![]() The Lighthouse Service replaced the vandalized Fresnel lens with a modern aero beacon in 1934, yet chose to decommission the brick tower the following year. Additionally, lighthouse keepers conducted maintenance such as painting and basic repairs, wrote reports, ordered supplies, and hosted visitors.Īs the twentieth century progressed, new technologies supplemented and replaced the need of traditional lighthouses. The lens used a clock-like system of mechanics to turn, which also needed cleaned, lubricated, and cranked. They regularly cleaned the lens and windows of the lantern room, which became smoky from the lamp burning all night, every night. While the lamp was not lit during the day, the keepers' work continued. While on duty, keepers lit and maintained the lamp, carried fuel up the spiral staircase, and monitored shipping activities. Each keeper stood a four-hour watch at night, alternating shifts daily. The lighthouse keepers performed a variety of jobs, including operation of the lighthouse, administrative duties, and maintenance. ![]() They lived with their families in houses that have now been converted into museums. ![]() To maintain the lighthouse, the Lighthouse Board stationed a Principal Keeper and two Assistant Keepers at Cape Hatteras. The lens, consisting of a series of stacked prisms, was first installed in the old lighthouse in 1854 and transferred to the new one upon its completion. The lighthouse used a first order Fresnel lens to project the light 20 miles into the ocean, the most powerful of its kind. The light, or "lamp," at the top of the lighthouse was originally fueled by whale oil and then by kerosene. The new lighthouse, the one that stands today, was 198 feet tall and painted with a Black-and-white spiral daymark. ![]() While this lighthouse was more successful, a growing list of repairs led the Lighthouse Board to plan for a new lighthouse.Ĭonstruction on the second lighthouse began in October 1868 and the new beacon was lit on December 1, 1870. In 1853, another 60 feet was added to the height of the lighthouse and the brick painted with a red and white daymark. Construction was completed in 1803, though this short structure with a weak beacon was inadequate for the Cape's dangerous waters. Congress authorized the first lighthouse at Cape Hatteras in 1794. Coast Survey, and the Smithsonian Institution to ensure lighthouses were properly built and maintained. These agencies also worked with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Lighthouses in the United States were authorized by various government agencies over time, including the Treasury Department's Lighthouse Establishment (1791-1851), the United States Lighthouse Board (1852–1910), the United States Lighthouse Service (1910–1939) and the United States Coast Guard (since 1939). The deaths of countless travelers earned this coast the nickname, "The Graveyard of the Atlantic." These unpredictable, underwater sandbars, known as the Diamond Shoals, extend for miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras and are responsible for thousands of shipwrecks. One famous ship that sank in this location was the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor. These currents meet at Cape Hatteras, creating perfect conditions for powerful storms, sea swells, and constantly-changing sandbars. The Atlantic Coast consists of two primary currents, the warm Gulf Stream heading north and the cool Labrador Current heading south. The waters off Cape Hatteras were especially hazardous. Prior to modern navigation, lighthouses were a primary method of identifying dangerous coasts. Today, visitors can climb the 269 steps to the top of the lighthouse and enjoy a view of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, along with touring the Keepers Quarters, which have been converted into museums. In 1999, the lighthouse was moved 2,900 feet from its original location on the quickly-eroding coast. Coast Guard) to the National Park Service in 1937. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1935 and transferred from the Bureau of Lighthouses (later dissolved into the U.S. The ever-changing sandy shoals off the coast of Cape Hatteras are among the most dangerous and unpredictable on the Atlantic Coast, causing countless shipwrecks and giving the area the nickname "The Graveyard of the Atlantic." Cape Hatteras Lighthouse served mariners with its distinctive Black-and-white spiral daymark and flashing beacon, powered by a kerosene flame and reflected into the ocean with a glass Fresnel lens (now replaced with an electric light). Completed in 1870, this is the second lighthouse to stand at Cape Hatteras the first was completed in 1803 and demolished in 1871 for not fully meeting the needs of the area. Soaring 198 feet in the air on shore of the Outer Banks is Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest brick lighthouse in North America and second tallest in the world.
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