Become a Member

Join This Effort to Save a Monument in Danger!

The Morris Island Lighthouse, standing in the waters of Charleston Harbor, is a testament to that chapter in American history when maritime commerce was the lifeblood of the nation. The lighthouse bears witness to the rich, if sometimes bloody, history of Morris Island. Today it is an example of the durability of a structure under assault by the forces of man and nature. The Morris Island Lighthouse has faced war, hurricanes, erosion, and decades of neglect. It can no longer bear the latter. The lighthouse must be saved. Join Save The Light and help us save our most important maritime icon. Donors at the Sentinel level receive a print of “Carolina Legacy.”

To see more Jim Booth prints access his website.

“Carolina Legacy” by Jim Booth

Free one-year new membership to holders of Morris Island License Plate

Save The Light is pleased to offer a one-year membership at the Friend level to holders of a Morris Island license plate. This beautiful plate, designed by artist Jim Booth, is available through your local South Carolina Department of Motor vehicles. The tag is $100 plus the normal licensing fee and is valid for two years. $92.00 goes to our preservation fund and is tax-deductible.

Once you have your plate, just email us your name, address, and plate number, and we will send you a Save The Light member decal and information about your one-year free membership.

Become a Member

Student

$10 to $24

First-time Member Gifts

Official member’s decal

Friend of the Light

$25 to $49

First-time Member Gifts

Official member’s decal

Supporter of the Light

$50 to $99

First-time Member Gifts

Official member’s decal and a Save The Light cap

Keeper of the Light

$100 to $249

First-time Member Gifts

Official member’s decal and a Save The Light T-shirt (size: S M L XL)

Navigator of the Light

$250 to $499

First-time Member Gifts

Official member’s decal, a Cap and a Save The Light T-shirt (size: S M L XL)

Sentinel of the Light

$500 or more

First-time Member Gifts

Official member’s decal, 2 Caps and 2 Save The Light T-shirts (size: S M L XL)

Make A Donation in Honor of or in Memory of Someone

You may make donations In Honor of or In Memory of someone special to you. When you make your donation, fill in the amount and be sure to choose the type of donation you would like to make and fill in the name of the individual for whom you are making the donation.

Donations in Honor Of and donations In Memory of may be any amount. Your donation goes directly into our preservation fund.

Make a Capital Campaign Donation

If you or your organization would like to make a donation that goes directly into our preservation fund, you may make a Capital Campaign Donation.

Capital Campaign donations may be any amount. For larger donations or to make donations over a period of time, please contact us by email at info@savethelight.org or call us at 843.633.0099 during regular business hours.

The Step Program

Save the Light’s Capital Campaign Chairwoman, Betty Johnson O’Brien, has announced a naming opportunity. For a contribution of $5000.00, you can choose one of the 203 steps in the lighthouse to which a brass plaque, inscribed with the name of your choice, will be attached. If you wish, you may also have “In Honor Of” or “In Memory Of” inscribed before the individual’s name. If you would like to request a specific step number, please inquire as to which steps are available at this time.

If you would like to name a step in the lighthouse, please contact us by email at info@savethelight.org or call us at 843.633.0099 during regular business hours.

“North Window” by Richard Beck

Make a Donation

We have three ways for you to make donations: by mail, by phone, or online.

By Mail:

Download, printout, fill in, and send us our Contribution Form

By Phone:

Make a donation directly to us, call us at (843) 633-0099

Online:

Online donations are secure and made through our shopping cart at PayPal. You do not need to have a PayPal account to make online payments by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. If you already have a PayPal account, you may use that also.
Donate
All contributions to Save The Light are tax-deductible. Memberships support our operations and are renewable annually.

Here you can find some conceptualizations for Phase I of the preservation of the Morris Island Lighthouse. Plans were provided by the Hayward-Baker Company.

Changes to the original Phase I plans needed to be made before the actual construction. For photos of the Phase I preservation construction, see the photo gallery below.

The base of the lighthouse will be surrounded by a cofferdam composed of circular sheet piles. This drawing is view looking down from above the lighthouse.

The base of the lighthouse will be surrounded by a cofferdam composed of circular sheet piles. This drawing is view looking down from above the lighthouse.

Grout will be injected beneath the lighthouse to stabilize the foundation. The view is looking down from above into the lighthouse's foundation.
This drawing shows section B-B through the drawing above. The view is looking across the base of the lighthouse.
Phase I - In May 2007, work began on the first phase of the lighthouse stabilization. The contractor, Taylor Brothers Marine Construction, from Beaufort, NC, drove the sheet piles that formed a cofferdam around the base of the lighthouse. The contractor worked all through the fall and winter to complete the work. His jack-up-barge can be seen from a great distance while it sits next to the lighthouse to drive the piles. All types of monitoring devices were installed inside and outside the lighthouse to help monitor the conditions as the piles were vibrated down into the sand. A local company, WPC, provided this part of the monitoring for the contractor. The devices monitored cracks for potential growth, possible lean, and general vibration during daily work. All of the windows in the lighthouse have no glass and the birds love to stay inside and even raise their young if not disturbed. The Phase I effort was completed in March of 2008, with a cost of just over $3 million.

Aerial photos were taken by Mr. Larry Workman.

You can view some conceptualizations for Phase II of the preservation of the Morris Island Lighthouse. Plans were provided by the contractor, Palmetto Gunite.

Page 1 shows the layout for the new micro-piles that were installed around the perimeter of the lighthouse foundation. There were a total of 68 micro-piles installed at 75 tons each capacity.

Page 2 shows the actual location of the micro-piles and how they were spaced around the foundation. All of the work was inside of the cofferdam installed in 2008.

Page 3 shows an elevation view of the new piles in relation to the original piles. The new piles were installed into the marl layer under the lighthouse. The area between the cofferdam and the foundation was filled with sand and capped with stone.

For photos of the preservation construction, see the photo gallery below.

March 1, 2010, we awarded our Phase II contract to Palmetto Gunite Construction Company, Ravenel, SC, for just under $2 million. This was a design/build contract to install new concrete piles under the foundation. This contract also filled the inside of the Phase I cofferdam with sand to help stabilize the foundation. The installation of 68 new micro-piles rated at 75 tons each was completed a month ahead of schedule. The jack-up barge pulled away on July 31, 2010.

This work will surely stabilize the tower so that we can continue to restore and preserve it in subsequent phases.

We survived Hurricane Irene. The Army Corps of Engineers requires periodic inspections.

Get in Touch

Get in Touch