Ohio Lighthouses

Marblehead Lighthouse
Lake Erie, Ohio

Sitting on the shores of Lake Erie, this 65 foot tower displays a flashing green light out of its fourth-order Fresnel lens. It is also one of the oldest active light towers on the Great Lakes. Steve and I visited this Ohio lighthouse in June 1997.

 

North Carolina Lighthouses

Currituck Light

Built in 1875, this tower serves a 40 mile stretch of the Atlantic coast between Cape Henry in Virginia and Bodie Island in NC. It rises to an stately 158 feet tall and is outfitted with a first-order Fresnel lens. It is visible to 19 miles out. In order to let mariner's differentiate this tower from several others very similar to it, it was left its red-brick appearance, and has a unique 20-second flash cycle. (3 seconds on, 17 seconds off).

Steve bought and trained with a child carrier so that he could take Korie up this lighthouse when she was about 4 years old. The whole family climbed it. What a view it was!!


Bodie Island Light

This is the third Bodie Island Lighthouse since the first one in 1847. The first light built here was 54 feet high, and had a highly unstable base. By the time it was completed, it was already leaning toward the ocean. By 1850, it was already leaning a foot.

In 1859, the original tower was so far gone, the Lighthouse Board decided to erect a new tower. This one was 80 feet tall and held a third-order Fresnel lens. It was lit July 1, 1859, and was in service till it fell victim to the Civil War in 1861. Confederates took control of the tower, and blew it apart.

A third and final Bodie Island was made with many left over materials from Cape Hatteras. This tower was completed in 1872 and is the current structure. It rises 156 feet above sea level and houses a first-order Fresnel lens. This light is visible to 19 miles out at sea. The tower is closed to the public, but the keeper's residence is turned into a museum.

I, Donna, was staying in Nags Head alone in the summer off 2004. I stopped at Bodie on a trek to Hatteras and on the back porch of the Keeper’s house was the son of the last Keeper. He was very nice and told me of the summer when he was 19 and helped his father paint the lighthouse. They had a hanging platform and would start a row at the top and move down as they painted. Then they would move over and start it again. He said it took all summer to do it. He was in his 70s and enjoyed telling the stories of Bodie Island Light.


Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras Light is one of the most prominent symbols of North Carolina. This tower is actually the second one to be erected on the Cape. The first tower was a mere 95 feet tall, and had a weak light. Many mariners complained of passing the Cape and never seeing its light at all. Around 1851, the old tower was raised to 150 feet, but was damaged at the start of the Civil War. The light was back in service by 1862, but mariners still complained about its lack of brightness.

After the Civil War was over, the Lighthouse Board had recommended building a new tower. This tower would soon be known as the tallest brick lighthouse in the U.S. at 193 feet. The tower received a first-order Fresnel lens and put in to operation in December of 1871.
This tower had endured everything from Lightning strikes to wild Atlantic-born storms but it was losing a fight to beach erosion. It had had this problem since the 1930s when the Atlantic has come within 100 yards. By 1935, high tide had come to within feet of the base, but luckily reversed and did replace much of the beach.

But in 1998, the problem was creeping up again. Many steel groins had been implanted in the beach, fake seaweed, and sandbags were used, but still NC State University professors said the only way to successfully save this landmark was to move it.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was moved to safety. It was quite an endeavor but it was very successful and its progress made headlines around the US. It now sits the original distance to the water as it did when it was first built. I am glad that the lighthouse is safe now.

We were able to see and climb Cape Hatteras Lighthouse before it moved to it current location. I liked the look of it much more at that time. Before, the lighthouse’s surroundings looked a bit more remote. Now, it’s placing is a bit more commercialized. But it is still a beautiful structure and well worth the visit.


Ocracoke Island Light

This 75 foot tower was built in 1823. This tower is much shorter than the other four along the Outer Banks because it marks an inlet rather than the coast. The light is visible for 14 miles out to sea. It is a fixed white light and is America's second oldest active lighthouse.
This island was the old stomping grounds for Edward Teach. You don't know who that is? Does Blackbeard ring a bell? Some say that he used to hide in the sound until he would notice a ship on the Atlantic and then he would make his move. His ship, "Queen Anne's Revenge," is rumored to be sunk in about twenty feet of water off Beaufort, NC.

To reach Ocracoke Light, you must take a ferry from Hatteras Island. After a 20 minute ride, you will be dropped off at the northern tip of the island. It is a beautiful drive to the southern tip, with the ocean to your left and the Sound to your right. Stopping to see the beautiful beaches is a must. Once driving through the thin strip, you enter the wider part of the island where biking is the best way to get around if you stay overnight. There is a visitor center which gives history of the island. Once visiting the lighthouse, make sure you peek behind it, where there are several grave sites. This is one of my favorite lighthouses because of its location.


Virginia Lighthouses

Old Cape Henry Lighthouse
Fort Story

This is the original Cape Henry Lighthouse built in 1792 and commissioned by George Washington. This old tower developed a series of large cracks, spurring construction of a New Cape Henry Lighthouse. This old tower, is now opened to the public to climb.
My brother, Tom, and I climbed this tower around 2000. We went all the way to the top and it had a beautiful view of the ocean.


New Cape Henry Lighthouse
Fort Story

This tower replaced the original Cape Henry lighthouse that was built in 1792. The old tower developed a series of large cracks, so this new tower is made completely of iron. It stands 156 feet tall, and is situated with a first-order Fresnel lens, making it capable of taking over the job of marking the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay.
 

