse was designed and built by noted architect John Norris. A few years later, Norris would design the Mercer-Williams House that served as the setting for John Berendt’s infamous book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story.

John Norris was a particularly important architect in the creation of Savannah landmarks. His first commission was for the U.S. Customs House, a beautiful building still standing in downtown Savannah. Norris would design and supervise the construction of 18-projects in the city, including this lighthouse.

Hurricanes were the constant hazard the Cockspur Island Lighthouse faced throughout the decades that followed its creation. The lighthouse was damaged, destroyed, and rebuilt more than once. In 1881, for example, a storm caused the Savannah River to swell 23-feet above sea level, filling the entire interior of the lighthouse with saltwater and completely destroying the lighthouse keeper’s residence, as well.

The lighthouse is located next to Fort Pulaski. After the war of 1812, under President James Madison, the new United States began constructing a system of coastal fortifications. Fort Pulaski was built to protect the port of Savannah. Construction began in 1829 and was completed in 1845. For a time, construction was supervised by Second Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, then a recent West Point graduate.

The fort was used as the backdrop for Robert Redford’s 2009 movie The Conspirator, which was based on the trial of Mary Surratt (and others) for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Fort Pulaski was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It was named for the Polish officer and Revolutionary War hero, Kazimierz Pulaski, who served under the command of George Washington.

The Cockspur Island Lighthouse survived the Siege of Fort Pulaski in April 1862, when Union Forces bombarded the Confederate fort with relentless artillery fire. The subsequent surrender of the fort closed the Savannah port for the duration of the Civil War. However, the city remained in Confederate control until William Tecumseh Sherman arrived to demand Savannah’s surrender in December 1864.

The 30-hours of the bombardment of Fort Pulaski miraculously missed the lighthouse. By the late 1880s, the south channel of the Savannah River was too shallow for the newest varieties of cargo ships then sailing the ocean. By that time, most shipping of inbound cargo had moved to the river’s northern channel.

The Cockspur Island Lighthouse was deactivated in 1909, and was later transferred to the Nation Park Service for its management. The lighthouse itself is now closed to visitors, but can still be closely viewed.