Georgetown Lighthouse

One of South Carolina's oldest light stations, built in 1811 on remote North Island. The keeper who died during post-Civil War reconstruction reportedly never left.

The Georgetown Lighthouse has been guiding ships into Winyah Bay since 1811, making it one of the oldest light stations in South Carolina. The original tower was destroyed during the Civil War, and the current 87-foot structure went up in 1869. During construction of the replacement, a keeper was killed in an accident. His ghost is thought to haunt the tower -- visitors report footsteps on the iron spiral staircase when nobody else is present. The lantern room occasionally glows with a faint light even though the original lamp was removed decades ago. Sitting on remote North Island and accessible only by boat, the isolation adds to the atmosphere. Fishermen passing at night have seen a figure in the tower window and heard distant shouts carried across the water.