Cockspur Island Lighthouse

Cockspur Island Lighthouse is a Georgia historical marker in Chatham County, dedicated 2011.

At the visitor center, in Fort Pulaski National Park in Savannah.

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Designed and built in 1848 by renowned architect John S. Norris to mark the entrance to the South Channel of the Savannah River, the Cockspur Island Lighthouse was destroyed by a hurricane in 1854. A larger replacement was built on the same foundation in 1855. During the American Civil War, the light was temporarily extinguished. The lighthouse survived the 30-hour Union bombardment of Confederate-held Fort Pulaski in 1862 and two hurricanes in 1881 and 1893. By the late 1800s, shipping had moved to the North Channel of the Savannah River. The lighthouse was no longer needed and was deactivated in 1909. In 1958, the U.S. Coast Guard transferred the lighthouse to the National Park Service.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1836 · Georgia Pocket Map (Mitchell, 1836) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1852 · Georgia, Florida. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1863 · Sketch of sea coast of South Carolina and Georgia from Bull's Bay to Ossabaw Sound (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1874 · Plache VII. Sea Islands. (Carolina du Sud). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
[Savannah River and Savannah Sound]. (University of Michigan Library)

Georgia, Florida, 1852, covering the location of Cockspur Island Lighthouse, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Georgia, Florida, 1852, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

History of Emancipation: Gen. David Hunter and General Orders No. 7same spot
The Waving Girlsame spot
John Wesley (1703-1791)same spot
Fort Pulaskiunder 1 mi