Saint Helena Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Fuel for the Flame

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 1, 2019

1. Fuel for the Flame Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Before electricity, batteries or solar panels, lamplight was generated by oil. And a light bright enough to be seen from seventeen miles away needed a lot of oil! The oil that powered the Hunting Island Lighthouse was stored here.

Constructed when the lighthouse was erected at this location in 1889, the oil house's solid brick walls and floors provided fireproof storage for the 660 gallons of oil required by the light. Once a month, oil was delivered to the island. Once a day, the keeper carried it up the tower's 167 steps!

Built purely for utility, the oil house, shown here circa 1950, has changed little. The 1889 Outfit List for Light Stations inventoried items kept here, including brass funnels and five-gallon cans.

Erected by Hunting Island State Park.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.

Location. 32° 22.535′ N, 80° 26.257′ W. Marker is on Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, in Beaufort County. Marker can be reached from North Beach Road, 0.6 miles

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north of Hunting Island Drive. Marker is located on the Hunting Island Light Station grounds in Hunting Island State Park, near the lighthouse entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2555 Sea Island Parkway, Saint Helena Island SC 29920, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. A Guiding Light (here, next to this marker); Island Delivery Service (a few steps from this marker); Harvesting Drinking Water (a few steps from this marker); A Life-Saving Light Station (within shouting distance of this marker); Home at the Lighthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Hunting Island Light Station (within shouting distance of this marker); Chapel of Ease (approx. 8.1 miles away); Penn School (approx. 8.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Saint Helena Island.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Hunting Island Lighthouse

Fuel for the Flame Marker (<i>tall view</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 1, 2019

2. Fuel for the Flame Marker (tall view)

Hunting Island Lighthouse<br>(<i>oil house visible left of lighthouse</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 1, 2019

3. Hunting Island Lighthouse
(oil house visible left of lighthouse)

Tote the Oil (5-gallon oil can)<br>(<i>interpretive panel inside lighthouse</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 1, 2019

4. Tote the Oil (5-gallon oil can)
(interpretive panel inside lighthouse)

Imagine logging 50 pounds of slick, flammable oil up a spiral staircase, 167 steps high! That was routine for lighthouse keepers.
”I’d just go around and around until I got to the top.”
-Nephew of a lighthouse keeper

Hunting Island Lighthouse Sprial Staircase<br>(<i>looking up from the bottom</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 1, 2019

5. Hunting Island Lighthouse Sprial Staircase
(looking up from the bottom)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 18, 2019. It was originally submitted on June 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 127 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 18, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.