{"nrhp_refnum":"72000386","name":"St. Simons Lighthouse and Lighthouse Keepers' Building","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"600 Beachview Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"St. Simons Island","county":"Glynn County","state":"GA","lat":31.13328259700006,"lon":-81.39148783799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A district at the southern tip of St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia, containing the 1868-1872 brick Lighthouse Keepers' Building, the adjacent lighthouse, an oil house, and the archaeological site of an earlier lighthouse.","why_significant":"The keepers' building is a good example of mid-Victorian Romantic Eclectic architecture, built by noted Georgia architect/builder Charles B. Cluskey, possibly his last work. It is the most intact example in Georgia of a historic lighthouse keepers' residence. The lighthouse, oil house and the site of the 1810 lighthouse add maritime and archaeological significance.","narrative":"On the southern tip of St. Simons Island, Georgia, a two-story brick keepers' building and its neighboring lighthouse guard the entrance to St. Simons Sound and Brunswick harbor. Planned in 1867 and built between 1868 and 1872, the dwelling housed two lighthouse keepers and their families. It combines a Gothic Revival roof with Italianate brackets, drip arches and a one-story porch. The contractor, Charles B. Cluskey, was better known for Classical Revival work such as the Old Governor's Mansion in Milledgeville, and he died during construction. The site was once part of Fort Saint Simons, and an earlier lighthouse from about 1810 was blown up by Confederate soldiers in 1862. Its foundation was later located by archaeologists. The property also includes a small brick oil house from about 1889. Transferred to Glynn County in 1971, the keepers' building now operates as a museum of coastal history, and the lighthouse remains in Coast Guard hands.","period_of_significance":"1810-1938 (per 1988 amendment); original 1972 form lists 1868-1872","architect_builder":"Charles B. Cluskey (C.B. Cluskey), contractor; plans drawn under direction of Bvt. Brig. Genl. O.M. Poe","architectural_style":"Mid-Victorian, Romantic Eclectic (Gothic Revival roof with Italianate details)","criteria":[],"status_note":"The keepers' building is owned by Glynn County and operated as a coastal history museum by the Coastal Georgia Historical Society; the lighthouse is still owned and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard; the oil house serves as a gift shop.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.900106-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/72000386.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000386/77ab09eb9f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000386/77ab09eb9f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Bubba73 (Jud McCranie)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lighthouse_and_museum,_St._Simons,_GA,_USA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Bubba73 (Jud McCranie)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lighthouse_and_museum,_St._Simons,_GA,_USA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208442","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Simons_Island_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7591684"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/glynn-county/st-simons-lighthouse-and-lighthouse-keepers-building-72000386/"}