The Carthage ‘lighthouse’: The history behind Smith County’s unique landmark

CARTHAGE, Tenn. (WKRN) — One of Smith’s County’s unique landmarks, the Carthage lighthouse.

Seen from right outside his office window, longtime resident and director of the Smith County Chamber of Commerce, Billy Woodard has one of the best views in town.

Just a few hundred feet away sits a 36-foot masonry tower with a spiral staircase leading up to the gallery.

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“It would really pass for a lighthouse structure, the way it’s built,” Woodard said.

But it’s missing one thing, a light.

“As everything is now, was back then, it’s driven by money and costs,” Woodard said. “So, I’m sure that was the reason they didn’t go the rest of the way and put a light of some sort in it.”

So how did this faux lighthouse come about?

“The town of Carthage, this street Upper Ferry Road, was not here when the pumping station was put in-in the 1940s or 50s where they put the water treatment plant in,” Woodard said.

But as time evolved, the city was eventually in need of a new and improved water pump, and it was too expensive to tear this one down. “It was going to cost several hundred thousand dollars to remediate the site,” Woodard said.

So instead, a few coats of paint helped pay the price. What once delivered water to the town of 2,000 now serves as a gentle reminder of what was and perhaps could be.

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“We could get some grants and maybe get some equipment to put in a playground,” Woodard said. “What I see there is a tourist destination and a place for the local people to enjoy as a park.”

It may need a pressure wash and a few touch-ups, but the calm scenery of Carthage makes for the perfect backdrop for this little lighthouse.

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