The Ocracoke Lighthouse is the oldest active lighthouse in North Carolina
and the second oldest operating lighthouse in the nation. The original
light, built in 1803 on Shell Castle Island, was struck by lightening five
years later, and burned to the ground. A new site was chosen, the fishing
village of Ocracoke in the Pamlico Sound. During the early 1700’s Ocracoke
Island was the home of the notorious Blackbeard the Pirate, where he was
eventually beheaded. Legend says that his ghost still haunts the area!
In 1823, at a cost of $11,360 the tower, including a one story, one
bedroom light keeper’s house was constructed. A second story was added
onto the house in 1897 and another section was added in 1929. The double
keepers’ quarters still stand on the site today, along with a generator
house, originally used for storing the whale oil.
Architecturally, the lantern room is slightly off-center and one side of
the 75-foot tower is steeper than the other. The lanterns were first
fueled by whale oil, then kerosene and finally, electricity. In 1854 the
original reflector system was replaced with a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens.
The present light is equal to 8,000 candlepower and casts a stationary
beam that can be seen 14 miles at sea. Early in the Civil War, the
Ocracoke Lighthouse was controlled first by the Confederate troops, who
removed the lens from the lamp, and then by the Union troops, who replaced
it.
In 1868, the brick tower was cemented and covered with a coat of
whitewash. The whitewash was made of one-half bushel of unslaked lime with
boiling water, a peck of salt, one-half pound of powdered Spanish whiting
(fish), three pounds of ground rice put in boiling water and a pound of
glue. Keepers had to apply the thick mixture from boiling vats as quickly
as possible.
For more information about visiting this magnificent beacon contact the
National Park Service Visitor Center on Ocracoke Island at (252) 928-4531.
Ocracoke Light remains among the oldest lighthouses still active on the
southern coast. Plan a trip to this unique sentinel today!
