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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse North Carolina Lighthouses Restoration

In 1903, on the high dunes of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the Wright brothers launched their first successful foray into aviation. From their perspective, this location was ideal: high winds swept over miles of smooth sand that lined a shallow sea. However, for other forms of transportation, this coastline proved less accommodating.

For many miles off the coast two opposing currents flow; close to shore the cold-water Virginia Coastal Drift flows south, and farther offshore the warm-water Gulf Stream flows north. At Cape Hatteras, the Gulf Stream veers into the Coastal Drift, forcing vessels into the dangerous waters around Diamond Shoals, where shifting sands extend more than ten miles from the Cape. Over two thousand ships have foundered and sunk in that treacherous stretch of water, known as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Even when violent storms or hurricanes are not driving ships into the shallow waters, the flat coastline provides no visible landmarks, forcing navigators to sail close to the dangerous shore to get their bearings.

Although hundreds of vessels had followed the same fate as the first shipwreck recorded in 1526, no lighthouse was completed along those shores until October of 1803, nearly ten years after Congress had authorized its construction. Even then, the result was inadequate. The original Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, a 90-foot high sandstone tower, housed a collection of eighteen whale oil lamps set in 14-inch reflectors, but still it wasn’t visible beyond the shoals. To make matters worse, violent storms frequently broke through the windows and extinguished the light. Fortunately, the Lighthouse Board, formed in 1852, had the tower raised to more than 150 feet and installed a first-order Fresnel lens, but the new usefulness of Cape Hatteras Light wasn’t fated to last.

The Civil War saw Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in the center of conflict. The Confederate army wanted to destroy the lighthouse to prevent Union ships benefiting from it, and naturally the Union forces wanted to protect the lighthouse. After several battles in 1861, defeated Confederate troops retreated with the lighthouse’s Fresnel lens. In 1862, the tower was relit with a second-order Fresnel lens, and then upgraded the following year with a first-order lens. The tower was severely damaged in the war, and after peace was restored to the country, the Lighthouse Board determined it would be less costly to build a new lighthouse, 600 feet to the north, rather than repair and refit the existing one. The original Cape Hatteras Light was destroyed in a blast of dynamite, and the Fresnel lens it had most recently housed was shipped to California for use in the Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Click to view enlarged imageThe present lighthouse was constructed in 1869-70 at a cost exceeding $150,000. The Lighthouse Board appointed Dexter Stetson as Superintendent of Construction, who then hired and trained nearly 100 local laborers for a daily wage of $1.50. Well over one million bricks were used to construct the 208-foot tower, which is the tallest in the United States. The lighthouse was set on a “floating foundation” (two layers of pine beams placed crossways below the water table), which remained perfectly preserved for well over a century. On December 1, 1870, the tower’s first-order Fresnel lens and oil lamp were lit.

In 2002, it was discovered that this “new” lens was actually the same lens used in the original tower before the Confederates absconded with it. The lens remained hidden throughout the Civil War, and when it was finally located, it was shipped to Paris for cleaning. Upon its return, it was placed in storage at the Lighthouse Depot on Staten Island until the new tower was ready to receive it. In 1873, the Lighthouse Board had the tower painted with striking black and white stripes. At last that treacherous stretch of coastline had a distinctive landmark.

Unaka Jennette started his service in 1919 as principal keeper at Cape Hatteras, but his family had a much earlier connection with the lighthouse. Unaka’s sixth-generation ancestor, Christian Jennett(e), sold the government the four-acre tract on which the first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was constructed. Before being assigned to Cape Hatteras, Unaka had twice served aboard the Diamond Shoals Lightship, established off Cape Hatteras in 1824 to help mark this dangerous section of the coast, once as quarter master and the second time as Captain. Unaka and his wife, Jennie, moved into the head keeper’s dwelling with two children, and over the years five more children would be born in the residence.

