Just
off of Cape Hatteras lies Diamond Shoals, a large area
of turbulent waters and constantly shifting underwater
sand dunes which can wreak havoc with passing ships. This
and other treacherous passages caused so many shipwrecks
that wary sailors began to call the waters off of North
Carolina’s coast the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”
The first lighthouse at Hatteras began operating
in 1802 and was effective in helping some boats steer clear
of dangerous waters, but sailors complained that it was neither
tall enough nor bright enough to provide as much advance
warning as they needed. Hatteras was the site of an important
naval battle early in the Civil War. The island was occupied
in the summer of 1861 by Federal troops, many of whom camped
around the lighthouse, finding themselves forced to defend
the beacon against a Confederate plan to blow it up. After
the war, continued complaints about the effectiveness of
the light, combined with natural deterioration of the structure,
led the United States Congress to authorize funds for a new
lighthouse in 1867. In December 1870, the new lighthouse
at Cape Hatteras, destined to become one of North Carolina's
most enduring symbols, was lit for the first time.
The new lighthouse took over two years to
build and cost $155,000, more than twice the cost originally
allocated by Congress. The familiar black and white stripes
were painted in 1873. The finished structure stood 208 feet
high, making it the tallest lighthouse in the United States,
a distinction that it still holds.
The new light shone for decades, helping
ships steer clear of the dangerous passages, but it was these
very waters that threatened the existence of the lighthouse.
Beach erosion had become so severe that by 1936 waves reached
the base of the lighthouse and, without any immediate solutions
to stop the encroaching tide, the Lighthouse Service was
forced to close the Hatteras lighthouse. For 14 years, it
would remain dark.
In 1950 the lighthouse was restored, a new
electric light was installed, and the Hatteras lighthouse
began its second life. The next half-century saw a number
of efforts to reinforce the shoreline – sand was pumped
in to extend the beach, concrete bunkers were poured, and
a large seawall was built around the base of the lighthouse – but
none were able to keep the ocean away for long. Finally,
in 1999, the entire lighthouse was lifted from its foundation
and moved to a new location 1,600 feet from the sea. In the
years since the move, the lighthouse has reopened to visitors,
has withstood several severe storms and, most importantly,
has continued to shine, warning passing ships that they were
approaching the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”
Nicholas Graham
December 2003
Suggestions for Further Reading:
Carr, Dawson. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: Sentinel
of the Shoals. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 2000.
Duffus, Kevin P. The Lost Light: The Mystery of the
Missing Cape Hatteras Fresnel Lens. Raleigh: Looking
Glass Productions, 2003.
Stick, David. North Carolina Lighthouses. Raleigh:
North Carolina Office of Archives and History, 1999.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/caha/capehatteras.htm
