This information courtesy of Lighthouse Classics
Cape Hatteras
For more than 130 years, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse warned sailors of the treacherous Diamond Shoals. Built in 1870, the lighthouse was originally fitted with a revolving fresnal lens and now has an airport-style beacon in the lantern. Affectionately nicknamed "The Big Barber Pole" because, it is said, the engineer formerly assigned the task of painting North Carolina's lighthouses mixed up the plans: the diamond-shaped figures, suitable for warning traffic away from Diamond Shoals, went to Cape Lookout, and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse received the spiral striping. Towering 208 feet into the sky, it is the tallest brick lighthouse on the American coast. Because of the encroaching waters of the Atlantic, the venerable structure was moved 1600 feet inland to a more protected foundation during the summer of 1999.
Oak Island
Oak Island marks the entrance to North Carolina's historic Cape Fear River. One of the last built in the United States and the last to be built in North Carolina, the present Oak Island Lighthouse constructed in 1958 stands 169 feet high with 139 steps leading to the top. This massive structure was made of eight-inch-thick reinforced concrete with a base that had to be anchored 70 feet below ground in order to properly support it. The tower never needs repainting since its colors were actually mixed into the wet concrete that was used for the exterior. Four 1000-watt aerobeam lights produce 2.5 million candlepower, making Oak Island Lighthouse one of the most powerful lighthouses in the world.
Bodie Island
The construction of the first light to shine on Bodie Island was overscene by Stepon Pleasonton, the fifth auditor of our nation's Treasury Department. Unfortunately, his frugality proved fatal to the lighthouse when lack of provisions prevented the contractor from building a sturdy foundation. Due to the gradual sinking on one side, the lighthouse had to be abandoned just shortly after it had been completed.
Constructed of bricks, built on a proper foundation, equipped with an iron lantern room and a fresnel lens, the second Bodie Island lighthouse was completed in the late 1850's. Not long after completion, in 1861, the Civil War erupted. The confederate soldiers succeeded in their military efforts to sabotage the navigational aid for the northern fleets and the second lighthouse on Bodie Island was destroyed.
What you'll see today is Bodie Island's third lighthouse. Situated about a mile north of the Oregon Inlet, the new site was chosen to protect the lighthouse from erosion. This 150 foot tall tower is a reminder of classic America.
Cape Lookout
North Carolina's 165 foot Cape Lookout Lighthouse built in 1857 warns mariners of the state's most dangerous shoals. The lighthouse marks these Shoals, which early sailors called "Horrible Headlands," at the outer point of Core Banks. Confederate forces darkened the lighthouse during the Civil War (Federal Forces occupied the light from the spring of 1862 until the end of the war): in the spring of 1862, they blew up the stairs leading to the lamps. The light was restored with a temporary lens until the original was repaired, and in 1867 the stairs and lens were fully restored. The checkered pattern painted on the lighthouse exterior in 1873 was a means for sailors to distinguish several identical lighthouses during the daylight. Cape Lookout Lighthouse was used as the model for construction of the Cape Hatteras, Bodie Island, and Currituck Lighthouses.
Currituck Lighthouse
The Currituck Lighthouse, illuminated for the first time on December 1, 1875, filled an 80-mile gap completing the North Carolina's coastal chain of lights. One of three lighthouses modeled after Cape Lookout Lighthouse, the Currituck Beach Lighthouse remains unpainted in order to distinguish it by day from Bodie, Lookout, and Hatteras Lighthouses. The red brick, 158 foot structure sits in a wooded area on sandy land. In order to support the tower on the uncertain terrain, heavy timbers were strategically placed to give the structure a solid foundation while a steel staircase strengthens the interior of the building. The entrance to the lighthouse has served as a work area for the light keeper and as storage for whale oil to light the lamp.
Bald Head Island
The current Bald Head Lighthouse, nicknamed "Old Baldy," was built in 1818 about a mile from the ocean. It was this lighthouse that the Confederate forces disabled in 1865 prior to losing control of the Cape Fear River in the battle at Fort Fisher. In the early 1900s, the Bald Head light was downgraded to a low-intensity, steady light, and was finally discontinued in 1935. From 1941 to 1958, Old Baldy produced a radio beacon to direct ships into the Cape Fear River Channel in times of fog and bad weather. Today, it emits a long steady beam as a restored historical site on Bald Head Island.
This lighthouse retains its importance today as one of the oldest historic structures in North Carolina.
Ocracoke Lighthouse
Prior to building the Ocracoke Light, the previous duties of warning mariners of dangerous shoals went to Shell Castle Lighthouse. This earlier beacon was built in 1798 and constructed mostly of wood. Standing 55 feet tall, the beacon was equipped with a "spider light" (a system of oil fed wicks that gave an uncontrollable amount of heat and unfortunately a dim source of light). In 1818 lightening destroyed the struggling lighthouse. With the shift in the main channel funding for a new lighthouse was approved, but this time it would be built on Ocracoke Island.
Today's Ocracoke lighthouse with its slightly lopsided walls and off-centered lantern room is the oldest in North Carolina and second oldest East coast lighthouse still operating.
-----------------------
Lighthouse Classics is a collection of NC Lighthouse photography by Steve Exum. |
|
|
|
|
