The English started settling South Carolina in the early 1700s, when the land was still claimed by Spain. Indians, who had befriended the Spanish, often raided Carolina's seaboard plantations. Returning to St. Augustine with their spoils, the Indians frequently used the southern point on Daufuskie Island as a stopover. On two occasions, the English surprised a party of Indian raiders on the point and killed all but a lucky few who managed to escape. Since the first skirmish in 1715, the southern end of Daufuskie Island has been called Bloody Point.

Henry Mongin Stoddard inherited Bloody Point Plantation following the War Between the States and was later contacted by the lighthouse service to obtain land for constructing a pair of range lights to aid ships entering the Savannah River. Stoddard agreed to part with some of his land as shown in the following excerpt from a letter between Peter C. Hains, Major of Light House Engineers and the Office of Lighthouse Engineers for the Sixth District, located in Charleston:

I propose that the Board purchase from him (Henry Stoddard) five acres as the site for the rear beacon at his price, $25 per acre, and three hundred feet on the beach for the front light at his price, $1 per foot: that will make $425.00 for both sites. I enclose tracings which will show the tracts selected.

The deal, closed on April 14, 1882, granted the lighthouse service "the right to cut down any trees that may obstruct the view between the light houses to be erected upon the said pieces of land."

Bloody Point Lighthouse in 2009 Photograph courtesy Suzanne Alston

Cooper Manufacturing Company of Mt. Vernon, Ohio was contracted to supply the metal tower, designed by Julius E. Rettig, that would serve as the rear range light. The company's chief machinist, John Michael Doyle, was tasked with seeing that "each foundation plate, column, rail casting, tension rod, strut, slat, and everything needed was meticulously measured, formed or made, so that each piece of the tower would fit perfectly." Doyle, who had been as far south as Savannah with the Union Army, was sent to Daufuskie Island in 1881 to oversee the erection of the tower and lamp house. Doyle had successfully erected a similar tower on Parris Island, just a few miles north of Daufuskie, the previous year.

Doyle arrived on Daufuskie on November 13, 1882, after traveling on a boat from Savannah with James LaCoste, who was responsible for the front light and dwelling. Doyle started with a concrete foundation in which were set circular iron disks for anchoring the skeletal tower. The light, which consisted of a locomotive headlight fronted by a powerful parabolic reflector, was stored in a brick lamp house located at the base of the tower during the day. At night, the light was hoisted up the ninety-one-foot tower on rails to its place at the apex of the triangle using machinery located in the lamp house.

The dwelling for the keeper was a one and a half story, frame house with porches across the front and back. The dwelling was positioned on the beach, and the light was exhibited from a dormer window in the upper story. A brass stand supported the light, which was rotated by a clockwork mechanism. The fumes produced from the burning oil escaped the lamp room through a small vent in the roof.

On February 22, 1883 by Mr. Gowers, the officer in charge of the Sixth Light House District, held the final inspection for the range lights. Doyle and LaCoste wasted no time admiring their work as they boarded the Crouch that afternoon and sailed for Savannah. Doyle must have enjoyed his sojourn on Daufuskie as he quickly applied for the position of keeper, and on April 4, 1883, he was appointed the first caretaker of the Bloody Point Lighthouse at an annual salary of $620. During Doyle's watch, a twelve by twenty foot kitchen, built off the west end of the dwelling, and a boathouse were added to the station. Doyle tendered his resignation on August 15, 1890, and according to family lore became a fireman in Savannah.

On August 27 and 28 of 1893, a cyclone cut across Daufuskie island causing extensive damage to lighthouse property. Robert A. Sisson, having succeeded Doyle as keeper, sent a letter to the sixth district lighthouse inspector requesting reimbursement for five pairs of shoes, horse feed, a dining table and chairs, a safe, and various food items all lost to the cyclone. Sisson's damages totaled $74.68, plus forty-six head of chicken for which he did not seek remuneration, a sizeable sum given his salary.

