Fort Ripley Shoal Light

Infobox_Lighthouse


caption = Fort Ripley Shoal Light (USCG)
location = NNW of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina harbor approaches
coordinates = coord|32.766|N|79.902|W|region:US_type:landmark (approx.)
yearlit = 1878
automated =
yeardeactivated = 1932
foundation = screw-pile
construction = cast-iron/wood
shape = hexagonal house
height = 44 feet
lens = fifth order Fresnel lens
range =
characteristic = fixed redThe Fort Ripley Shoal Light (or Middle Ground Light) was a lighthouse in the Charleston, South Carolina harbor approaches.

History

The channels approaching Charleston fork shortly after passing Fort Sumner, split by a large shoal extending southeast from Shutes Folly Island. The southern portion, known as the Middle Ground, was the site of the Civil War era Fort Ripley, cobbled together on an artificial island. The fort has since slumped beneath the waves, and is now evidenced by nothing more than a daymark and notation of submerged rocks on the chart.

In 1878 a screw-pile lighthouse was erected a short distance from the remains of the fort, to mark the shoal. Little is recorded of its history, and it was deactivated and dismantled in 1932. However, a much larger skeleton tower was erected on the same site to replace the old rear light of the Fort Sumter Range. This tower remains in service, though unnamed on charts. It displays three lights: a pair at 166 and 170 feet to present the day and night aspects of the range, and a third at 50 feet, to guide passing ships.

References

*cite web
url = http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/WEBLIGHTHOUSES/LHSC.html
title = South Carolina Light Stations
publisher = United States Coast Guard
accessdate = 2008-06-11
*cite map
title = Chart 11524: Charleston Harbor
publisher = NOAA
url = http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11524.shtml
date = 2008-04-19
scale = 1:20,000
accessdate = 2008-06-11
*cite book
title = Names in South Carolina: Volumes I-XII, 1954-1965
editor = Neuffer, Claude Henry
date = 1967
page = 109
url = http://src1.cas.sc.edu/dept2/iss/SCNames/index.php?action=showPage&book=1&volume=9&page=12
publisher = University of South Carolina
accessdate = 2008-06-11
*cite book
title = Light List: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
location = Washington, DC
publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office
volume = III
id = COMDTPUB P16502.3
year = 2007
url = http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/V3COMPLETE.pdf
isbn = 0160729904
page = 27
accessdate = 2008-06-11