MYSTERY PHOTO:  Distinctive green roof is memorable

If you live in Charleston, you should know where this is.  If you don’t live in the area, the photo might tease your brain a bit.   Where is this structure and why was it erected?   Send your guess to:  editor@charlestoncurrents.com.  And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.

Our previous Mystery Photo

The Aug. 6 mystery got the neurons flowing for photo sleuths who correctly identified it as the Haig Point Lighthouse on Daufuskie Island, an eight-square mile island between Hilton Head Island and Savannah.

According to a website about the island, the island’s name is of Muscogee origin and means “sharp feather” because of its shape.

But something we heard recently that was even more interesting – meaning it may or may not be true — was that the world “daufuskie” might be a Gullah interpretation of “the first key” or island.  Daufuskie is a long way from the Florida Keys, but it’s something to consider.  Anybody know more about this theory?

Congratulation to the most recent gaggle of Mystery Photo sleuths:  Marnie Huger of Richmond, Va.; Ray Pantlik and Wes Richburg, both of Charleston; Chris Brooks of Mount Pleasant; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Bill Segars of Hartsville; Berry Davenport of James Island; and Tiffany Anne Hodge of the Charleston area.

Segars noted the structure was used as a lighthouse until 1925.  “Then it fell into disrepair and was restored in 1967.  It has been used as Haig Point Club since then.”

Graf added:  “According to scrimshawgallery.com, [it was] built in 1872 by the U.S. Lighthouse Board.  Haig Point Lighthouse blinked its first light on Oct. 1, 1873. It was constructed as a guide to captains navigating the shifting sand shoals off the north end of Daufuskie Island as they negotiated the channel between Savannah and Port Royal. Two separate beacons served as a range for Calibogue Sound.

“The structure was built on the tabby foundations of an old plantation house and served sixty or more years before being decommissioned in 1934, after which it fell into a state of disrepair. The house survived years of neglect and a kitchen fire that could have burned the whole structure to cinders.  The house in its carefully preserved state has considerable charm and now serves as a place to hold special receptions and as a tastefully decorated inn. The totally renovated lighthouse is again a functional navigational light.”

• Send us a mystery:  If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!)   Send it along to  editor@charlestoncurrents.com.