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Oak Island Lighthouse North Carolina Lighthouses Restoration

Oak Island Lighthouse is an intriguing mixture of old and new, tradition and innovation. The present structure, completed in 1958, is one of the most recent lighthouses built on American shores. Although the current lighthouse is young, attempts to illuminate this particular stretch of water have been made for over two hundred years but have been thwarted by hurricanes, war, and changing shipping routes.

In 1761 a hurricane carved out an inlet near the mouth of the Cape Fear River, which soon became the most popular route to Wilmington, North Carolina’s largest port. Because of the increased traffic in this aptly named “New Inlet,” two range lights were built on Oak Island, located on the west side of the river mouth. First lit on September 7, 1849, these lights were often referred to as the “Caswell Lights” because of their nearness to Fort Caswell.

Unlike the other Cape Fear River range lights, the Caswell Lights were free-standing brick towers, with a separate 1 ½ story cottage for the keeper. The original brick beacons were in use only a few years before the Civil War extinguished all the lights on the Carolina coast. Both range lights were destroyed by retreating Confederate troops, who preferred to blow up the structures rather than see them fall into Union hands. Of course interested parties had no intention of allowing New Inlet to remain dark for long, and in 1865, plans for new Oak Island range lights were drawn to include a front beacon, standing twenty-seven feet above sea level, and a rear beacon, a sophisticated four-level structure with living quarters.

These plans, however, were apparently abandoned, as the lights that finally were rebuilt in 1879 were quite different. The front range light was a wooden tower attached to a sixteen-foot high brick foundation, which still stands today, and the rear light was a simple structure mounted on skids so it could be moved with the shifting channel. The keeper’s dwelling was a separate, two-story house.

Unfortunately, like their predecessors, these range lights survived less than 20 years. Another hurricane in 1893 damaged the front beacon and keeper’s house beyond repair. But this time, because changes in shipping routes had decreased the number of vessels along that part of the Cape Fear River, the damaged range lights were decommissioned with no plans to repair them.

Although there was less traffic through New Inlet, ships trying to navigate the dangerous Frying Pan Shoals still needed a strong coastal light. The Lighthouse Board petitioned for funds to equip Bald Head Lighthouse as a coastal light, but when Congress finally did appropriate funds, they were for a new Cape Fear Lighthouse, a 150-foot tower built on Bald Head Island. Outfitted with a first-order Fresnel lens, this lighthouse was completed in 1903, and functioned until the current lighthouse was built on Oak Island in 1958.

As the last lighthouse built in North Carolina, Oak Island Lighthouse is as durable as they come. Twenty-four concrete-filled pilings penetrate 67 feet into the ground to provide a solid foundation. Capping the pilings is an octagonal concrete base measuring 30 feet wide and three feet deep. The tower itself is 158 feet tall, made of solid, eight-inch thick reinforced concrete. During its construction, a temporary concrete mixing plant was set up next to the construction site and operated continuously for six days. The concrete was poured into a moveable form that was slowly raised by jacks.

The three bands of color distinguishing the lighthouse also speak of modern innovation and durability. For the first forty feet of the tower, workers poured natural gray cement; the next fifty feet they used a mixture of white Portland cement and white quartz aggregate, and for the final fifty feet they mixed black paint with the cement. The result is a monolithic tower with three distinctive bands that never need repainting.

Unlike traditional lighthouses, Oak Island Lighthouse has no spiral staircase; instead the keeper must climb a series of ships ladders with a total of 134 steps. Tools are hauled to the top in a metal box attached to a long pulley. The aluminum lantern room houses four 1000-watt aerobeam lights that had to be installed by two Marine Corps helicopters. With its 2.5 million candlepower lights flashing intermittently and visible 24 miles out to sea, Oak Island Light is one of the most powerful lighthouses in existence.

In the 1930’s the US Coast Guard took ownership of the land on which Oak Island Lighthouse is located and used the property for a Coast Guard station. However, in 2004, both the Oak Island Lighthouse and the land immediately surrounding the tower were deeded to the town of Caswell Beach. A non-proft organization, Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse, has been formed to preserve and maintain the lighthouse and grounds. The Coast Guard still is in charge of maintaining the lights, and the actual lighthouse is not open to the public, but the town has constructed a boardwalk and an observation deck just across the street from the lighthouse for visitors.

