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Cape Hatteras Light (Buxton, North Carolina)
(new location) The
Cape Hatteras lighthouse is probably the most recognized lighthouse in the
United States - with the distinctive red brick and granite base and the white
and black spiraling paint. And, at 198 feet high, it is the tallest brick
lighthouse in the United States. Cape
Hatteras is part of a barrier island chain known as the Outer Banks of North
Carolina. The Cape Hatteras lighthouse is located in the town of Buxton at the
point where there is a pronounced bend in the strip of land.
The ocean currents and sandy shoals off the coast of Cape Hatteras pose a
very dangerous threat to ships navigating north and south along the coast. Two
powerful ocean currents, the Gulf Stream from the south and the Virginia Coastal
Current from the north, collide off of Cape Hatteras stirring up the sandy sea
bottom and creating ever changing shoals. Although
it is advantageous for mariners to ride these currents, doing so forces them
very close to the dangerous sandy shoals that extend out from the coast.
A treacherous shoal known as Diamond Shoals extends out fourteen miles
from the shore and has been responsible for the shipwrecks of hundreds of ships,
claiming thousands of lives over the years. It has become known as the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’. In
1789 Alexander Hamilton was given authorization to investigate the feasibility
of constructing a lighthouse to aid mariners.
The result was a recommendation to construct two lighthouses on the Outer
Banks, one on the island of Ocracoke to guide ships into the Ocracoke Inlet and
the other on Cape Hatteras as a light to warn ships away from the land and the
dangerous Diamond Shoals. Authorization
was granted in 1794, however, due to numerous delays primarily caused by weather
and sickness, it wasn’t until the fall of 1803 that a lighthouse was
completed. This original light,
built by Henry Dearborn on a small wooded hill, consisted of a 90 foot tower and
a 12 foot lantern. The lantern contained eighteen open flame whale oil lamps. It
was soon recognized, however, that the Dearborn light was not powerful enough
and could not be seen at a distance necessary to warn mariners of the Diamond
Shoals. Studies had shown that it
was not feasible to built a lighthouse out on the shoals away from land so it
was concluded that the land-based Dearborn lighthouse must be improved.
In 1815 the eighteen whale oil lamps were replaced by the Argand Lamp
system patented by Winslow Lewis. Although
it was a big improvement, complaints about the Cape Hatteras light being too
weak continued. And even though
minor improvements in the light continued over the next thirty years, it
wasn’t until the Lighthouse Review Board submitted a report
in 1852 that prompted the authorization of money to make significant
improvements to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
The funding covered the costs of raising the tower to 150 feet and
equipping it with a first-order Fresnel lens. In addition to the tower
modifications, a double keepers quarters was also built. This work was completed
in 1854. Civil War broke out in 1861 and the
lighthouse beacons on the outer banks were extinguished so the North could not
utilize the navigational advantage afforded by the lights.
With the lights out and the lenses removed the lighthouse towers became
used as lookout posts. Eventually however, the invading Union troops took over
the area including the lighthouses. When the Union engineers began the effort of
re-lighting the captured lighthouse beacons, the southern troops vowed to
destroy the lighthouses. Some
lighthouses were destroyed but fortunately, the lighthouse on Cape Hatteras
still stood at the end of the Civil War. The
tower, however, had taken its toll over the years and major refurbishing would
be necessary to continue to use the tower.
The refurbishment would have been very expensive and it was concluded
that the money would be better spent in building a new lighthouse.
In March of 1867, Congress allocated money for the construction of a new
lighthouse specifying that it was to be built to the highest standards of the
day. The
new lighthouse was built by Dexter Stetson who began the work in 1868 and
completed the work in December of 1870. That lighthouse is the same one that
stands today. It is 198 feet tall – the tallest brick lighthouse in the
country. Initially, the tower was
painted the same colors as the Dearborn tower before it – upper half
brick-colored red and the lower half white. It was soon decided that the
coloring was not effective during the day and in March of 1873 the lighthouse
Board approved a plan to paint the tower with its distinctive black and white
spirals. The painting was completed by the end of that summer. In addition to
the new tower, Dexter Stetson also built another keepers dwelling which became
the principle keeper’s quarters.
(Principal Keeper's quarters new location)
(Assistant Keeper's Quarters) Shifting
sands and a changing coast line is a constant happening on Cape Hatteras.
When the 1870 lighthouse was first built it was 1600 feet from the
shoreline, however, in 1920 the ocean was less then 300 feet from the tower base
and getting closer all the time. Wooden and steel groins were built out from the
shore to try and prevent land erosion but were not sufficient to correct the
problem. In fact, by 1931
waves driven by storms often washed around the base of the lighthouse.
Fearing that the 1870 tower might at anytime be “swallowed up” by the
advancing ocean, another lighthouse was built on a small wooded hill 1,800 yards
west of the existing tower. It was
a 150 foot skeletal tower with a 90,000 candlepower flashing white electric
light that stood 166 feet above sea level.
The tower was completed in 1936.
(Original Location) After
the U.S Lighthouse Service built the new tower it relinquished its claim on the
old one and the secretary of the interior asked to have the old lighthouse with
the surrounding land included in a National Park proposed for the Outer Banks.