Assateague Lighthouse

The historic Assateague Lighthouse was built in 1867 and is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. However, the first lighthouse on this site, built by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1883, was a 45 foot-high stone tower that proved inadequate. The present 142 foot-high structure is one of nearly 20 other tall, historic, brick lighthouses still functioning along the Atlantic Coast today.

Sitting on a natural bluff 22 feet above sea level adds to the light's height and visibility. Because of the dynamic movement of the island, the light no longer sits adjacent to the open sea. The southward growth of the island since 1850 has stranded the lighthouse almost 5 miles from the Chincoteague Inlet.

The lighthouse was built because of growing coastal commerce and the alarming number of shipwrecks that were occurring.

The first light was an oil burning, fixed Fresnel lens, visible for up to 18 miles. This Fresnel lens is now located at the Chincoteague Oyster and Maritime Museum. In 1963, it was replaced by the DCB-36 rotating beacon which is still in use today and is visible for 22 miles. Inside the brick tower, a cast iron spiral staircase leads up to the lens tower.

The lighthouses along the eastern seaboard each have a unique color pattern and light flash pattern. By day, the broad red and white stripes distinguish the Assateague Light and by night the characteristic is the flash pattern of two consecutive flashes every five seconds. Our family enjoyed visiting the lighthouse and the atmosphere in which it is located. This would be a nice place to spend a few days.


Old Point Comfort
Fort Monroe

This lighthouse is our “Hometown” lighthouse...very near to our home. It is picture perfect. We have had a few picnics in front of it while watching the submarines and ships go by. Old Point Comfort was completed and lit in 1802 on the grounds of Fort George, later renamed Fort Monroe. It is the second oldest lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay.

The tower is 54-foot high, a conical masonry with few windows and ornamentation. The staircase inside is made up completely of stone. It was automated in January 1973, and has a 12 second flashing light with red and white sectors. You can see the light as you pass over the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

During the War of 1812, the British captured the fort and used the lighthouse as an observation post.

In 1855, a fog bell was added to the station. Sometime in the mid-1850's, the tower received a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which is still present today. A new keeper's dwelling was built in 1891 to replace the house built in 1823.

Old Point Comfort Lighthouse is owned by the United States Coast Guard. The Victorian style keeper's dwelling is now a private residence of Fort Monroe's and is owned and maintained by the U.S.Army. In fact, the current residences of the home are friends of ours from church. Chaplin Cobb is stationed at Ft. Monroe.

You can drive through the gates of Fort Monroe to see the lighthouse, Casement Museum, and take a 90-minute walking tour around the fort. This fort is also known for Confederate President Jefferson Davis being imprisioned here after the Civil War. Fort Monroe is an active military base and very well kept up.


Middle Ground Lighthouse
Hampton Roads Harbor

This lighthouse is unusual. It sits in 15 feet of water on the west end of Newport News Middle Ground, Hampton Roads, and Newport News, Virginia. In 1871, the US government established a light station to mark the underwater L-shapped shoal in the middle fo the Hampton Roads shipping lanes. It was completed and lit in 1891 at the cost of $50,000 and fitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens. It is 56 feet tall and has a three story keeper’s quarter.
 
The over all structure is 56 feet tall and has a three story keeper's quarters.

The original fog signal was a bell, which was struck a double blow every 15 seconds by a Stevens machine. In 1954, the signal was changed to one blow every 15 seconds.

The current light is on a pole out side the lantern room. The light was automated in 1954 and the two keepers removed. In 1979 a ship hit the lighthouse and caused water to leak into the lower part of the caisson.

This lighthouse is very visible when crossing the Moniter-Merrimac Bridge tunnel. Steve and I were able to see it up close while on a Harbor Cruise. It was great to see the structure up close.


New Jersey Lighthouses

Cape May

The Cape May lighthouse sits on the grounds of Cape May Point State Park. The lighthouse is the third documented lighthouse at this location. The first two locations are under water due to erosion.

The present lighthouse is owned by the State of New Jersey, it stands 157 feet tall and will take 199 steps to reach the top. Kristin and Donna climbed it when visiting several years ago. The light is still used as an aid to navigation and is visible 24 miles out to sea.

This was one of our families favorite lighthouse visits. Not only was the beach beautiful here at Cape May, but we were able to use a beach wheelchair and Korie really enjoyed being able to get around on the sand near the water. We also enjoyed catching the ferry here taking us to Delaware. We spent a lot of time here.


Hereford Inlet Lighthouse

The need for a light station at Hereford Inlet was recognized as early as 1849. It wasn't until 1871 that Congress finally agreed that there was a need. It still took three more years before the station was built and lit. The station is 49.5' tall.

The light withstood the Atlantic Ocean until 1913 when a storm compromised the foundation, thus requiring its move. The station was moved 150' westward by 1914. The lighthouse maintained regular duty until 1964 when it was replaced by an automated beacon. On September 20, 1977, the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse was placed on the National Registry of Historic places. In 1982, the stewardship of the lighthouse was turned over to the city of North Wildwood, and less than a year later, restoration was begun.

The beach was beautiful and there were many sandbars accessible to walk on.


Delaware Lighthouses

Fenwick Island Lighthouse

This lighthouse sits half in the North and half in the South as it is divided by the Mason-Dixon Line. We came upon it by accident while driving from New Jersey to Virginia. It was a nice surprise.