Ridgefield and New Fairfield creations in "Festival of Lighthouses ... Danbury News Times, CT - 22 hours ago By Susan Tuz When Nick Parker's daughters heard he wasn't going to enter the "Festival of Lighthouses" contest at Maritime Aquarium this year, ...

Taking over Whaleback @Drop head:ALF gains ownership of local ... Foster's Daily Democrat, NH - Nov 19, 2008 "We think all lighthouses are historical. For Whaleback, you almost feel like you can touch it from land, but yet it's just out of reach, so people have ... Whaleback Lighthouse gets new owner York Weekly all 2 news articles

Holiday Deals Frenzy Prompts Online Art Retailer to Offer Free ... MarketWatch - Nov 18, 2008 "People come from all over the world to Maine to see our beautiful historic lighthouses -- which also represent hope, vision and strength and they want ...

Calgary Herald

Be moral in tough times, Manning challenges U of A grads Canada.com, Canada - Nov 20, 2008 "We need men and women equipped by their training with high ethical standards to serve as ethical beacons and lighthouses," Manning said as he accepted an ... Manning uses honour to push higher education Calgary Herald all 2 news articles

Tired of those gloomy winter days already? Zanesville Times Recorder, OH - Nov 16, 2008 Connected by a series of bridges, visitors can drive to most of the islands to visit lighthouses, wild horses, beaches and much, much more. ...

Holiday lights to adorn Montauk lighthouse Newsday, NY - 2 hours ago BY BILL BLEYER | bill.bleyer@newsday.com For 211 years, the Montauk Point Lighthouse has displayed just one light -- the navigation beacon atop the tower. ...

Holiday Deals Frenzy Prompts Online Art Retailer to Offer Free ... International Business Times, NY - Nov 18, 2008 "People come from all over the world to Maine to see our beautifulhistoric lighthouses -- which also represent hope, vision and strength andthey want ...

Mattituck Inlet Marina seeks expansion The Suffolk Times, NY - Nov 13, 2008 Representatives of East End Lighthouses asked the Town Board to assume ownership of Latimer Reef lighthouse, located north of Fishers Island in the Fishers ... The public water conundrum Suffolk Times all 2 news articles

The Independent Weekly

Come January The Independent Weekly, NC - Nov 19, 2008 Lone sprigs of parsley loom as lighthouses for sharp-eyed deer. Along the roadside, silhouettes of once-vibrant stalks of corn now resemble the Emperor's ...

Barents Observer

Russia removed radioactive lighthouses from Arctic coast Barents Observer, Russia - Nov 11, 2008 In the course of summer, Russia removed another 46 strontium-fuelled lighthouses from the coast of the White Sea and the Barents and Kara Seas. ...

Common Misspellings include accros, acrosss, acrost, accross agregate alowing alsot, aslo allthough altho, althought, altough adn, anbd anohter apparantly appropiate, appropraite, appropropiate, apropriate attemts becamae baceause, beacuse, becasue, beccause, becouse, becuase bedore, befoer, befor balck bu caost congreso consttruction, constuction, contruction continously coudl, sould decomissioned diferent, diferrent, differnt, diffrent disctinctive distingishing buring, durig, durring, duting eigth existance, existince feat, fet, fete fianlly, finaly firt, firts fomr formant, fomed, fromed forte fourty firends fomr, frome gaurd ahev, ahve, haev, hvae, hvea housr howver hunderd emmediately, imediately, immediatley, immediatly, immidately, immidiately includ inclreased instade inot it's jstu largst lastr, lsat levle liek, liuke maked maintinaing milion, millon monolite naturual ened enxt noeth, noth nto, onot ofen oftenly lonly, onyl organiztion orginal, origional nother, otehr parituclar, particualr, paticular populare poverful, poweful powerfull predecesors prefered pubic qtuie, qutie refered, reffered refoceus, reinfarced, reenforced seperate shiping slowy sose sophicated, suphisticated staion sotry, sotyr, stopry, stoyr, stroy stong stucture, sturcture sorrounding, surounding, surrouding survivied temprary tahn, thna taht, tath, thast, thgat, thta, thyat hten, tghe, ther, thge, tjhe ther, theri, thier, thier their, ther theese htey, tehy, tyhe htis, thsi, tihs threee throught, thru tiem, timne, tiome todya twon traditition traditionnal trafic troups twpo untill uise unsed visable vistors wass, weas, ws warter wehn, whn hwihc, whcih, whic, whihc, whlch, wich 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 

   Links 

Oak Island Lighthouse North Carolina Lighthouses Restoration

Oak Island Lighthouse is an intriguing mixture of old and new, tradition and innovation. The present structure, completed in 1958, is one of the most recent lighthouses built on American shores. Although the current lighthouse is young, attempts to illuminate this particular stretch of water have been made for over two hundred years but have been thwarted by hurricanes, war, and changing shipping routes.

