The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-11-20
LIGHTHOUSES
AT HATTERAS
A History of Famous Dare
County Guardians of Ship
ping at Sea

The history of the lighthouses of
the world that stand guard on
stormy and isolated seacoasts to
flash out warning signals, to those
who go down to the sea in ships,
of the perils that Turk in hidden
reefs and treacherous shoals is a
long and interesting one. In the
annals of the U. S. Lighthouse
service there is perhaps no more
fascinating a record than the story
of the Lighthouse towers at Cape
Hatteras, whose warning beacons
of light have saved countless yes
sells from doom and destruction on
the dreaded Diamond Shoals, the
Graveyard of Ships"
Cape Hatteras, eastermost land
point in North Carolina, and long
noted for its frequent and danger
Gus storms, was the scene of soma
of the worlds most frightful and
disastrous shipwrecks in the days
before the first lighthouse was
built there in 1898. Here the warm
Gulf Stream, in its serpentine
course up the Atlantic Seaboard
now within Is miles off shore lur-
ing coastwise vessels toward the
coast at this point where men,
acing fingers of sand reach out
over 10 miles into the sea. Seamen
of all nationalities have been dri-
ven ashore in leaking ships during
winds of gale force and their YES
sells splintered on the sandy shoals.
George Washington, early in
his presidency, was among the
first to see the need of adequate
ly lighting the most dangerous
points along the coast of the in
FAINT republic to protect shipping.
Cape Hatteras. and the scarcely
less received special attention as
both were on direct routes of
commerce. Storms and reefs
made them equally dangerous to
navigation, while at Cape Hat
teras extreme differences in tenn
perature and atmospheric condi-
tons between the hot airs of
the Gulf Stream and the breeZes
from shore created freakish
weather conditions. Consequently
no point on the entire Atlantic
seaboard was more dreaded by
mariners than the North Caro-
lima coast at this point because
frequent storms exacted a heavy
toll of life and ships.
Early Beacons
The first lighthouses were per-
haps bonfires of driftwood built
on the beach. There was a light
house on Little Brewster Island
at the entrance of Boston harbor,
erected by the British Govern
ment as early as 1716. AT the
time the United States declared
their independence from Eng
land there were only 10 light
houses owned and operated by
the colonists. All of these had
been built between 1716 and IT.
SO but five more went under con-
struction and Virginia had gath
cred materials for her lighthouse
at Cape Henry. The first light
house built after the formation
of the American republic was at
Cape Henry, Va, at the entrance
to Chesapeake Bay Fish oil,
whale oil, lard, kerosene, gas and
lastly electricity served as a fuel
in the lanterns of lighthouses.
Sixteen of the original lighthous-
es are still in operation today in
Guiding the light on Little Brew
ster Island which was rebuilt in
1893.
First at Hatteras
1t was not until 1897 that the
new congress appropriated funds
for the erection of a lighthouse
at Hatteras. The following year
a sandstone tower, an amazing
feat of engineering in those days
was built on. the sands of the
Cape and lighted for the first
time. While its light was poor and
hardly visible more than few
miles at sea, it nevertheless help
ed reduce the growing toll of the
sea off the stormy point.
In 1854 a decided improvement
was made with the installation
of fresnal lens and new revolv-