Book 1768 Charleston Lighthouse - Duffus

The history of no American lighthouse has been more lost in a disorienting fog of misinformation than that of the Charleston Lighthouse established on Middle Bay Island in 1768. Diminishing the prominence of the port's first lighthouse-America's seventh and tallest at the time it was built-has been a hodgepodge of historical interpretations and contradictory descriptions. Previous accounts have failed to note its distinctive architecture inspired by Charleston's St. Michael's Church, the ingenious Irishman who designed and built it, the remarkable lives of its heroic keepers, its variety of lighting systems, its involvement in three wars, and the final shocking fate of its sparkling French Fresnel lens. Maritime historian Kevin Duffus left no stone unturned in researching this groundbreaking story of one of America's most beautiful and architecturally unique lighthouses.