Castle Pinckney Light is a former lighthouse on Shutes' Folly Island in

Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km²) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston ...

Charleston County, South Carolina Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 408,235, making it the third most populous county in South Carolina (behind Greenville and Richland counties). ...

.Clary, Margie Willis, ''The Beacons of South Carolina'', Sandlapper Publishing Co., Inc., Orangeburg, SC, 2005, pp. xii-xiii, 101-102, .

Castle Pinckney Castle Pinckney was a small masonry fortification constructed by the United States government, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina in 1810. It was used very briefly as a prisoner-of-war camp (six weeks) and artillery position during the ...

was a c. 1810 U.S. coastal fortification, which was built upon the site of Fort Pinckney, a 1797

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

destroyed during an 1804

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depe ...

. Castle Pinckney was occupied by

Confederate forces The military forces of the Confederate States, also known as Confederate forces, were the military services responsible for the defense of the Confederacy during its existence (1861–1865). Organization The military forces of the Confederate ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

History

In 1855, a yellow tower with a focal plane of was built at Castle Pinckney. It had a 5th order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the ...

. 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. 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 War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * De ...

for a time. The lighthouse was probably destroyed in 1938.

References

{{authority control Lighthouses in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Charleston County, South Carolina