On August 22, 1933, a powerful hurricane struck Cape Hatteras. Unaka sent a report to his superiors a few days later saying:

I beg leave to submit herewith-detailed report of the damage done by the recent storm of the 22nd inst. I wired you hastily on the morning of the 23rd, but have heard nothing from the office since that time. This was by far the highest sea tide recorded since I have been at Cape Hatteras. Two store houses and garages were washed down. Three toilets washed down. Floor bursted up in one room of 2nd asst. quarters…. The entire reservation is completely submerged, and I have been forced to move my family away from the station. Respectfully, (signed) U.B. Jennette, Keeper”

Another storm, just three weeks later, caused further erosion and damage at the station. By 1935, the coast had eroded so much that the sea lapped the base of the tower, once a safe 1500 feet from the water. The noble lighthouse was abandoned. Keeper Jennette moved his family into his father’s house in Buxton. A make-shift skeleton was erected a mile northwest of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton Woods, on land provided by Unaka. Keeper Jennette minded this new beacon until 1939, when the Coast Guard assumed control of the nation’s lighthouses. Unaka chose to remain a civilian employee and was transferred to the offshore Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, from which he retired in 1943. Keeper Jennette’s twenty years of service at Cape Hatteras was the longest tenure of the tower’s eighty-three keepers.

The National Park Service bought the defunct Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and through the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corps and a helping hand from Mother Nature, the shoreline around the lighthouse built up. During these years, souvenir hunters and vandals repeatedly entered the lighthouse and removed several pieces of the Fresnel lens. With the tower now apparently safe, the Coast Guard removed the pillaged lens and reactivated the lighthouse in 1950 using a modern beacon. But by 1987, the lighthouse was only 120 feet from the shore, and the National Park Service determined it would not survive the onslaught of the sea another decade.

In what would be named the “2000 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement” by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Cape Hatteras Light, along with two keeper’s quarters, was moved a half-mile inland. Under the direction of a team of twenty-two experts, on June 17, 1999, the lighthouse was raised six feet off its base and carefully moved, in five-foot increments, along a roadway constructed for that purpose. It arrived safely at its new location on July 9, 1999, and was relit a couple months later on November 13.

A ring of foundation stones was left to mark the former site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and in 2001 the names of the eighty-three keepers who served at the lighthouse were engraved into the granite blocks. A "Hatteras Keepers Descendants Homecoming", attended by over 1,000 descendants, was held at the site in May of 2001, shortly after the memorial was completed. Though the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse itself receives most of a visitor's attention, a stop by the ring of foundation stones to remember the lives of the keepers and their families, the real soul of the lighthouse, is an often neglected but satisfying part of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse experience.

Defeat hits hard for Lighthouses Sunshine Coast Daily The result put Caloundra's finals hopes in the balance, with Caboolture now a chance of slipping into the top four at the Lighthouses' expense. ... Teams gear up for the finals runNoosa News all 2 news articles »

Point Lynas lighthouse for sale at £1.5m BBC News Point Lynas lighthouse near Amlwch, on Anglesey, has been put up for sale by owners Robin and Iona Beckmann who have spent 10 years restoring it. ... Lighthouse for sale, £1.5mWalesOnline all 3 news articles »

Docents run historic site for a week Chicago Tribune That's more than Mark and Marti Strehlow and the other Rock Island lighthouse docents earn. But now that lighthouses in America are automated, ... and more »

Lighthouse lovers fundraiser tour Aug. 23-24 Grand Haven Tribune AP Breaking News Video The Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association will be offering lighthouse lovers a two-day lighthouse excursion on northern Lake ...

WTAQ

Federal govt. looks to unload 3 Mich. lighthouses Chicago Tribune The federal government wants to unload three Michigan lighthouses that it no longer needs, and is looking for local communities, museums or nonprofit groups ... South Haven lighthouse on pier is no longer needed, US Coast Guard saysKalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com South Haven lighthouse up for saleWWMT Tours draw crowds to lighthouseJournal Times Herald Palladium (subscription) -Interlochen Public Radio -WTAQ all 51 news articles »

» Saving pieces of the past Umpqua Post Elliott and county park staff say the state once led a PR campaign and events each year to raise awareness for Oregon lighthouses. ...

