Lighthouses of North Carolina's Outer Banks

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

The Cape Hatteras lighthouse is one of the most
recognized, photographed, and painted lighthouses in
the entire United States. A favorite of artists
everywhere. Built in 1870, it stands 208 feet tall
making it the tallest brick lighthouse in North America.

Built with over one million bricks baked on the shores
of the James River in Virginia, its walls are 14 feet of
solid masonry at the bottom and 8 feet thick at the
very top. It weighs in at over 6000 tons and cost a
mere 150,000 dollars to build over 100 years ago. Its
signal covers a distance of 19 miles. On a clear night
its light can be seen as far out as 51 miles at sea. The
United States Coast Guard owns and operates the
navigational equipment while the National Park
Service maintains the tower as a historic structure.

It’s actually the second lighthouse that was built here
on the point of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The original sandstone lighthouse built in 1803 was
too short and inefficient. It was also heavily damaged
by the confederate army during the civil war. So in
1867, Congress appropriated the funds to build this
new and improved Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
Unfortunately, vandals damaged the lens in the mid
1930’s when the Federal Government abandoned the
structure, so a third steel tower was placed near here
to light the night on a temporary basis. Eventually the
light from the temporary tower was moved to the
present Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1950 which put
it back into full time operation as we see it today.

Open to the public and for a small fee, a climb up the
268 steps gives its visitors a view unlike anywhere on
the Outer Banks. Although mariners are no longer
forced to rely on the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to
warn them of Diamond Shoals, it remains an aid to
navigation, a national treasure, and visited by tens of
thousands every year.

After years and years of relentless pounding from
heavy surf here, erosion threatened the very existence
of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. In 1870 this beacon
was 1500 feet from the ocean’s grip. But over a
century of hurricanes, nor’easters, and violent storms,
the crashing waves began washing away at the base
of this historic landmark. Efforts to hold off the furry of
the ocean with sand bags and bulk heads
unfortunately were all in vain.

After much consideration and debate, the decision
was made to move the lighthouse to a safer location.
At a cost of 12 million dollars, engineers successfully
moved the entire Cape Hatteras Light Station almost
3000 feet southwest of the original location. The
double keeper’s quarters and outlying buildings went
first then the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse itself. The
entire move was accomplished in just twenty three
days with only minor damage reported.

Today, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse the sits on its
new 60 foot square concrete foundation. With the
outlying buildings placed around its base, the entire
light station compound has a new lease on life. It is
considered by many as the signature of America’s
maritime history. A memorial to the many professional
men and women who helped keep this coastline safe
over the years. Safe from the dangers of Diamond
Shoals and the dark, unpredictable waters known as
The Graveyard of The Atlantic.