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Bald Head Island Nc Lighthouse North Carolina Lighthouses Restoration

At the confluence of the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean lies unique Bald Head Island, an oasis from the rigors of the mainland. As you arrive on the island by boat, either passenger ferry or private yacht, you will feel the slowed pace of life awaiting its visitors. With ample acreage protected from development and miles of beautiful beaches, this place provides a pristine setting for its greatest treasure, Bald Head Lighthouse, affectionately known as Old Baldy, which rises above the surrounding live oaks and welcomes visitors to the island.

Bald Head Island is actually part of Smith Island, a collection of islands crisscrossed by creeks and inlets, and received its name from the denuded dunes on its south beach, which resemble a bald head. Extending twenty-eight miles from the southeast end of the island are Frying Pan Shoals, a collection of shifting sandbars, obscured by a thin covering of water. Early sailors dubbed the area Cape Fear, no doubt a reference to the feeling evoked when navigation near the hazardous shoals.

A ten-acre site on the west side of Bald Head Island, along the banks of the Cape Fear River, was selected for North Carolina’s first lighthouse. The property was purchased from Benjamin Smith, who would later become the governor of North Carolina. In 1792, Congress appropriated $4,000 to complete the lighthouse that had been started by North Carolina before becoming part of the United States. Work on the lighthouse was overseen by Abisha Woodward, who would later build two lighthouses in Connecticut: New London and Falkner's Island. The lighthouse, which was first activated on December 23rd 1794, directed traffic to the Cape Fear River and the growing port of Wilmington, located several miles upstream. Unfortunately, due to severe erosion along the river, the demolition of the lighthouse was ordered in 1813.

By 1817, the replacement lighthouse, “Old Baldy,” was built further inland and lit, for just under $16,000. A stone plaque above the entrance identifies the builder as Daniel S. Way, and the foundry for the lantern room as R. Cochran. Still the oldest in North Carolina, the octagonal brick and plaster tower stands 90 feet high and was originally equipped with an array of lamps and reflectors. The lantern room is offset from the center of the tower, and as technology improved, it later housed a Fresnel lens. At its base, the tower is 36 feet wide and at its top 14 ½ feet wide, while the walls are 5 feet thick at the base and taper to 2 ½ feet at the top. The rectangular stairway leading up the inside of the tower is made of Carolina yellow pine.

The original keeper’s dwelling, built on the west side of Old Baldy, was eventually lost to erosion. The replacement was a 1 ½ story cottage, erected in the 1850s on the east side of the lighthouse. When this structure was destroyed by fire, a larger two-story dwelling was constructed on the same site. In 1931, this larger dwelling, which was being used as an office for the "Palmetto Island" development, was also lost to fire.

In 1836, Captain Henry D. Hunter visited the lighthouse and reported that the "keeper is an old revolutionary soldier and is unable from sickness to give the lighthouse his constant personal attention. The light, however, shows well from a distance."

Some problems with the Bald Head Lighthouse included its location and illumination. Positioned some four miles from the eastern end of the island and equipped with a minor light, the lighthouse was unsuccessful in guiding ships safely past Frying Pan Shoals. A lightship was therefore placed on the shoals and served from 1854 until 1964.

In 1866, the Bald Head light was discontinued when the screw-pile Federal Point lighthouse was built eight miles upstream, near present Fort Fisher ferry landing. However, this new light was deactivated in 1879 when the New Inlet was closed, and Old Baldy returned to service. Meanwhile, requests for funds to raise the height of Old Baldy and to install a first-order lens to make it a coastal beacon were never approved.

Instead, in 1898 the Lighthouse Board approved a 159-foot, skeleton tower, named the Cape Fear Lighthouse, to be located on the southeastern end of Bald Head Island, where it could mark the shoals. The Cape Fear light served from 1903 to 1958, when the Oak Island Lighthouse located on the mainland became operational.

After the completion of the new Cape Fear Lighthouse, Old Baldy was reduced to a fourth-order fixed light and then decommissioned in 1935. Its Fresnel lens was removed from the tower, and from 1941 to 1958 the tower housed a radio beacon. The lighthouse was sold to a private owner in 1963. After another change of hands, the lighthouse was then given to the Old Baldy Foundation, organized to restore North Carolina’s eldest treasure.

Restoration of Bald Head Lighthouse included placing a new cooper roof on the off-center lantern room and patching up the layer of stucco that covers the brick tower. Over the years, patchwork repairs have led to the mottled look of the lighthouse. Visitors can now scale the 112 restored wooden stairs to reach the top of the tower and take in the beautiful island setting. The lighthouse was relit as an unofficial aid in 1985. A replica of the 1850s keepers cottage was finished in 2000 adjacent to the lighthouse and houses the Smith Island Museum, providing a permanent home for over 400 years worth of the region’s maritime history, including a 1908 keeper’s uniform and two lens panels from the Cape Fear Lighthouse.

