Harbour-Town

Chris J LeBlanc Photography - Lighthouses

Providing details and historical information of lighthouse pictures taken during my travels

Harbour Town Lighthouse

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Location: Located near the southern end of Hilton Head Island in the marina at Harbour Town.

Latitude: N 32.1387

Longitude: W 80.81256

Year Constructed: 1970. Active (privately maintained)

Tower Height: 93 feet Focal Plane: 90 feet

Octagonal cylindrical stucco tower, painted with horizontal red and white bands; acrylic lens.

The Civil War brought an end to the era of large plantations on Hilton Head. Slaves who had served on the island were given a mule and a parcel of land to help them make a new start. A unique culture, known as Gullah or Geechee, complete with its own language, traditions and superstitions, developed among the close-knit community of former slaves on Hilton Head and on other coastal islands as well.

Hilton Head’s period of calm and isolation following the Civil War lasted through the Great Depression. Then, in the 1940s, three families purchased large tracts of land covering much of the island and formed a lumber cutting consortium called The Hilton Head Company. As the island was being used for hunting, farming, and lumbering, the population still remained low. This started to change when the James F. Byrnes Bridge, a two-lane toll swing bridge, was constructed in 1956.

With the island now accessible to the general population, Charles Fraser purchased his father’s interest in The Hilton Head Company nurturing a vision to create an environmentally friendly residential resort community. As part of Fraser’s plan, no building would be taller than the tallest tree, every structure would be painted in natural earth tone colors, and the oceanfront would be open to as many as possible. Streets were laid out to avoid the largest trees and historic artifacts, such as the tabby ruins of the Baynard Plantation and the Gullah cemetery on Braddocks Point, were delicately preserved.

At the heart of his Sea Pines Resort development Fraser envisioned an “intimate harbor village with low-country ambience seasoned by the influence of the small distinctive ports along the coast of southern France and Italy.” The result is Harbour Town with its marina, shops, restaurants, and striped lighthouse.

Construction on the octagonal Harbour Town Lighthouse began in 1969 and was completed in the spring of 1970.

As visitors climb the tower, they can read displays on each of the nine landings while they pause to catch their breath. Displays on the lower landings describe the history of Hilton Head Island. Topics that are treated include early inhabitants, colonial history, plantation life on the island, and the Civil War. The middle landings house historical information on the construction of the bridge linking the island to the mainland and details of Fraser’s plan for Sea Pines Resort. Items listed on these placards include several places to visit on the resort grounds, such as Baynard Ruins, the Oyster Shell Ring, and the Liberty Oak. Information on six lighthouses located in the area is provided on the upper landings. Interspersed with all the historical information on the island are several ghost stories attached to lighthouses and sites on the island.