The Bitter End

By Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill

Good day, and welcome! You may all be seated. If you would please turn with me to the book of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 15. And it was written, “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.” Christian Standard Bible.

Before your hands start to sweat and you start fumbling for your wallet, rest assured we are not in church. However, I wanted to draw on the symbolism of lights and in this case, a lighthouse. It would be hard to stick a lighthouse under a basket, but, when a lighthouse is deactivated, it has pretty much the same effect.

Lighthouses have begun to fall by the wayside as technology has become more common. This is not going to be a discourse on lighthouses in general, but rather a particular lighthouse found on the Georgia coast. Tybee Island and nearby Cockspur Island have the honor of being homes to not only the tallest and oldest lighthouse (Tybee Light), but also the shortest of all lighthouses in the state: Cockspur Lighthouse.

Lighthouses symbolize safety, a place of refuge, they light your way when the seas of adversity seek to overwhelm you, and they guide you home. But what happens when this light is hidden under a basket? Or extinguished forever? I will let you dwell on that before this turns into a sermon.

The tiny Cockspur Lighthouse, resting on an islet of marsh and oyster shell rakes, and now protected by a partial seawall of granite ballast stone, is one such light that went dark some 113 years ago. Situated at the mouth of the South Channel of the Savannah River and Tybee Bay, she led commerce up the southern route in the days before the north channel was dredged and became the preferred route.

As you can imagine, time, tide and weather take their toll on structures by the sea. So, who becomes responsible for the preservation of these edifices of maritime history? In the case of Cockspur Light, it falls under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, in particular the Fort Pulaski National Monument.

For many years after the park service became the owners of this structure, it sat as a silent memorial to times gone past. With each year wearing on this once vital piece of history, in time it became necessary for someone, or a group of someones, to step up and partner with the Park Service to preserve our proud lady. In time, Tybee resident Captain Harvey Ferrelle approached the park service and asked their intent; he was told there simply wasn’t any money to maintain her.

This meeting set wheels in motion for a valuable partnership between the Park Service and a non-profit group known as the Friends of Cockspur Lighthouse. The Friends group, who had the drive but not specialized knowledge in lighthouse preservation, sought advice from people who did. That advice came from Cullen Chambers, one of the foremost lighthouse preservationists on the East Coast.

In March 2007, Cockspur Light was briefly relit for a change

Surrounding by scaffolding, the light got some much-needed attention last summer. Photo by J. Gary Hill

of command ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard in conjunction with the Park Service.

By 2008, the Friends of Cockspur Light had received their official charter from the state as a Not-for-Profit organization, which paved the way to start raising funds for maintenance.

One great champion of the cause was Congressman Jack Kingston who managed to shepherd a $1.5 million grant. The funds were used to add much needed ballast stone to help stabilize the island and buy time to continue the preservation project.

The most recent work took place last year, from early June to till late October. Failing door and windows, along with deteriorating mortar, led to moisture damage. The Friends of Cockspur stepped up and did the legwork of getting quotes to mitigate these problems, then to procuring funds. A large part of the funding came from the national Save America’s Historic Treasures grant program. Coupled with matching funds, this phase of restoration was completed.

Future repairs and maintenance will likely be needed though. If you would like to contribute to this worthwhile cause or volunteer, you can do so by visiting Cockspurislandlighthouse. com and click on the donate button at top of page.

Till our wakes cross again, peace and love and shrimp and grits. I’ll see you on the water!

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