Shine for Lighthouse? Wall Street Journal The three lighthouses in question are being offered for sale by the federal government, which is seeking owners willing to take the money-burning ... Government giving away lighthousesWashington Post (blog) Awesome Auction Opportunity of the Day: These Three Lighthouses!Curbed (blog) all 4 news articles »

New Lighthouse Project Plan Unveiled Westbury Times Lighthouses are commonly viewed as the marker for seamen to find the coast during storms, add a bit of personality to an island and to serve as a beacon of ... and more »

Divers inspect ailing Del. lighthouse Delmarva Daily Times The damage was so bad the Delaware River & Bay Lighthouse Foundation ceased running summer tours at Harbor of Refuge, and the organization is looking at ... and more »

Door County, Wis., is home to lighthouses, cherries and more St. Louis Post-Dispatch Views of the 1869 Cana Island Lighthouse, one of the most visited sites in Door County. The catwalk at the top of the tower affords spectacular views of the ...

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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 

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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse North Carolina Lighthouses Restoration

In 1903, on the high dunes of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the Wright brothers launched their first successful foray into aviation. From their perspective, this location was ideal: high winds swept over miles of smooth sand that lined a shallow sea. However, for other forms of transportation, this coastline proved less accommodating.

For many miles off the coast two opposing currents flow; close to shore the cold-water Virginia Coastal Drift flows south, and farther offshore the warm-water Gulf Stream flows north. At Cape Hatteras, the Gulf Stream veers into the Coastal Drift, forcing vessels into the dangerous waters around Diamond Shoals, where shifting sands extend more than ten miles from the Cape. Over two thousand ships have foundered and sunk in that treacherous stretch of water, known as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Even when violent storms or hurricanes are not driving ships into the shallow waters, the flat coastline provides no visible landmarks, forcing navigators to sail close to the dangerous shore to get their bearings.

Although hundreds of vessels had followed the same fate as the first shipwreck recorded in 1526, no lighthouse was completed along those shores until October of 1803, nearly ten years after Congress had authorized its construction. Even then, the result was inadequate. The original Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, a 90-foot high sandstone tower, housed a collection of eighteen whale oil lamps set in 14-inch reflectors, but still it wasn’t visible beyond the shoals. To make matters worse, violent storms frequently broke through the windows and extinguished the light. Fortunately, the Lighthouse Board, formed in 1852, had the tower raised to more than 150 feet and installed a first-order Fresnel lens, but the new usefulness of Cape Hatteras Light wasn’t fated to last.

The Civil War saw Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in the center of conflict. The Confederate army wanted to destroy the lighthouse to prevent Union ships benefiting from it, and naturally the Union forces wanted to protect the lighthouse. After several battles in 1861, defeated Confederate troops retreated with the lighthouse’s Fresnel lens. In 1862, the tower was relit with a second-order Fresnel lens, and then upgraded the following year with a first-order lens. The tower was severely damaged in the war, and after peace was restored to the country, the Lighthouse Board determined it would be less costly to build a new lighthouse, 600 feet to the north, rather than repair and refit the existing one. The original Cape Hatteras Light was destroyed in a blast of dynamite, and the Fresnel lens it had most recently housed was shipped to California for use in the Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Click to view enlarged imageThe present lighthouse was constructed in 1869-70 at a cost exceeding $150,000. The Lighthouse Board appointed Dexter Stetson as Superintendent of Construction, who then hired and trained nearly 100 local laborers for a daily wage of $1.50. Well over one million bricks were used to construct the 208-foot tower, which is the tallest in the United States. The lighthouse was set on a “floating foundation” (two layers of pine beams placed crossways below the water table), which remained perfectly preserved for well over a century. On December 1, 1870, the tower’s first-order Fresnel lens and oil lamp were lit.

In 2002, it was discovered that this “new” lens was actually the same lens used in the original tower before the Confederates absconded with it. The lens remained hidden throughout the Civil War, and when it was finally located, it was shipped to Paris for cleaning. Upon its return, it was placed in storage at the Lighthouse Depot on Staten Island until the new tower was ready to receive it. In 1873, the Lighthouse Board had the tower painted with striking black and white stripes. At last that treacherous stretch of coastline had a distinctive landmark.

