Lighthouses of North Carolina’s Outer Banks

Lucila Ojeda

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Why So Many Lighthouses Along North Carolina’s Coast?

• Much shipping and commerce in the 1800s– Strong currents– Fierce storms– Shifting shoals

• Hundreds of ships have sunk in these menacing waters

• Outer Banks is called the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”

Lighthouses of the Outer Banks

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Bodie Island Lighthouse• Present Bodie Island

lighthouse is third construction; first two were defective

• Electric light installed in 1932, ending need for full-time keeper

• Keeper’s home now serves as ranger office and visitor center

Lighthouses of the Outer Banks

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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse• Tallest lighthouse in North

America• Striped markings served as

“daymarkers” for daytime sailors

• Still functions, only now it’s totally automated

• Light appears to flash every 7 seconds (light actually rotates)

• Rate of “flashing” identifies the lighthouse

Lighthouses of the Outer Banks

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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (continued)• Tallest brick lighthouse

in the world• 1.25 million bricks• Octagonal brick base

sits on solid granite• Base measures 24 feet

by 45.5 feet

Lighthouses of the Outer Banks

Cape Hatteras lighthouse base

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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (continued)• Spiraling staircase leads

to top• 275 steps• Over 175,000 tourists

visit tower each year to climb the steps

Lighthouses of the Outer Banks

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse staircase

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Ocracoke Lighthouse• Oldest active lighthouse

in North Carolina• Shortest lighthouse in

North Carolina• Original lighthouse

made of wood, struck by lightning, burned down

• Present lighthouse made of brick

• Diameter 25 feet at base, 12 feet at top

Lighthouses of the Outer Banks

Lighthouses of the Outer Banks 9

For More InformationArdith SizemoreDivision of Historic PreservationMassachusetts State Historical Society145 Backbay Heights RoadBoston, MA 02114617-555-0654