Bodie Island Lighthouse, built in 1872, was actually the third lighthouse built to aid in navigation for the hazardous stretch of coast from Cape Hatteras to Currituck Beach. There were more ships lost in this area than any other along the North Carolina Coast.
The first lighthouse was built in 1847 but due to poor design and engineering it was abandoned in 1859. The second lighthouse built in 1859 but was blown up by Confederate troops in 1861 so it could not be used by the Union armies.
The first two lighthouses were built south of the Oregon Inlet on Pea Island and the present lighthouse was built on a 15-acre site north between Nags Head and the Oregon Inlet. The Bodie Island Light still has its original 1st –order Fresnel lens that was shipped from Paris in 1871. A few weeks after completion, flocks of geese were crashing into the lens, but after installing screening for the lantern, the Bodie Island Light has fared very well. In 1932 the lighthouse was electrified with the instillation of a generator and in 1940 it became fully automated.
The light keeper’s house has been restored and serves as the ranger office and visitor center for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Although the tower is closed to the public, the light continues to serve as a navigational aid with two flashes every twenty-two seconds that is seen for nineteen miles. The tower has not had any major preservation work done since it was constructed in 1872. Work for the complete restoration of the tower began in August of 2009 with completion in approximately eighteen months. |