Unaka Jennette started his service in 1919 as principal keeper at Cape Hatteras, but his family had a much earlier connection with the lighthouse. Unaka’s sixth-generation ancestor, Christian Jennett(e), sold the government the four-acre tract on which the first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was constructed. Before being assigned to Cape Hatteras, Unaka had twice served aboard the Diamond Shoals Lightship, established off Cape Hatteras in 1824 to help mark this dangerous section of the coast, once as quarter master and the second time as Captain. Unaka and his wife, Jennie, moved into the head keeper’s dwelling with two children, and over the years five more children would be born in the residence.

On August 22, 1933, a powerful hurricane struck Cape Hatteras. Unaka sent a report to his superiors a few days later saying:

I beg leave to submit herewith-detailed report of the damage done by the recent storm of the 22nd inst. I wired you hastily on the morning of the 23rd, but have heard nothing from the office since that time. This was by far the highest sea tide recorded since I have been at Cape Hatteras. Two store houses and garages were washed down. Three toilets washed down. Floor bursted up in one room of 2nd asst. quarters…. The entire reservation is completely submerged, and I have been forced to move my family away from the station. Respectfully, (signed) U.B. Jennette, Keeper”

Another storm, just three weeks later, caused further erosion and damage at the station. By 1935, the coast had eroded so much that the sea lapped the base of the tower, once a safe 1500 feet from the water. The noble lighthouse was abandoned. Keeper Jennette moved his family into his father’s house in Buxton. A make-shift skeleton was erected a mile northwest of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton Woods, on land provided by Unaka. Keeper Jennette minded this new beacon until 1939, when the Coast Guard assumed control of the nation’s lighthouses. Unaka chose to remain a civilian employee and was transferred to the offshore Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, from which he retired in 1943. Keeper Jennette’s twenty years of service at Cape Hatteras was the longest tenure of the tower’s eighty-three keepers.

The National Park Service bought the defunct Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and through the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corps and a helping hand from Mother Nature, the shoreline around the lighthouse built up. During these years, souvenir hunters and vandals repeatedly entered the lighthouse and removed several pieces of the Fresnel lens. With the tower now apparently safe, the Coast Guard removed the pillaged lens and reactivated the lighthouse in 1950 using a modern beacon. But by 1987, the lighthouse was only 120 feet from the shore, and the National Park Service determined it would not survive the onslaught of the sea another decade.

In what would be named the “2000 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement” by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Cape Hatteras Light, along with two keeper’s quarters, was moved a half-mile inland. Under the direction of a team of twenty-two experts, on June 17, 1999, the lighthouse was raised six feet off its base and carefully moved, in five-foot increments, along a roadway constructed for that purpose. It arrived safely at its new location on July 9, 1999, and was relit a couple months later on November 13.

A ring of foundation stones was left to mark the former site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and in 2001 the names of the eighty-three keepers who served at the lighthouse were engraved into the granite blocks. A "Hatteras Keepers Descendants Homecoming", attended by over 1,000 descendants, was held at the site in May of 2001, shortly after the memorial was completed. Though the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse itself receives most of a visitor's attention, a stop by the ring of foundation stones to remember the lives of the keepers and their families, the real soul of the lighthouse, is an often neglected but satisfying part of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse experience.

Cruise around Cape Ann and learn about lighthouses Wicked Local (blog) By Anonymous The annual Lighthouses of Cape Ann cruise will be held Friday, July 30, leaving at 6 pm from Cape Ann Whale Watch in Gloucester aboard the ... and more »

A beacon's final resident reflects Press of Atlantic City The tour aims to familiarize people with some of the seven remaining lighthouses on the Delaware. "Angelo is good at what he does," says Dusty Pierce, ...

Throwing light on country's history AsiaOne ENTIRE stories and movies have been constructed around lighthouses -- those solitary guides for ships navigating sometimes treacherous waters. ...

