Outer Banks: Bodie Island Lighthouse

Later the same day, after we visited Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, we visited the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It is incredibly beautiful, not only the lighthouse but its setting. Visitors aren't allowed to go inside the lighthouse, but it's free to visit.Bodie Island Lighthouse Facts:

Height: 156 feet

Height of Stripes: 22 feet

Stairs: 214

Light Pattern: 2.5 seconds on, 2.5 off, 2.5 on, 22.5 off

Beam Range: 19 miles

Ownership: transferred from US Coast Guard to the National Park Service in 2000

This is the 3rd Bodie Island Lighthouse. Before the first was built, it was said of the Bodie Island off shore area: “more vessels are lost there than on any other part of our coast.” So they needed a lighthouse. The first, started in 1847 began to lean 2 years after completion. It was abandoned in 1859. The second lighthouse was started nearby the same year. Unfortunately this one was a victim of the Civil War. Retreating Confederate troops feared the Union would use the lighthouse to their advantage, so the Confederate soldiers blew it up in 1861. Construction on the current lighthouse began in 1871. It was completed and first lit in 1872. Keeping a lighthouse is an incredibly isolated job, especially in the early days when hardly anyone lived on the island. The light was electrified in 1932 which eliminated the need for a full time Keeper. The salt marsh behind the lighthouse is home to birds and other wildlife.

Vonda Sinclair

http://www.vondasinclair.com/