On our recent trip to Daufuskie Island, SC I was thrilled when our host for the morning took us to see the Haig Point Lighthouse that is a fixture on the island.
I have always loved lighthouses and Chris has tried to get me to as many as possible over the years. This was one that is not easily accessible to most of the public as the island house private communities so I was thrilled to be able to see it in its glory.
The Haig Point Lighthouse construction began in 1872 and the lighthouse boasts a 40 foot tower. It guided mariners around the northern tip of Daufuskie between 1873 to the 1930s. The lighthouse was left for years with no upkeep so a restoration in the 1980’s was necessary to bring the lighthouse back into good condition.
Our host for the day was happy to give us a bit of history about the lighthouse and some of the rumors that surround it.I looked it up on the Haig Point website and this is how the story goes.
The story states that a young woman named Maggie lived in the Lighthouse with her family in the late 19th century. Her father, Patrick Comer, was the first lighthouse keeper, along with his wife, Bridget. The family moved to Daufuskie in 1873 and tended to the structure for the first 18 years. Maggie fell in love with a naval engineer who was tasked with refitting the Lighthouse’s lantern room. Notes from his diary revealed that the pair had quickly fallen in love, but something happened unexpectedly and the couple split. He left and never returned to Daufuskie Island, leaving her with a broken heart. Haig Point residents and visitors have claimed they felt the friendly presence of Maggie.
After doing some more digging around I uncovered other stories of folks who had sensed Maggie’s presence, got locked out by Maggie, heard loud noises that had no explanation, saw wine glasses moving, empty chairs rocking and lights being seen when no one is occupying the quarters. Some postulate that Maggie had a broken heart and is still waiting for her man to return.
The lighthouse serves as housing for visitors who come to consider buying on the island and our host for the morning also had spent some time in the lighthouse when he first moved to the island. He related a story of being awoken at 4:18 three mornings in a row….I will let you imagine the reason.
We did not go in the lighthouse but I am hoping if we decide to do a Discovery Weekend to learn more about this community that we can stay there. Chris says no way—he wants to stay in the Strachan Mansion and not in a haunted lighthouse. What about you? Would you stay in a place that was supposedly haunted?
