Wednesday, July 27, 2022

A Summer Road Trip, part 4 - Tybee Island Lighthouse & MYSTERY STOP

We made a stop in Savannah, Georgia, but I was not in any of the photos (ahem), so we'll skip to some photos with me in them.

Here I am at the Tybee Island Lighthouse! In 1733, General James Ogelthorpe founded the colony of Georgia and directed that a lighthouse be built on Tybee Island. Building of the lighthouse was slow, so Ogelthorpe jailed the head carpenter and threatened to hang him. The carpenter's crew begged for his life, promising they could finish the tower in 5 weeks. They ended up finishing it in 16 days.

See what good managers can accomplish? :)

The lighthouse that you see today, however, is not the original structure. Several towers before this one collapsed due to storms, or were set ablaze during the American Civil War. The design pattern on the lighthouse also changed many times.

The lighthouse can be seen up to 18 miles away thanks to its Fresnel lens, which magnifies a lamp bulb.


Look at me - I've got a GREAT idea!


Around the lighthouse is also a lighthouse keeper's house, because they did live here 24/7 after all. There is never a day off in the work of lighthouse keeping!

Here, we see a stove and kitchen area.


There is also an old hand crank telephone. It looks like a face, doesn't it?


Well, that's all for our trip today... hope you enjoyed it...

WAIT! I have been told that we are making an unplanned MYSTERY STOP somewhere!

This is the Old Sheldon Church Ruins in South Carolina. It was definitely an off the beaten path kind of stop, but so beautiful!


Originally known as Prince Williams Parish Church, it was burned by the British in 1779 during the Revolutionary War, rebuild in 1826, then burned again in 1865 during the Civil War by the Federal Army under General William T. Sherman.


After the war, the materials of the church, like wood on the roof, were taken down and used to build homes. This church has certainly been through a lot!


The archways are still intact and so beautiful!


And it is surrounded by oak trees! This sign says no climbing, but I am simply sitting, so it's ok. :)


Okay, stay tuned for our next and last stop on this road trip...



4 comments:

  1. That lighthouse construction crew really came through! Fear is a very good motivator...

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  2. Dang Droopy. Your are not kidding when you said fear is a good motivator. 16 days....wow thats fast

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  3. But... but... the quickly built lighthouse collapsed later, didn't it? Shoddy workmanship? Fast doesn't always = solid, does it? Although... 16 days is impressive!

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    1. Hmm, that's true too! Sounds like they needed a stuffie to supervise the work!

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