If you have visited Hilton Head Island, chances are you know about the iconic red and white striped Harbour Town Lighthouse.
It is a symbol of the Island and a popular tourist attraction for visitors. But did you know that Hilton Head Island has another lighthouse? The lesser-known Leamington Lighthouse is an integral part of our history.
Also known as the Hilton Head Range Rear Light, this lighthouse was built in 1879. It guided ships through Port Royal Sound into the Savannah River. It stood proudly until a hurricane destroyed it in 1896.
Today, only a small part of the Leamington Lighthouse remains standing.
It is located in the Leamington neighborhood of Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort, overlooking the Arthur Hills Golf Course. For tourists interested in Hilton Head’s maritime history, it is a must-see. Visitors can walk along the beach and view the remaining historic structure. To see it, enter at Palmetto Dunes, park at the Hilton Beachfront Resort and Spa Hilton Head Island, have a drink at their pool bar, hit the beach and take a right.
Although the faux lighthouse at Harbour Town, on the southern end of Hilton Head Island, is more widely known, the Hilton Head Rear Range Light is the Island’s one true lighthouse. Featured on the National Register of Historic Places and part of the Inventory of Historic Light Stations, the lighthouse occupies a unique place in Hilton Head Island’s history. One of only a handful of surviving lighthouses in South Carolina, the Hilton Head Rear Range Lighthouse is the only historic lighthouse on Hilton Head Island.
Today, only the 92-foot structure survives.
It sits alongside a vintage oil house, a water cistern and one of the oldest live oaks on the Island. This majestic tree reaches a height of approximately seventy feet. Its canopy spreads around one hundred fifty feet at its widest point. The tree’s diameter is nine feet one inch. According to industry calculations, this estimable tree is between 425 and 450 years old.
