The Shute's Folly Beacon sheds light on activities that occur on Shute's Folly, the small island in Charleston Harbor where Castle Pinckney is located. This section takes its name from the beacon that was set up on a tower at Castle Pinckney in 1855 (shown at left in masthead above). The abandoned fort served as a lighthouse station and depot until 1917.*

Coastal birds, including Eastern Brown Pelicans and American Oystercatchers, call Shute's Folly home during the nesting season. Between nesting seasons, Castle Guardians volunteer regularly to visit the brick-and-mortar fort to protect and maintain the site. They often perform other tasks, including flag-raising ceremonies, to recognize historic flags and events, and to honor causes.

What Flag is Flying Over Castle Pinckney?

If you're a current member of the Castle Pinckney Historical Society, click on the camera above to see what flag is flying over the historic fort. If you're not a member, join now and find out!

Calendar for Castle Guardian Workdays

If you'd like to join the Castle Guardians when they visit Castle Pinckney to protect and maintain the site, please check the calendar above for opportunities to join them. NOTE: To participate in volunteer workdays at the site, you must be a member of the Castle Pinckney Historical Preservation Society. You must also have purchased insurance and signed a waiver.

Latest Post

Feb. 8, 2026:  Castle Guardians Install Framed Tents to Protect Excavation Sites at Castle Pinckney

Six Castle Guardians aboard a 21 foot Carolina skiff journeyed from James Island across Charleston Harbor on a mission around 10 a.m. Sunday, February 8 to protect excavation sites at Castle Pinkney on Shute's Folly.

“We erected 10' X 20' protective framed covers or tents over two of the castle's excavation sites," said Matthew Locke, the group's leader. “This was a significant step forward in an ongoing excavation process, and most importantly, the preservation of the castle's cannons and other artifacts.

“If these framed covers prove effective," Locke added, “we plan to erect additional ones over more excavation sites." More

Previous Posts

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*More on the Beacon at Castle Pinckney -- A yellow tower, which included a beacon, was constructed at Castle Pinckney in 1855 prior to the War Between the States. The beacon had a 5th order, non-rotating Fresnel lens and a focal plane of 50 feet that permitted its light to be visible at a great distance. The masthead at the top of this page, showing the tower with its beacon at left, was produced from the engraving published in 1861 by Harper's Weekly shortly after the war began (see engraving). In the 1866 chart at the bottom of this page, the beacon is also identified next to Castle Pinckney on Shute's Folly.

Castle Pinckney was transferred to the Lighthouse Board in 1878 for use as a lighthouse depot for the Sixth District, serving lighthouses from North Carolina to Florida. A lighthouse, built at Castle Pinckney in 1880, replaced the original tower and its beacon. The newer lighthouse was built in 1890 when the fort became a lighthouse station. A lighthouse depot was situated on Tradd Street in Charleston in 1916, and the lighthouse station at Castle Pinckney was deactivated in 1917.