In 1761 a hurricane carved out an inlet near the mouth of the Cape Fear River, which soon became the most popular route to Wilmington, North Carolina’s largest port. Because of the increased traffic in this aptly named “New Inlet,” two range lights were built on Oak Island, located on the west side of the river mouth. First lit on September 7, 1849, these lights were often referred to as the “Caswell Lights” because of their nearness to Fort Caswell.

Unlike the other Cape Fear River range lights, the Caswell Lights were free-standing brick towers, with a separate 1 ½ story cottage for the keeper. The original brick beacons were in use only a few years before the Civil War extinguished all the lights on the Carolina coast. Both range lights were destroyed by retreating Confederate troops, who preferred to blow up the structures rather than see them fall into Union hands. Of course interested parties had no intention of allowing New Inlet to remain dark for long, and in 1865, plans for new Oak Island range lights were drawn to include a front beacon, standing twenty-seven feet above sea level, and a rear beacon, a sophisticated four-level structure with living quarters.

These plans, however, were apparently abandoned, as the lights that finally were rebuilt in 1879 were quite different. The front range light was a wooden tower attached to a sixteen-foot high brick foundation, which still stands today, and the rear light was a simple structure mounted on skids so it could be moved with the shifting channel. The keeper’s dwelling was a separate, two-story house.

Unfortunately, like their predecessors, these range lights survived less than 20 years. Another hurricane in 1893 damaged the front beacon and keeper’s house beyond repair. But this time, because changes in shipping routes had decreased the number of vessels along that part of the Cape Fear River, the damaged range lights were decommissioned with no plans to repair them.

Although there was less traffic through New Inlet, ships trying to navigate the dangerous Frying Pan Shoals still needed a strong coastal light. The Lighthouse Board petitioned for funds to equip Bald Head Lighthouse as a coastal light, but when Congress finally did appropriate funds, they were for a new Cape Fear Lighthouse, a 150-foot tower built on Bald Head Island. Outfitted with a first-order Fresnel lens, this lighthouse was completed in 1903, and functioned until the current lighthouse was built on Oak Island in 1958.

As the last lighthouse built in North Carolina, Oak Island Lighthouse is as durable as they come. Twenty-four concrete-filled pilings penetrate 67 feet into the ground to provide a solid foundation. Capping the pilings is an octagonal concrete base measuring 30 feet wide and three feet deep. The tower itself is 158 feet tall, made of solid, eight-inch thick reinforced concrete. During its construction, a temporary concrete mixing plant was set up next to the construction site and operated continuously for six days. The concrete was poured into a moveable form that was slowly raised by jacks.

The three bands of color distinguishing the lighthouse also speak of modern innovation and durability. For the first forty feet of the tower, workers poured natural gray cement; the next fifty feet they used a mixture of white Portland cement and white quartz aggregate, and for the final fifty feet they mixed black paint with the cement. The result is a monolithic tower with three distinctive bands that never need repainting.

Unlike traditional lighthouses, Oak Island Lighthouse has no spiral staircase; instead the keeper must climb a series of ships ladders with a total of 134 steps. Tools are hauled to the top in a metal box attached to a long pulley. The aluminum lantern room houses four 1000-watt aerobeam lights that had to be installed by two Marine Corps helicopters. With its 2.5 million candlepower lights flashing intermittently and visible 24 miles out to sea, Oak Island Light is one of the most powerful lighthouses in existence.

In the 1930’s the US Coast Guard took ownership of the land on which Oak Island Lighthouse is located and used the property for a Coast Guard station. However, in 2004, both the Oak Island Lighthouse and the land immediately surrounding the tower were deeded to the town of Caswell Beach. A non-proft organization, Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse, has been formed to preserve and maintain the lighthouse and grounds. The Coast Guard still is in charge of maintaining the lights, and the actual lighthouse is not open to the public, but the town has constructed a boardwalk and an observation deck just across the street from the lighthouse for visitors.

