Castle Pinckney Light

Castle Pinckney Light is a former lighthouse on Shutes' Folly Island in Charleston Harbor, Charleston County, South Carolina.^[1][2][3][4]

Castle Pinckney Light

Castle Pinckney from an 1861 illustration in Frank Leslie's Weekly
Location	Shutes' Folly Island, Charleston County, South Carolina
Coordinates	32°46′25.1″N 79°54′39.6″W
Tower
Constructed	1855; 170 years ago (1855)
Light
Deactivated	1917; 108 years ago (1917)
Focal height	50 feet (15 m) (1855)
Lens	5th order Fresnel lens (1855)

Castle Pinckney was a c. 1810 U.S. coastal fortification, which was built upon the site of Fort Pinckney, a 1797 fort destroyed during an 1804 hurricane.

Castle Pinckney was occupied by Confederate forces during the Civil War.

History

In 1855, a yellow tower with a focal plane of 50 feet (15 m) was built at Castle Pinckney. It had a 5th order Fresnel lens.^[1][2]

In 1878, Castle Pinckney was transferred to the Lighthouse Board for use as a lighthouse depot for the Sixth District. A new lighthouse was constructed in 1880. A third lighthouse was constructed in 1890, and it was made a lighthouse station.^[1][2]

In 1916, the lighthouse depot was moved to Tradd Street in Charleston. The lighthouse station was deactivated in 1917, and Castle Pinckney was transferred to the War Department for a time.

The lighthouse was probably destroyed in 1938.^[1][2]