Historic Greenwich lighthouse shines again Greenwich Time The lighthouse and the 9/11 on Great Captains Island off the Greenwich coast, as seen in 2009. Situated on the eastern point of the island 1 1/2 miles off the Greenwich coast, the 51-foot granite and cast iron tower now features a 4-second flashing ...

Lighthouse keeper had his share of bad times Southgate News Herald But, as the word suggests, many lighthouses had a residence attached to the tower that sheltered a keeper and his family. Like the rest of us, they had to navigate a course through life's good and bad times. The history of one Detroit River lighthouse ...

Future of Ontario lighthouses in jeopardy Wire Service Canada (press release) If a petition under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act is not received on or before May 29, 2011 Ontario lighthouses owned by the Government of Canada could be sold to the highest bidder or simply left to rot and fall down.

A Lighthouse with a Twist, Trumbull Style Patch.com Raymond Swindon, a residential designer and a sculptor from Trumbull, created a lighthouse model that took fourth place in the Maritime Aquarium's 10th annual design contest. He won $300. "I wanted to create the appearance that the lighthouse was being ...

WXYZ

Be A Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper! WXYZ WXYZ - If you're ever had thoughts of living the dream of a more romantic era as a lighthouse keeper, perhaps your dreams can come true. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking for people who want to work a couple of weeks as the ... You can be a Victorian-era lighthouse keeperWNEM Saginaw all 2 news articles »

Hark, Mariners! Here are Five Lighthouses For Sale in the U.S. Curbed National (blog) People generally love living by the water, and pay for the privilege, but for the truly aquatically obsessed, there's no better trophy than owning that most livable of navigational aids, the lighthouse. Whether its on the ocean or a lake, a lighthouse ...

Great ocean views at Cape Disappointment The Seattle Times By Brian J. Cantwell Waves crash against the rocks below the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. The Schasse family of Lacey takes the trail back from North Head Lighthouse toward the lightkeeper's quarters. Leading the way is Teague, 6, then Ty, 4, ... and more »

Hope for lighthouse stripes as firm offers to carry out work Eastbourne Today THE CAMPAIGN to save the Beachy Head Lighthouse stripes has been given a boost with the news a local firm has offered to repaint the iconic red and white stripes. Sussex Blast Cleaning, based in Hailsham, says it will put in a tender to carry out the ...

The Hindu

Alappuzha lighthouse to celebrate 150 Year The Hindu The Alappuzha lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses on the south-west coast of the country, is preparing to celebrate its 150 year in an impressive way. Easily one of the most recognized and known landmarks of the coastal tourist town of Alappuzha ...

Heritage Newspapers

Newtown Duo Wins Lighthouse Contest Patch.com Two Newtown women will receive $1500 after being crowned winners of model lighthouse contest in Norwalk. By Hoa Nguyen Two Newtown women were named winners of a 10th annual model lighthouse contest after their creation garnered the most votes at the ... MILAN: Local residents share fascination with lighthousesHeritage Newspapers Deadline looming to save our lighthousesThe Guardian Charlottetown all 3 news articles »

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 Sailing Lessons Carolina   Bald Head Island NC Lighthouse  Cape Hatteras Lighthouse  Oak Island Lighthouse  Bodie Island Lighthouse  North Carolina Lighthouses  Cape Lookout Lighthouse  Ocracoke Lighthouse  Roanoke River Lighthouse  Cape Fear Lighthouse  Currituck Beach Lighthouse  Prices Creek Lighthouse  sailing alantic 

   Links 

Bald Head Island Nc Lighthouse North Carolina Lighthouses Restoration

At the confluence of the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean lies unique Bald Head Island, an oasis from the rigors of the mainland. As you arrive on the island by boat, either passenger ferry or private yacht, you will feel the slowed pace of life awaiting its visitors. With ample acreage protected from development and miles of beautiful beaches, this place provides a pristine setting for its greatest treasure, Bald Head Lighthouse, affectionately known as Old Baldy, which rises above the surrounding live oaks and welcomes visitors to the island.

Bald Head Island is actually part of Smith Island, a collection of islands crisscrossed by creeks and inlets, and received its name from the denuded dunes on its south beach, which resemble a bald head. Extending twenty-eight miles from the southeast end of the island are Frying Pan Shoals, a collection of shifting sandbars, obscured by a thin covering of water. Early sailors dubbed the area Cape Fear, no doubt a reference to the feeling evoked when navigation near the hazardous shoals.

