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The North Island Lighthouse on Winyah Bay twelve miles from Georgetown, South Carolina was established in 1795. Also known as the Georgetown Lighthouse, it originally used a six-feet wide lantern that burned whale oil as it's guiding beacon. However, since the original lighthouse was built of wood, it was blown away during a storm in 1803. The second lighthouse was built in 1812 but was soon destroyed during the Civil War, as were most of the other lighthouses along the Atlantic coast.
The current light is 85 feet tall and is the oldest active lighthouse in the state, having been erected in 1867. The two-story lightkeeper's quarters are no longer standing. For some time the lighthouse and its surrounding small buildings were used as a sort of "boot camp" for juvenile felons. Those days have long since passed, but the lighthouse is still closed to the general public. The island is now a private one, and is accessible by boat only. Still, the owners allow visitors to walk along the beach, but only up to the high tide mark in the sand. There are also several ferry tours to the island available from Georgetown.
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