So this photo mystery might tease your brain a bit. Where is this structure and why was it erected? Send your guess to: feedback@statehousereport.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.
Our previous Mystery Photo
Our Aug. 3 mystery got the neurons flowing for a dozen photo sleuths who correctly identified it as the Haig Point Lighthouse on Daufuskie Island, an eight-square mile island between Hilton Head Island and Savannah.
According to a website about the island, the island’s name is of Muscogee origin and means “sharp feather” because of its shape.
But something we heard recently that was even more interesting – meaning it may or may not be true — was that the world “daufuskie” might be a Gullah interpretation of “the first key” or island. Daufuskie is a long way from the Florida Keys, but it’s something to consider. Anybody know more about this theory?
Congratulation to the most recent gaggle of Mystery Photo sleuths: Philip Cromer of Beaufort; Tray Hunter of Bluffton; Jay Altman, Bet Tarrant and Elizabeth Harmon, all of Columbia; Dale Rhodes of Richmond, Va.; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Don Clark and Bill Segars, both of Hartsville; Wayne Beam of North Myrtle Beach; Steve Willis of Lancaster; and Harvey Shackelford of Newberry.
Graf provided more context on the lighthouse: “According to scrimshawgallery.com, [it was] built in 1872 by the U.S. Lighthouse Board. Haig Point Lighthouse blinked its first light on Oct. 1, 1873. It was constructed as a guide to captains navigating the shifting sand shoals off the north end of Daufuskie Island as they negotiated the channel between Savannah and Port Royal. Two separate beacons served as a range for Calibogue Sound.
“The structure was built on the tabby foundations of an old plantation house and served sixty or more years before being decommissioned in 1934, after which it fell into a state of disrepair. The house survived years of neglect and a kitchen fire that could have burned the whole structure to cinders. The house in its carefully preserved state has considerable charm and now serves as a place to hold special receptions and as a tastefully decorated inn. The totally renovated lighthouse is again a functional navigational light.”
- Send us a mystery: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
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