North Carolina lighthouses have a rich history. Lighthouses warned ships of dangerous shifting sands and shoals. They helped sailors avoid watery graves during storms in the Atlantic. Lighthouses also guided supply ships into and out of port entrances, according to the National Park Service.
Completed in 1823, 76-foot Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island is, as of 2010, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in North Carolina. Its Fresnel lens was developed in 1822 by French Physicist Augustin Fresnel. The Fresnel lens looks like a huge glass beehive with a light in the middle, and was highly prized because of the increased amount of light emitted by its open flame. Ocracoke Lighthouse's fixed light does not flash; rather, it stays on constantly.
The first tower at Cape Hatteras was built in 1803 and served as a warning light. It was replaced by Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. This Buxton, North Carolina, landmark rises 198 feet from the ground and has warned ships to stay away from the shoals since 1870. Endangered by beach erosion, in 1999 the lighthouse was transported 2,900 feet to the southwest. Thousands of North Carolina school children helped raise money to save the Hatteras Lighthouse.
Completed in 1875, 165-foot Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla has undergone elaborate, authentic restoration of its original red-brick exterior. Old Baldy, or the Bald Head Island Lighthouse, remains one of the oldest historic structures in North Carolina. The present tower was built in 1817 and is the second of three Bald Head Island lights.
As of 2010, Cape Lookout Lighthouse at Harkers Island, completed in 1859, is still closed to the public because it needs restoration. It was the state's first tall coastal light and the prototype of later coastal lights built after the Civil War.