Mother Nature was also attacking the lighthouse property in a more subtle manner. Over the years, all the beachfront property purchased for the front range light had been lost to the sea. It was decided that the keeper's dwelling, which also served as the front light, would be relocated 4,350 feet inland to a site near the rear range light. A metal tower, previously used at the Venus Point station, was transferred to Bloody Point and placed on a new section of beach leased from Stoddard.

Keeper Sisson received help at the station when Gustaf Ohman was appointed assistant keeper in 1910. Ohman left his homeland of Sweden aboard a sailing schooner on which he was likely employed. When the vessel docked in Charleston, Ohman went ashore and hid himself until he was sure the ship had sailed. Before moving to Daufuskie, Ohman first served at the Venus Point Light. In just a short time, Ohman became head keeper at Bloody Point.

John Robertson served as assistant keeper under Ohman until June 1913, when Robertson resigned and was replaced by Arthur Burn. Burn's time as assistant at Bloody Point was quite brief, but he would continue in the Lighthouse Service, eventually becoming keeper of the Tybee Knoll Cut Light Station. Ohman remained at Bloody Point Lighthouse until it was discontinued in 1921. The government sold the lighthouse at a public auction on January 9, 1922 to Francis Keenan for $525.15.

It seems that those who worked at the Bloody Point Lighthouse developed an affinity for the station. As proof, consider John Doyle, who returned as keeper after erecting the rear light. Gustaf Ohman must have bonded to the property as well, for he bought it from Francis Keenan in 1924. If further evidence is needed, Arthur Burn, who served briefly as an assistant at Bloody Point, considers the day he bought the lighthouse from Ohman in November 1926 as the happiest day of his life, and he is quoted as having said that he would not trade a teaspoon of Daufuskie for the whole state of South Carolina.

Arthur "Papy" Burn lived at the lighthouse until his health forced him to move to the mainland. Papy was quite involved in island life serving as a substitute teacher, a Sunday School teacher, a magistrate, and taxidermist. Papy was known for the beautiful flowerbeds that surrounded the lighthouse each spring, but he is probably remembered most for his winemaking. They say Papy never drank, but in 1953, for some reason he started making wine in the old lamp house, which he christened the Silver Dew Winery. Papy would make wine out of anything he could get his hands on, including blackberries, bananas, elderberries, scuppernongs, and oranges. Papy passed away on Sullivan's Island in 1968, having outlived three of his four wives. Papy's body was returned to the island for burial, and more than one person has since felt or seen his presence at his beloved lighthouse.

Papy Burn sold the lighthouse to the Kehoe family, who used the dwelling as a vacation home until 1981, when it was sold to Jim Batey. Batey spent much effort and money restoring the lighthouse painted it a Cape Cord red with ivory. Batey made good progress until the IRS came calling, and the lighthouse was auctioned off to pay back taxes. James Black was the highest bidder for the lighthouse and continued the restoration, eventually renting the dwelling out as the Daufuskie Lighthouse Inn. Business was not too brisk, and Black ended up selling the lighthouse to Beach Road associates in 1988 for $284,000.

When the Bloody Point Golf Course, designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, was opened in 1991 the old lighthouse served as the golf pro shop. A new pro shop was eventually constructed, and the Bloody Point Lighthouse was placed on the market. Joe and Mary Yocius purchased the lighthouse in 1999 and seem to have come under the spell that bonded the lighthouses keepers to the property. Joe works passionately at maintaining the lighthouse and has even revived Papy's tradition of winemaking. Joe's vintage is for sale on the island, and you might even catch a glimpse of Joe in the Silver Dew Winery. The fine wine might not be actually brewed in the lamp house anymore, but Joe and his harmonica produce some mighty fine blues there on occasion.

In early 2009, Joe Yocius made the emotional decision to sell his beloved home and travel the world with his wife. The dwelling and surrounding 2.7 acres were initially offered at $875,000.

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References

1. An Island Named Daufuskie, Billie Burn, 1991.

Various tour companies also offer trips to the island that may provide an opportunity to see the lighthouse. One that certainly does is Outside Hilton Head.