Cockspur Island Lighthouse – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #394 – History Through the Lens

April 22, 2026April 25, 2026Posted in Historic Sites, PhotographyTagged Coastal Georgia, Cockspur Island Lighthouse, Ft. Pulaski National Monument, History Through the Lens, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge33 Comments

John’s challenge is to feature places “where history still lives”. One of John’s suggested topics “Where the Past Still Stands”is the inspiration for this post. I chose to feature Fort Pulaski National Monument and Cockspur Island Lighthouse in coastal Georgia between Savannah and Tybee Island.

Fort Pulaski National Monument

Construction for Fort Pulaski began in 1829. During the American Civil War the Confederate army held the fort until they surrendered to the Union Army in 1862 after the Union cannons firing from nearby Tybee Island caused major damage. For more about the history of Fort Pulaski you can visit Fort Pulaski National Monument.

In addition to exploring the fort, visitors can attend Ranger talks or walk on several hiking trails outside the fort.

Holes in the wall are from Union cannons, Ft. Pulaski National Monument

The North Pier Trail leads to this overlook

Remains of the North Pier at Fort Pulaski

Cockspur Island Lighthouse, marks the south channel of the Savannah River and sits on a small piece of land that is covered by water at high tide. This view is from the top of Fort Pulaski.

The Lighthouse Overlook trail at Fort Pulaski leads to a view of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse

On some days visitors can see historic reenactors at Ft. Pulaski

Last week I enjoyed all of your responses to Sofia’s Lucky Shot. Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge..

Many thanks to John for this week’s challenge. If you would like to join the challenge please be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to his post Lens-Artists #394: History through the Lens.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, April 25 at noon eastern time when I will be your host for the challenge.

If you don’t want to miss any of our challenges you may want to think about subscribing to the Lens-Artists team members websites: Tina, Patti, Ann-Christine, John, Sofia, Anne, Egidio, Ritva, Beth.

For information on how to join the Lens-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

National Lighthouse Day 2025

August 7, 2025Posted in LighthouseTagged Cockspur Island Lighthouse, Lighthouse, National Lighthouse Day, Sapelo Island Lighthouse, St. Simons Island Lighthouse, Tybee Island Lighthouse24 Comments

August 7 is National Lighthouse Day in the United States. On this day in 1789 Congress passed a law to provide federal funding for all lighthouses.

I love lighthouses so to celebrate this event I am featuring the four historic lighthouses that are accessible to the public in the state of Georgia. The Tybee Island Lighthouse underwent major restoration in 2024. The featured image shows the lighthouse flying the American Flag during the restoration.

The following gallery shows the Tybee Island Lighthouse after the restoration was complete. On the right is the Cockspur Island Lighthouse. Although the Cockspur Light is not open to the public it can be seen from the Lazaretto Creek Bridge on U. S. Highway 80 on the way to Tybee Island, from a boat, or from the Lighthouse Trail at Ft. Pulaski National Monument.

In the next gallery the St. Simons Island Lighthouse is on the left, the Sapelo Island Lighthouse on the right.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #308 – Perfect Pairs

July 24, 2024Posted in Lighthouse, PhotographyTagged Cockspur Island Lighthouse, diptych, Lens-Artists, perfect pairs, Photo Challenge, Tybee Island Lighthouse31 Comments

The challenge from Elizabeth of Albatz Travel Adventures is to use diptychs to create perfect pairs. I wasn’t familiar with this term so I was glad she defined it like this: “A diptych is two images placed in proximity to one another, forming a pair. To make a successful pairing there should be several things in common, and something very different, contrasting.“

I love lighthouses and I am fortunate to live close to two different lighthouses. The first one I will feature is the Tybee Island Light Station, Georgia’s oldest and tallest lighthouse with 178 steps to the top. The original lighthouse was constructed in 1736. The lighthouse has been rebuilt several times and the daymark has also changed several times. Today the lighthouse is painted with the 1916 daymark of three stripes – black at the top, white in the middle, black at the bottom.

The lighthouse has just completed it’s latest restoration. The first two images below show the lighthouse during the restoration project and the lighthouse as it looks today with it’s new coat of paint.

Tybee Island Lighthouse during restoration, June, 2024

The Lighthouse flies an American Flag on patriotic holidays such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veteran’s Day. The following two images show the lighthouse as it was on Memorial Day, 2021 and this year’s Memorial Day, 2024 after the old layers of paint had been scraped off.

Tybee Island Light Station on Memorial Day 2021, before the 2024 restoration

The Cockspur Island Lighthouse is shown in the next pair. On the left is a closeup of the lighthouse at high tide as seen from a boat. On the right is the lighthouse as seen from the Lighthouse trail at Ft. Pulaski National Monument near Tybee Island. If you look closely at the image from the trail you can see the top of the Tybee Island Lighthouse to the right of the water tower on the other side of the water behind the lighthouse.