The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states and a capital district. The state of South Carolina has a relatively short and straight coastline facing southeast on the Atlantic Ocean, with Charleston as the principal harbor. Lighthouses survive at eight historic light stations in the state. Developers have restored two of the historic towers and also built several facsimile lighthouses. There is no statewide preservation group and for the past two decades preservation efforts have been focused on the critically endangered Morris Island Light. Several other lighthouses need attention, including Georgetown, Hunting Island, and especially Cape Romain. Navigational aids in the United States are operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, but ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. All of South Carolina's historic lighthouses are now in National Park Service, State of South Carolina, or private ownership. The Coast Guard continues to operate lights at only two of them, Georgetown and Sullivan's Island. South Carolina lights are the responsibility of the Coast Guard Sector Charleston and its Aids to Navigation Teams based at Charleston and Georgetown. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights; Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals; USCG numbers are from Vol. III of the U.S. Coast Guard Light List.
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![]() Leamington Light, Hilton Head Island, July 2023 Instagram photo by Dayna |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
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Adjoining pages: North: North Carolina | South: Georgia
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Posted 2000. Checked and updated September 1, 2024. Lighthouses: 13. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.