Taking over Whaleback @Drop head:ALF gains ownership of local ... Foster's Daily Democrat, NH - 19 hours ago "We think all lighthouses are historical. For Whaleback, you almost feel like you can touch it from land, but yet it's just out of reach, so people have ... Whaleback Lighthouse gets new owner York Weekly all 2 news articles

Holiday Deals Frenzy Prompts Online Art Retailer to Offer Free ... MarketWatch - Nov 18, 2008 "People come from all over the world to Maine to see our beautiful historic lighthouses -- which also represent hope, vision and strength and they want ...

The Independent Weekly

Come January The Independent Weekly, NC - 8 hours ago Lone sprigs of parsley loom as lighthouses for sharp-eyed deer. Along the roadside, silhouettes of once-vibrant stalks of corn now resemble the Emperor's ...

Holiday Deals Frenzy Prompts Online Art Retailer to Offer Free ... International Business Times, NY - Nov 18, 2008 "People come from all over the world to Maine to see our beautifulhistoric lighthouses -- which also represent hope, vision and strength andthey want ...

Tired of those gloomy winter days already? Zanesville Times Recorder, OH - Nov 16, 2008 Connected by a series of bridges, visitors can drive to most of the islands to visit lighthouses, wild horses, beaches and much, much more. ...

Mattituck Inlet Marina seeks expansion The Suffolk Times, NY - Nov 13, 2008 Representatives of East End Lighthouses asked the Town Board to assume ownership of Latimer Reef lighthouse, located north of Fishers Island in the Fishers ... The public water conundrum Suffolk Times all 2 news articles

Barents Observer

Russia removed radioactive lighthouses from Arctic coast Barents Observer, Russia - Nov 11, 2008 In the course of summer, Russia removed another 46 strontium-fuelled lighthouses from the coast of the White Sea and the Barents and Kara Seas. ...

Camera Club Falmouth Penryn Packet, UK - Nov 17, 2008 CAMERA CLUB: From the outset it was apparent that the speaker was at home with his subject that encompassed the world of lighthouses. ...

Taking a Chance The Times, South Africa - Nov 8, 2008 There is something rather romantic about lighthouses. If you sit on the beach at night at Beira, as we did as children when we used to camp at the Club ...

Green Island lighthouses to be conserved News.gov.hk, Hong Kong - Nov 6, 2008 The Green Island lighthouse compound has been declared a monument under the Antiquities & Monuments Ordinance. The Development Bureau said the compound ... Lighthouse declared a monument South China Morning Post (subscription) all 2 news articles

Common Misspellings include accros, acrosss, acrost, accross agregate alowing alsot, aslo allthough altho, althought, altough adn, anbd anohter apparantly appropiate, appropraite, appropropiate, apropriate attemts becamae baceause, beacuse, becasue, beccause, becouse, becuase bedore, befoer, befor balck bu caost congreso consttruction, constuction, contruction continously coudl, sould decomissioned diferent, diferrent, differnt, diffrent disctinctive distingishing buring, durig, durring, duting eigth existance, existince feat, fet, fete fianlly, finaly firt, firts fomr formant, fomed, fromed forte fourty firends fomr, frome gaurd ahev, ahve, haev, hvae, hvea housr howver hunderd emmediately, imediately, immediatley, immediatly, immidately, immidiately includ inclreased instade inot it's jstu largst lastr, lsat levle liek, liuke maked maintinaing milion, millon monolite naturual ened enxt noeth, noth nto, onot ofen oftenly lonly, onyl organiztion orginal, origional nother, otehr parituclar, particualr, paticular populare poverful, poweful powerfull predecesors prefered pubic qtuie, qutie refered, reffered refoceus, reinfarced, reenforced seperate shiping slowy sose sophicated, suphisticated staion sotry, sotyr, stopry, stoyr, stroy stong stucture, sturcture sorrounding, surounding, surrouding survivied temprary tahn, thna taht, tath, thast, thgat, thta, thyat hten, tghe, ther, thge, tjhe ther, theri, thier, thier their, ther theese htey, tehy, tyhe htis, thsi, tihs threee throught, thru tiem, timne, tiome todya twon traditition traditionnal trafic troups twpo untill uise unsed visable vistors wass, weas, ws warter wehn, whn hwihc, whcih, whic, whihc, whlch, wich 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