Lit in 1875, the Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the “dark spot” on the North Carolina Coast between the Cape Henry Lighthouse to the north and the Bodie Island Lighthouse to the south. It is one of the only lighthouses in America that still has its original first-order Fresnel lens, which means it has the largest of the seven Fresnel lens sizes. The original source of light was a U.S. mineral oil lamp that consisted of five concentric wicks with the largest being four inches in diameter. In 1939 when the United States Coast Guard assumed the duties of the lighthouses, the lighthouse was automated. Seen for eighteen nautical miles, the twenty second flash cycle still serves as a navigation and location aid to mariners. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was the last major brick lighthouse built on the Outer Banks and it is estimated that one million bricks were used. |
