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Did you know South Carolina has had, throughout its 336 years of history, more than 10 lighthouses?

In fact, it was closer to 20.

In Margie Willis Clary’s work “The Beacons of South Carolina,” the reader is introduced to each of these interesting monuments to seafaring history.

Without dragging the reader through the history of the world, Clary’s work begins with a brief but interesting history of the lighthouse, from the Pharaohs of Egypt building a 450-foot tower in 300 B.C. to those built along the eastern coastline in the New World.

The Prologue offers insight into the early methods of warning navigators, including the foghorn and devices used for refracting a stronger light.

“Beacons” moves quickly to South Carolina’s first lighthouse built on Morris Island in Charleston Harbor.

While that first facility was constructed in 1767, the site of the Morris Island (Old Charleston Light) was used long before the first brick was laid.

Clary writes that as early as 1673, three years after the establishment of the colony, navigators realized the need for such a facility.

Selecting Morris Island due to its position at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, area officials used a bonfire of pitch and oak.

Interestingly, it was King George III who finally ordered a lighthouse built on Morris Island after monies previously earmarked for the project had been diverted to other ventures.

The plight of the oldest lighthouse site and the eroded Morris Island is given mention as well.

As with the Morris Island light, Clary goes into the history of each facility and, when possibly, lists its keepers whether the facility has been deactivated or not.

While the work remains steadfast to the tangible, Clary does weave in a few tales of the intangible, such as the ghost of the Bloody Point Lighthouse.

Although few in number, the tales of hauntings add color to an already interesting read. Historical photos along with sketchings where available illustrate each facility.

A native of the Upstate, Clary has resided in the Charleston area on James Island for the past 35 years. Her home is located a few miles from the site of that first lighthouse in the Palmetto State.

Softback, available at $16.95 at Sandlapper Publishing Company in Orangeburg.

-- T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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