Approval was granted. In
addition, the Civilian Conservation Corp began to take steps to protect the
tower from the invading ocean. They
built protective dune lines along the length of Hatteras Island which included
hundreds of thousands of beach grass plants.
Between the dunes and the wooden and steel groins built in the 1920’s
the ocean began to recede until eventually, in 1937, the ocean was more than 600
feet from the tower base. The Park
Service then began the much needed maintenance and repair of the keeper’s
quarters and tower. In August of
1937, Congress enacted legislation and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Recreation Area was established (although is wasn’t officially opened until
1953). In
June of 1939 the Lighthouse Service was absorbed by the U.S. Coast Guard thus
making all light stations Coast Guard Bases and Coast Guard personnel took over
the responsibility of the skeletal tower at Cape Hatteras.
It was really the beginning of a new era, and one not so favorable for
the lighthouses. The era of
civilian manned lighthouses was ending. Following
the Coast Guard take-over, would come electrification and then later on automation of the
lighthouses. Being automated and
non-manned, the lighthouse structures and outbuildings would become
neglected and begin to deteriorate and fall victim of vandals.
In
1942, during WW II, the 1870 tower was turned over to the USCG to use as a
lookout post – looking for German U-boats. Although initially in good shape,
the Coast Guard neglected the tower and allowed it to fall into the hands of
vandals. The first order Fresnel
lens was destroyed and other parts damaged.
The lighthouse was turned back to the Park Service in 1947.
After a lot of finger pointing as to who was responsible for the
lighthouse condition, the Park Service and the U.S Coast Guard began to work
together towards reestablishing the tower as a navigational aid.
With the ocean now further away from the tower, it was decided to use the
old 1870 lighthouse once again in place of the newer skeletal lighthouse.
Shortly
thereafter, however, the active nature of the moving coastline began to cause
concern for the safety of the lighthouse, once again. Millions of dollars were spent in erosion control efforts but
the ocean was still winning. In the
mid 1980s the idea of moving the lighthouse was introduced and the idea quickly
gained support and a “Move the Lighthouse Committee” was formed to urge the
park service to consider this idea. In
1987 the park service commissioned
a study to be conducted by the National Academy of Sciences to review the
situation and recommend the best course of action.
The National Academy of Sciences completed their study and recommended
the lighthouse be relocated. The
park service accepted the recommendation in 1989 and began plans for moving the
lighthouse. In
1990, the park service hired the International Chimney Corporation of Buffalo,
New York to inspect and repair the lighthouse in preparation for the move. Once
complete, the company's structural engineers declared the lighthouse fit for
the move. Although ready to be
moved, opponents to the move were active and successful in delaying the
relocation. The opponents favored
more groins to be built and sand added. But
the use of groins was discouraged by the North Carolina State government and
requests to build more were turned down. The
only way to save the lighthouse at its current location would be to build a
concrete perimeter wall around the base of the lighthouse that would have
allowed the tower to become an island if the ocean continued its course.
Since almost ten years had elapsed since the National Academy of Sciences
had completed their study, the North Carolina Senate, in 1996
requested another study, this time by the North Carolina State University
engineering and environmental professors to confirm the findings of the NAS
study. They determined that
relocation was the best alternative and concluded that the tower was in sound
condition and able to be moved. By
this time the ocean was only 130 feet from the tower. Time was of the essence.
With the assistance of President Bill Clinton money was appropriated in
the 1998 federal budget allowing the park service to plan and prepare for the
move. International Chimney
Incorporated (ICC) was selected to do the move and they were assisted by Expert
House Movers and a group of architects, surveyors, and structural engineers.
Planning began in mid 1998 and site work begun by the end of the year. The
brick oil house, cisterns, granite fence footers, and the two keepers quarters
would be moved first followed by the tower.
The Lighthouse station was relocated 2,900 feet to the southwest.
The keepers quarters and oil house were placed in the same relative
location to the tower as they had been before.
In the new location the lighthouse is 1,600 feet from the shore line –
exactly the same distance as when it was built in 1870. The
last foundation brick was laid on September 14th, 1999 just before
hurricane Dennis came and stalled off the Cape Hatteras coast and for five days
beat upon the coast with sheeting rains and as high as 125 MPH winds.
Many felt the lighthouse was moved just in the nick of time.
The Lighthouse was re-lit on November 13, 1999.
The tower was re-opened for climbing on May 26, 2000 but were closed for
staircase repairs in 2001 and, as of June 2002,
As a tribute to the keepers of the Hatteras light, a circle of stones have been assembled at the original tower location. Upon these granite blocks have been engraved the names of all the principle and assistant keepers. The above view shows the circle of stones at the original location with the relocated tower visible in the distance. Directions:
Follow US-158 down to the Outer Banks to the entrance of the Cape Hatteras
National Seashore. Follow Route 12
to Buxton. (As you travel to Buxton, you drive by Bodie Light which is on the
right.) The lighthouse is visible as you are approaching Buxton.
Once in the town of Buxton look on the left side of the road for a large
National Park sign directing you to the lighthouse. If you need a place to stay while in Buxton, you might consider my cousin's motel - the Cape Pines Motel, located in Buxton about one mile from the lighthouse entrance on Rout 12. (new location)
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All pictures are the original work of Rick Totton and are protected under copyright laws. Do not reproduce any images from this website without permission of the author. Copyright (c) 2000 Rick Totton.
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