A ten-acre site on the west side of Bald Head Island, along the banks of the Cape Fear River, was selected for North Carolina’s first lighthouse. The property was purchased from Benjamin Smith, who would later become the governor of North Carolina. In 1792, Congress appropriated $4,000 to complete the lighthouse that had been started by North Carolina before becoming part of the United States. Work on the lighthouse was overseen by Abisha Woodward, who would later build two lighthouses in Connecticut: New London and Falkner's Island. The lighthouse, which was first activated on December 23rd 1794, directed traffic to the Cape Fear River and the growing port of Wilmington, located several miles upstream. Unfortunately, due to severe erosion along the river, the demolition of the lighthouse was ordered in 1813.

By 1817, the replacement lighthouse, “Old Baldy,” was built further inland and lit, for just under $16,000. A stone plaque above the entrance identifies the builder as Daniel S. Way, and the foundry for the lantern room as R. Cochran. Still the oldest in North Carolina, the octagonal brick and plaster tower stands 90 feet high and was originally equipped with an array of lamps and reflectors. The lantern room is offset from the center of the tower, and as technology improved, it later housed a Fresnel lens. At its base, the tower is 36 feet wide and at its top 14 ½ feet wide, while the walls are 5 feet thick at the base and taper to 2 ½ feet at the top. The rectangular stairway leading up the inside of the tower is made of Carolina yellow pine.

The original keeper’s dwelling, built on the west side of Old Baldy, was eventually lost to erosion. The replacement was a 1 ½ story cottage, erected in the 1850s on the east side of the lighthouse. When this structure was destroyed by fire, a larger two-story dwelling was constructed on the same site. In 1931, this larger dwelling, which was being used as an office for the "Palmetto Island" development, was also lost to fire.

In 1836, Captain Henry D. Hunter visited the lighthouse and reported that the "keeper is an old revolutionary soldier and is unable from sickness to give the lighthouse his constant personal attention. The light, however, shows well from a distance."

Some problems with the Bald Head Lighthouse included its location and illumination. Positioned some four miles from the eastern end of the island and equipped with a minor light, the lighthouse was unsuccessful in guiding ships safely past Frying Pan Shoals. A lightship was therefore placed on the shoals and served from 1854 until 1964.

In 1866, the Bald Head light was discontinued when the screw-pile Federal Point lighthouse was built eight miles upstream, near present Fort Fisher ferry landing. However, this new light was deactivated in 1879 when the New Inlet was closed, and Old Baldy returned to service. Meanwhile, requests for funds to raise the height of Old Baldy and to install a first-order lens to make it a coastal beacon were never approved.

Instead, in 1898 the Lighthouse Board approved a 159-foot, skeleton tower, named the Cape Fear Lighthouse, to be located on the southeastern end of Bald Head Island, where it could mark the shoals. The Cape Fear light served from 1903 to 1958, when the Oak Island Lighthouse located on the mainland became operational.

After the completion of the new Cape Fear Lighthouse, Old Baldy was reduced to a fourth-order fixed light and then decommissioned in 1935. Its Fresnel lens was removed from the tower, and from 1941 to 1958 the tower housed a radio beacon. The lighthouse was sold to a private owner in 1963. After another change of hands, the lighthouse was then given to the Old Baldy Foundation, organized to restore North Carolina’s eldest treasure.

Restoration of Bald Head Lighthouse included placing a new cooper roof on the off-center lantern room and patching up the layer of stucco that covers the brick tower. Over the years, patchwork repairs have led to the mottled look of the lighthouse. Visitors can now scale the 112 restored wooden stairs to reach the top of the tower and take in the beautiful island setting. The lighthouse was relit as an unofficial aid in 1985. A replica of the 1850s keepers cottage was finished in 2000 adjacent to the lighthouse and houses the Smith Island Museum, providing a permanent home for over 400 years worth of the region’s maritime history, including a 1908 keeper’s uniform and two lens panels from the Cape Fear Lighthouse.

WXYZ

You can be a Victorian-era lighthouse keeper WNEM Saginaw Entertainment News from AP By Craig McMorris, TV5 Anchor/Reporter - bio | email Those who have longed to experience the slow pace and the romance of the Victorian era can try their hand at being the lighthouse keeper at one of Michigan's state parks ... Be A Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper!WXYZ all 2 news articles »

Hope for lighthouse stripes as firm offers to carry out work Eastbourne Today THE CAMPAIGN to save the Beachy Head Lighthouse stripes has been given a boost with the news a local firm has offered to repaint the iconic red and white stripes. Sussex Blast Cleaning, based in Hailsham, says it will put in a tender to carry out the ...

