How old is cape lookout

North Carolina joins the Confederacy. The lenses from all coastal lighthouses and navigational beacons are ordered removed from their working locations and stored until after the war by the new Confederate government. Union troops capture Beaufort and Morehead City and, after a short battle, the Confederate troops defending Fort Macon surrender.

A third-order Fresnel lens is installed in the lighthouse by the Union. Although the range is reduced, the Cape Lookout lighthouse once again warns ships of the nearby shoals. A small group of Confederate troops under the command of L. Harland sneak through Union lines and out to the lighthouse. Their attempt to blow up the lighthouse is unsuccessful, however the explosion does destroy the lighthouse oil supply and damages the iron stairs.

With iron unavailable during the war, the damaged sections of the stairs are replaced by wooden ones. The Fresnel lenses from all the North Carolina lighthouses are found in Raleigh, NC The lenses are shipped back to their original manufacturers to be checked out and repaired. The temporary wooden stairs are replaced when iron once again becomes available after the war. This wage does not change for the next 50 years.

The new keeper's quarters is completed. It eventually housed two assistant keepers and their families. This is the present Keeper's Quarters Museum.

The lighthouse is painted with its distinctive diagonal black-and-white checkers to distinguish it as a day marker. Lack of confidence in shorebased lighthouses raises the recommendation for a lightship at the southern extremity of Cape Lookout Shoals. This would protect the mariner in hazy weather when a vessel might be on the shoals before seeing the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.

Congress takes no action at this time. A lightship is anchored on the shoals. The steam fog signal warns mariners away from the dangerous waters. Through the years, a lightship remains on station despite being torn from its moorings during storms.

The Lighthouse Board is dissolved, and replaced by the Bureau of Lighthouses. The lower gallery is widened to accommodate a storm entry over the external hatchway. The light source is changed from a wick lamp to a millimeter incandescent oil vapor lamp IOV. The change increases the light's brightness from 9, to 77, candlepower. An occulting device is also installed changing the light characteristic from a fixed white light to a "flashing" light. The light now shows "31" three 9 second flashes of light, then one 9 second flash of light twice every ninety seconds.

The installation of a radiobeacon and electric lighting equipment is completed. To protect ships making use of the natural harbor, a submarine net was strung across the bight while nearly acres near the Coast Guard Station were appropriated for wartime purposes.

A battery of the rd Field Artillery was sent to the cape and two gun mounts were constructed. The 1st Battalion th Coastal Artillery served at Cape Lookout until when a battalion from the 2nd Coastal Artillery replaced them. Members of the 2nd began to be sent to other commands in late By early , there were no remaining Army personnel stationed at Cape Lookout. Following WWII, year-round occupancy at Cape Lookout Village again declined, giving way to continued tourist and recreational use of the village area.

Resort development of the village was again proposed in the s and s. Also at this time, the state of North Carolina began making plans for a proposed state park on the barrier islands south of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. What was hoped to become a state park would eventually become Cape Lookout National Seashore. Explore This Park. Info Alerts Maps Calendar Reserve.

Alerts In Effect Dismiss. In consideration for the land ceded by the state, the federal government transfers one and a half acres of land that it controls in Hatteras Village for use as a public health facility. Coast Guard. The designation as a national seashore effectively protects from commercial development the land around the lighthouse complex, including Lookout Bight, where sea turtles and dolphins often swim among anchored sailboats and cruisers.

The designation places a primary value on maintaining the quality of the natural environment as a habitat for fish, birds, sea turtles, and other creatures while providing for recreational use — as visitors eventually number nearly half a million per year. What has been saved?

This special habitat, where land meets water, nurtures more than species of plants, among them a profusion of grasses and wildflowers. It is home to a remarkable range of creatures. Four kinds of sea turtles nest on its beaches and swim in Cape Lookout Bight — including the great leatherbacks and loggerheads. Five freshwater species inhabit the inshore waters. And more than 20 species of marine mammals cruise offshore, including seals, dolphins, and whales.

Fourteen species of snakes share habitat with tree frogs, toads, glass lizards, skinks, and anoles. Land mammals are mostly small and wily — moles, shrews, muskrats, marsh rabbits, rats, minks, and raccoons — but also include river otters, white-tailed deer, and the occasional black bear.

And on the southernmost strip of the seashore, Shackleford Banks, a herd of Banker horses has survived in the wild perhaps since the days of the Spanish expeditions — small, hardy animals that typically stand just 12 hands four feet tall. During storms, they fort up in dense thickets or find refuge under the live oaks that form the maritime forest.

They forage on marsh grass, spartina, and sea oats, and drink from shallow ponds or dig until the water table rises to fill a pool. The map declares a long stretch of North Carolina real estate so priceless it must be protected and shared with the rest of the nation forever.

Skip to content.