GEORGETOWN - One of the nation's most historic lighthouses sits on the coast near Georgetown but is so remote that few ever get to see it, and the state, which owns it, does not promote it as a tourism destination or encourage visitors.

Georgetown Lighthouse was built in 1811, mostly with slave labor, to guide ships through the treacherous entrance to Winyah Bay. It has been in service ever since except for an interruption during the Civil War and is one of the oldest still operating.

On Sunday, a group of people from Long Bay Power Squadron will picnic at the lighthouse property to celebrate National Lighthouse Day, and they will be among the few able to visit it. At more accessible lighthouses around the Carolinas and the nation, the day will be celebrated with public open houses.

Georgetown's lighthouse sits on 7.4 acres of North Island, a sandy point of uninhabited wildlife-conservation land at the north entrance of Winyah Bay.

The state Department of Natural Resources got the lighthouse and its property at no cost in 2001 from the federal government, which had owned it since 1795.

The deed gives the U.S. government the right to continue to operate the beacon, and to take back the property under certain circumstances.

One of those is if it "ceases to be used as a nonprofit center for the public benefit for the interpretation and preservation of maritime history."

But the Georgetown Lighthouse has never been used for that purpose, and the DNR does not know how it could be, said agency director John Frampton, who was not director when the deed was signed.

The lighthouse property is surrounded by other DNR land that is part of the Yawkey Center, property left to the state for conservation by former Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey. Yawkey's will set up a foundation that pays the expenses to operate the center, and the terms of the will do not allow public access.

"I guess we've kind of included that property with the Yawkey property" and have not encouraged public access to the lighthouse site, Frampton said.

Frampton said one reason the DNR wanted the lighthouse was to help protect the Yawkey Center land on the rest of North Island. The lighthouse could have been sold to private interests for development.

So the public gets the benefit of keeping the lighthouse, and "you get some enjoyment, at least, from looking at it from the water," he said.

The state does have "all kinds of interest" in lighthouses, he said. The DNR is also in charge of preserving Morris Island Lighthouse, a station that was once on the mainland but is now surrounded by the ocean off Folly Island near Charleston.

The S.C. Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department recently spent $134,000 on repairs at Hunting Island Lighthouse so it would be accessible to people.

"Hunting Island Light sits on South Carolina's most popular state park," PRT spokesman Marion Edmonds said. The stairs had become unsafe, so the agency fixed them.

Park visitors can climb up for "a wonderful view," Edmonds said. For generations, visitors have been able to do that because it is in a public park.

Frampton said unlike Hunting Island, no one is stationed at Georgetown Lighthouse and the DNR can't afford to assign anyone to it.

The lighthouse itself could not be visited because it is still in operation, while Hunting Island is not, Frampton said.

The Georgetown Lighthouse site is available for visitation by someone who has "a legitimate use of the property," Frampton said. They can obtain a permit by contacting the property manager at Yawkey Center.

That is what the Long Bay Power Squadron did, but not without some effort, said Oscar Drinkwater, who arranged the trip for the boating organization.

"It took me about 20 phone calls to get to the right person to get permission to go on there," he said. He was under the impression the lighthouse was private property.

Drinkwater said he would like to see the facility more open to the public, and that groups such as his might step forward to volunteer to keep it clean or direct visitors on certain days.

Those who do not have their own boat can take one of two tour boats that cruise to North Island from Georgetown, but they do not land close enough to the lighthouse for people to walk to it before the boat leaves.

Jim Ross, who works for Cap'n Rod's Tours, said many customers take the trip just to see the lighthouse.

"We have people who go up the coast and try to go in every lighthouse they can," he said.

Bosun's Mate 1st Class Kevin Brooks is in charge of keeping the beacon operating in the Georgetown Lighthouse. He said it is a shame the facility is so remote.

Frampton said he will look into whether there is anything the agency can do to make the property more accessible.

It would be "a grave disservice to the public" not to do so, said Bob Trapani, executive director of the National Lighthouse Foundation, based in Wells, Maine.

The property belongs to the public, which will never again build "such magnificent structures," he said.