Great ocean views at Cape Disappointment The Seattle Times By Brian J. Cantwell Waves crash against the rocks below the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. The Schasse family of Lacey takes the trail back from North Head Lighthouse toward the lightkeeper's quarters. Leading the way is Teague, 6, then Ty, 4, ... and more »

Port Townsend artist fashions poster for Sequim Lavender Farm Faire Peninsula Daily He's known for his lighthouses.” “The creativity and technique that went into this painting is very special, as all of the members of the association are represented in some way within the art,” Nagel said. Details will be announced in April, ... and more »

Heritage Newspapers

MILAN: Local residents share fascination with lighthouses Heritage Newspapers By Joyce Ervin Hannah Ochoa, granddaughter of Rene and Tim Gibelyou, is photographed near some of the lighthouses featured at her grandparents' place of business, The Lighthouse Coffee Co. Ochoa said she likes the lighthouses, just not so much as does ... Newtown Duo Wins Lighthouse ContestPatch.com Deadline looming to save our lighthousesThe Guardian Charlottetown all 3 news articles »

Martin County Community Calendar, Updated Jan. 31 TCPalm 13: Lighthouses Along the Gulfstream: Past, Present & Future, Annie Potts, director of Bahamas Lighthouse Preservation Society. Feb. 27: Underwater Moments — Bringing the Underwater World into Focus, JD & Valerie Gaynor. Mar. and more »

The Hindu

Alappuzha lighthouse to celebrate 150 Year The Hindu The Alappuzha lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses on the south-west coast of the country, is preparing to celebrate its 150 year in an impressive way. Easily one of the most recognized and known landmarks of the coastal tourist town of Alappuzha ...

Advocates for sea turtles seek to darken historic Hillsboro Lighthouse Sun-Sentinel By Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel For 105 years, the venerable lighthouse has stood vigil at Hillsboro Inlet, guiding mariners through a rocky and dangerous passage. "A lot of these little boats going out, they don't have GPS," said Jimmy Pasvantis, ... and more »

Listing of the week: Towering over Maine in your own lighthouse msnbc.com By Erika Riggs, Zillow Long before GPS and smartphones, sailors depended on the blinking light of a far-off lighthouse to guide them. Although ships no longer rely on lighthouses, there's still something alluring about a lighthouse, sitting alone as a ...

Deccan Chronicle

A unique birthday gift to 150-year-old Alappuzha lighthouse Deccan Chronicle By T. Sudheesh The history of Alappuzha lighthouse which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, has been chronicled by Mr ICR Prasad of Directorate of Lighthouses and Lightships and will be released at the anniversary celebration of the lighthouse ...

Common Misspellings include actualy alsot, aslo adn, anbd anohter attension beatiful, beautyfull becamae becomeing, becomming bedore, befoer, befor beng boaut bu collecton competion, completetion congreso constatn coudl, sould decomissioned demolision delevopment, developement, develpment, devolopement doub eearly eigth eiter equiped erested evenhtually, eventally, eventially, eventualy fedral, fedral fiel feat, fet, fete firt, firts forte foundary fouth fomr, frome furuther, futher gouvener, governer ahev, ahve, haev, hvae, hvea heighth, heigth, hieght, hieght, hieght hstory howver includng, incuding, inlcuding it's jstu lead, leaded lief maked amke, mkae, mkea anme, naem, nmae noeth, noth nowe orded orginal, origional orginally, origanaly, originall, originaly, originially, originnally, origionally, orignally, orignially permanant, permenant peronal, personel palce privte reseived, resieved, recived, recieved referrence, refference refrence relpacement ressemble returnd revolutionar smae sevice severeal sould smoe, soem sourth staes sotry, sotyr, stopry, stoyr, stroy stucture, sturcture sorrounding, surounding, surrouding tkae technnology, technolgy taht, tath, thast, thgat, thta, thyat hten, tghe, ther, thge, tjhe thne htis, thsi, tihs trafic twpo unforetunately, unfortunatley, unfortunatly, unfourtunately untied inofficial, unoffical unsuccesful, unsuccessfull, unsucesful, unsucessful, unsucessfull untill unsed vistors wass, weas, ws warter vell wehn, whn hwihc, whcih, whic, whihc, whlch, wich hwile iwll, wille, wiull owrk, wokr, wrok owudl, woudl yatch eyars, eyasr, yeasr, yeras, yersa
 Sailing Lessons Carolina   Bald Head Island NC Lighthouse  Cape Hatteras Lighthouse  Oak Island Lighthouse  Bodie Island Lighthouse  North Carolina Lighthouses  Cape Lookout Lighthouse  Ocracoke Lighthouse  Roanoke River Lighthouse  Cape Fear Lighthouse  Currituck Beach Lighthouse  Prices Creek Lighthouse  sailing alantic