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Digest>Mar/Apr 2012 |
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Photo Caption:
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This image shows the 1827 Cape Romain Lighthouse still in good shape after the 1857 new tower was built. If you look closely, you will notice that either the curtains were drawn or shades were pulled down in the lantern room of the new tower to protect the Fresnel lens and brass fittings from the harmful rays of the sun. The lantern room on the old tower is still attached. (Photograph courtesy Kenrick A. Claflin & Sons Nautical Antiques.)
By the time this photograph was taken of the Cape Romain Lighthouses, it was obvious that the keepers were no longer going to paint or maintain the old tower. Although the scene here looks quite tranquil and homey, the keepers and their families had to contend with extreme humidity, blistering heat in the summer, biting insects, and poisonous snakes. Most likely the keepers would only rarely wear their heavy woolen blue lighthouse keeper’s uniforms. If they could afford them, most of them likely had the white uniforms, once they were approved by the government.
During the Civil War, soldiers of the Confederacy destroyed the lantern room of the new Cape Romain tower and the lighthouse remained out of service throughout the war. The lantern room was later restored and the lighthouse was brought back into service.
If you look closely, you will notice the new tower has a slight lean, which eventually affected the Fresnel lens. Reportedly the lens had to be taken apart and reseated to make it work properly.
Back to the edition of: Mar/Apr 2012
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Story:
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Cape Romain Lighthouses Through the Pages of Time
Back to the edition of: Mar/Apr 2012
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