South Carolina's only publicly accessible lighthouse — a cast-iron tower relocated inland in 1889 after Civil War destruction — where a keeper's daughter who fell from the deck and a searching keeper are said to still haunt the spiral stairs.
2555 Sea Island Parkway, Saint Helena Island, SC 29920
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
State park admission fee required to enter Hunting Island State Park; separate lighthouse climb ticket. See southcarolinaparks.com for current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
State park beach and maritime forest; lighthouse tower has 167 iron steps with no elevator access.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1875 · South Carolina's only publicly accessible lighthouse · Original 1859 structure destroyed by Confederate forces in 1861 · Cast-iron construction (1875) allowed physical relocation 1.25 miles inland in 1889 · National Register of Historic Places (1970) · Decommissioned 1933; now part of Hunting Island State Park
Hunting Island, a barrier sea island in Beaufort County, has been a navigational landmark since the colonial period. The first lighthouse erected on the island's southern tip dates to 1859. Confederate forces destroyed it in 1861, removing it as a navigational aid to Union shipping during the Civil War — a documented tactic applied to numerous Southern lighthouses during the conflict.
After the war, the federal government rebuilt the station using cast-iron plate construction, a technology that allowed for a prefabricated, modular lighthouse that could theoretically be dismantled and moved. The current 130-foot tower was completed in 1875. Its cast-iron plates are bolted together in a pattern designed for portability — a precaution that proved necessary.
By the late 1880s, beach erosion at the island's southern tip had brought the ocean uncomfortably close to the lighthouse foundation. Rather than abandon the structure, the Lighthouse Board exercised the tower's designed modularity: in 1889 the entire cast-iron assembly was dismantled and relocated approximately 1.25 miles inland to its present position. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1933 when a lightship took over the navigational function.
Hunting Island State Park was established on the island in the 1930s. The South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism division manages the lighthouse as part of the park. The tower underwent a multi-year restoration and reopened to visitors in May 2026.
Sources
Hunting Island Lighthouse carries two reported ghost legends, each associated with a different figure and a different kind of loss.
The first involves a keeper's daughter. The legend places her death around the turn of the 20th century — a fall from the lighthouse's observation deck. The circumstances in the folk account are not elaborated; the key element is the fall itself and the location. Visitors climbing the lighthouse's 167 iron steps have reported hearing low moaning sounds from somewhere above or below them on the staircase. Tour staff and park rangers have fielded these reports over the years without formal explanation.
The second legend involves an unnamed keeper and a drowned boy. In the account, a young boy in the keeper's care went into the water — the circumstances vary — and drowned somewhere on the island. The keeper, unable to save him, is said to still walk the exterior of the lighthouse, knocking on the door. Multiple visitors have reported knocking sounds from the exterior of the tower when no one is present on the grounds.
Only in Your State's coverage of Hunting Island State Park as one of South Carolina's most haunted locations provides independent documentation of both legends from outside the official park materials. The 1970 listing on the National Register of Historic Places attests to the lighthouse's historical significance. The lighthouse's post-restoration reopening in May 2026 after a multi-year closure has renewed visitor access to the site.
Notable Entities
Climb the 167 steps of the cast-iron lighthouse for views over the sea island landscape and Atlantic coast. Park rangers offer interpretive talks on lighthouse history and its Civil War destruction and reconstruction. Tower reopened May 2026 after restoration.
Hunting Island State Park is one of the most visited state parks in South Carolina, offering five miles of undeveloped Atlantic beach, a lagoon, maritime forest trails, and the lighthouse. The park offers camping, cabins, and full visitor facilities.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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