Lighthouses of Ontario CANOE Here's an opportunity to explore these stately sentinels - lighthouses - right here in Ontario. The Bruce Coast bills itself as the "lighthouse destination ... and more »

Beach Connection

Oregon Coast Secrets Abound in Newport For the Summer Beach Connection Deep sea fishing, crabbing, lighthouses, special family events, more outdoor dining than anywhere else on the coast and a new butterfly attraction are part ...

lighthouse gets help from divers The News Journal The damage was so bad the Delaware River & Bay Lighthouse Foundation ceased running summer tours at Harbor of Refuge, and the organization is looking at ...

WTAQ

Federal govt. looks to unload 3 Mich. lighthouses Chicago Tribune The federal government wants to unload three Michigan lighthouses that it no longer needs, and is looking for local communities, museums or nonprofit groups ... Lighthouses for sale, U.S. Coast Guard says they're not neededDetroit Free Press South Haven lighthouse on pier is no longer needed, US Coast Guard saysKalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com South Haven has its eyes on lighthouseHerald Palladium (subscription) WWMT -Journal Times -WTAQ all 51 news articles »

Last at the light Lake County News Chronicle When Coast Guard member Mike Roberts was assigned to duty at Split Rock Lighthouse in November of 1966, he had no idea he would be the last keeper to serve ...

The Forecaster

Ram Island Ledge light off Cape Elizabeth for sale, in need of care The Forecaster Santangelo said it has become increasingly difficult for the US Coast Guard to maintain and man the lighthouses. "The light is an active navigation tool, ...

Shine for Lighthouse? Wall Street Journal The three lighthouses in question are being offered for sale by the federal government, which is seeking owners willing to take the money-burning ... Government giving away lighthousesWashington Post (blog) Awesome Auction Opportunity of the Day: These Three Lighthouses!Curbed (blog) all 4 news articles »

Common Misspellings include actualy adn, anbd anohter apparantly aroud, arround, arund attened attension avation awya bedore, befoer, befor beng balck borke bu centruy childen, cildren chirstian, chirstian, chistian, chistian, chrisitan, chrisitan, christain, christain, christan, christan, christina, christina, chritsian, chritsian, chrsitian, chrsitian, crhistian, crhistian, cristian, hcristian, hcristian civillian caost collecton completelyl congreso conection consttruction, constuction, contruction controll ocuntry decendants, decendents, descendands, descendents destory, destory, stroy detailled dicovered disctinctive buring, durig, durring, duting ealier effords engeneering engieneers erested experiance, expierence familes, fimilies feat, fet, fete fianlly, finaly firt, firts follwoing, folowing formant, fomed, fromed frequentily fomr, frome furuther, futher govement, govenment, govenrment, goverment, goverment, governmnet, govorment, govornment gaurd ahev, ahve, haev, hvae, hvea heared, herad halp higest housr howver inadiquate, inadquate inot it's jstu lastr, lsat launhed lefted amke, mkae, mkea milion, millon monts moreso, mroe, omre naturaly, naturely, naturually nobel noeth, noth nto, onot nowe ofen oftenly lonly, onyl orginal, origional nother, otehr prespective poverful, poweful powerfull pricipal prooved provded perphas rela reseive, resieve, recieve recieves remeber repeteadly smae sevice severeal severley severly shiped shorly sicne, sinse sose sould sourth souvenier staes staion stpo succesful, succesfull, successfull, succsessfull, sucesful, sucesfull, sucessful, sucessfull superintendant swepth tahn, thna taht, tath, thast, thgat, thta, thyat hten, tghe, ther, thge, tjhe ther, theri, thier, thier thne theese htis, thsi, tihs ethose, thsoe threee throught, thru thoughout, throught, througout tiem, timne, tiome transfered transporation troups twpo untied untill upgradded uopn, apon uise unsed useing wiew visable wnated wass, weas, ws warter vell waht, whta wehn, whn hwihc, whcih, whic, whihc, whlch, wich iwfe, wfie, wief widows owudl, woudl eyar, yearm, yera 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