The Morris Island Lighthouse stands a few hundred feet offshore from the north end of Folly Beach. It is a 158-foot striped brick tower built on 264 piles driven into the seafloor, with an inner and an outer wall made from about a million bricks. Its lantern was first lit on Oct. 1, 1876, so this fall it turned 150.
Save the Light held the birthday party at Bowen's Island Restaurant on Oct. 18. The anniversary season keeps going on the group's calendar until a race that starts and finishes near the Folly Beach Pier in February. All of those events raise money to preserve the lighthouse, and the repairs it needs have to happen in a fixed order that starts at the waterline, at the base of the tower.
The Order the Work Has to Happen In
In October 2026, Save the Light's status report rated the lighthouse's structural stability as "Critical, in need of repairs." On the same page, the group reports its sustainment effort as 75% funded and repairs and preservation as 20% funded. The first figure covers keeping the tower standing. The second covers fixing it, and that one is far from funded.
The Post and Courier's 150th-birthday story explains why fixing it takes so long. Each repair depends on the one before it, and the paper reported this order:
- Cap the cofferdam. A cofferdam was built around the base in 2007 to protect the structure. Seawater is now getting into it, and Save the Light is working to put a cap on it.
- Rebuild the dock. Crews need a way to reach the tower before they can work on it.
- Repair the interior staircase. Right now it cannot be climbed safely without a harness.
- Begin structural restoration. This starts only after the first three jobs have made the tower reachable.
Board member and longtime caretaker Denis Blyth told the Post and Courier, "It's one of those things that will never end." Chair Anne Peterson told the paper the group had gotten a rough quote for moving the lighthouse back onto land. The estimate was $30 million, and she said "it won't be happening." She said the group will fix what it can instead, starting with the cap at the base, and then keep raising money so the lighthouse stays standing.
How the Ocean Reached the Base
The cofferdam comes first because of the tower's history. It was never built to stand in the water. The tower and about a dozen other buildings originally sat roughly 2,000 feet inland on Morris Island. The Charleston jetties were built around the same time as the lighthouse. Those partly submerged stone walls kept the harbor channel deep, but they also blocked the coastal currents that ran south. Sand built up north of the jetties, and Morris Island, on the south side, lost dozens of feet of beach a year.
The Post and Courier preserved one keeper's wife's memory of watching the shoreline disappear:
"When we first went, there was so much land you could barely see the water. When we left, the water was at the doorstep. But I loved that place. If the tide hadn't washed the land away, we'd still be there." — Ester Hecker, as quoted by the Post and Courier
Families who lived there in the early 20th century kept cars on Folly Island, just across the inlet, for supply runs into town. In 1938 the shore reached the base of the tower, and that same year the light was automated, so no keeper had to live on the island anymore. The light kept working until 1962, 24 years after the water surrounded it. That year the three-sided lighthouse on Sullivan's Island took over as the harbor's main beacon.
After that, the Coast Guard briefly moved to demolish the tower and dropped the plan after public opposition. According to Save the Light's history timeline, the GSA auctioned it in 1965 to a buyer who planned to make it part of a campground. A real estate entrepreneur bought it in 1966, and a Columbia businessman acquired it through foreclosure in 1996. That same year, James Island resident Barbara Schoch and conservationist Johnny Ohlandt began organizing to save it. Save the Light bought the lighthouse in 1999. A year later it sold the tower to the State of South Carolina, which leased it back to the group for 99 years. The Post and Courier reported that many of the residents who formed the group lived on James Island and Folly Beach. The same group publishes the funding figures in its status report today.
The Anniversary Calendar, Event by Event
| Date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| All of November 2026 | Charity of the Month, with a Charity Pint afternoon on Sunday, Nov. 8, 1 to 4 p.m. | Low Tide Brewing, Johns Island | Save the Light was chosen to mark the 150th, and limited-edition 150th merchandise is listed for sale |
| Sunday, Jan. 24, 2027 | Annual Oyster Roast | Bowen's Island | Oysters, live music and Lowcountry food; Save the Light posts ticket details on its events page |
| Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027 | Save the Light Half Marathon & 5K | Start and finish near the Folly Beach Pier | Both courses are USATF-certified; the half marathon is run-only, and the 5K is open to runners and walkers |
Two of the three events are off the island. The Charity Pint is on Johns Island, and the oyster roast returns to Bowen's Island, where the Oct. 18 party was held. The February race is the anniversary event that takes place on Folly Beach itself. Registration runs through Charleston County Parks' race page. The races begin and end near the pier, close to the middle of the island. The lighthouse is at the island's north end.
Where to See It at Folly's North End
Save the Light says the tower itself is closed to tours and interior visits, and the staircase repair in step three explains why. The closest view on land is from Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve, off East Ashley Avenue at the northeast tip of Folly Island near Cummings Point. Charleston County Parks lists these details:
- Open sunrise to sunset.
- Admission is $1 per person. Gold Pass members and children age 2 and under get in free.
- Pets are not allowed.
- There are no restrooms, so bring water and sun protection.
- The path starts out paved and becomes a natural, unimproved trail. The listing shows no accessible parking.
The county describes parts of the preserve as important migratory stopover and wintering grounds for piping plovers. Other parts are nesting areas for loggerhead sea turtles and Wilson's plovers. The preserve rules require visitors to use designated boardwalks and access points, stay off the dunes and park only in designated areas. The rules also note that access may be restricted for special events, land management or maintenance.
Kayaks, paddleboards and boat tours get closer to the tower. Save the Light lists Charleston Outdoor Adventures, Castaway Island Excursions and Tideline Tours as its preferred excursion partners. From the water, you can see the base where the cofferdam surrounds the tower. Seawater is getting into that cofferdam now, and capping it is the first item on the repair list.
Save the Light's plan starts with the cap, then moves to the dock and the staircase before any restoration of the tower itself. The November pint afternoon, the January oyster roast and the February race all raise money for the lighthouse while that work is still 20% funded.
The lighthouse is part of what makes Folly's north end feel like home, and Mary Catherine Masi loves sharing those landmarks the way a neighbor would. If you'd like to talk about life on the island, or about where to watch the sun come up over the tower, schedule a lifestyle consultation.
