Lighthouse being swallowed by ocean

Preservationist groups want historic structure protected, but no one wants the responsibility

Web posted June 29, 1998

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It seems like everyone wants the Morris Island lighthouse preserved -- but no one wants to own it.

The lighthouse, built on Morris Island in 1876, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But it stands in 10 feet of water and every day the mighty Atlantic Ocean bashes the tower.

Local preservation groups say they want the lighthouse protected. State and local government officials appear interested in taking control. However, they don't want the responsibility, and cost, that may come attached.

Last July, the state Attorney General's office said South Carolina would sue for ownership -- a move seen as the first step in restoring the historic lighthouse that towers above Lighthouse Inlet.

But in nearly a year, no suit was filed.

``It's a complex issue and a unique property,'' said Ken Woodington, senior assistant attorney general. ``It needs to be managed in a way that would best serve the public by an entity that's equipped to manage it.''

Mr. Woodington, who last year said the state would sue, now says that the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission should buy the lighthouse from its private owner for less than $100,000.

Mr. Woodington said a lawsuit could last two years or longer and legal fees could outstrip the owner's asking price.

But Charleston County park commissioners don't know if they want the lighthouse because they don't have the money to restore it.

``I don't think anyone knows what to do with it,'' Commission Chairman Miles Martschink said.

The owner, Columbia businessman Paul Gunter, got the lighthouse in a foreclosure suit several years ago and claimed that the state did not own what was above the water -- the lighthouse itself.

``Fortunately, the state stepped in and said `We'll take it from here' and once they took up the reins, we stepped away from it,'' Mr. Martschink said.

Jamison Cox, Mr. Gunter's attorney, said he offered to sell the lighthouse to the park commission for less than the original asking price of $100,000. But he's not heard back from the park commission's attorney, Mr. Cox said.

``We assumed it had fallen by the wayside for them and was no longer a hot issue,'' Mr. Cox said.

The Morris Island Committee, a group of James and Folly island residents, has urged the park commission to buy the lighthouse.

Group members said Gunter's offer to sell was a historic opportunity to place the venerable structure in the public's hands.

The structure is one of 752 traditional lighthouses remaining in the country.