Guarding the 'paradise' 



As early as 1590 explorer John White labeled Cape 

 Lookout "promontorium tremendum"— horrible 

 headland. Sailors quickly grew to fear its deadly com- 

 bination of safe harbor and treacherous shoals. 



In spite of the danger, it wasn't until 1812 that the 

 lighthouse was built. The original lighthouse, sur- 

 rounded by a grove of trees, did not resemble its con- 

 temporary version. A tower of brick was built inside 

 a wooden frame building painted in horizontal red 

 and white stripes. 



This early lighthouse got mixed reviews from 

 mariners using the Cape Lookout area. Some com- 

 plained that early morning fog often obscured the 

 light. Consequently, in 1852 the old lantern light was 

 replaced with a more efficient system. At the same 

 time, construction was begun on a taller tower which 

 was completed in 1852. 



The new 169-foot red brick tower became the proto- 

 type for all the lighthouses subsequently built on the 

 Outer Banks. It wasn't until 1873 that this light 

 house was painted in its distinctive diamond pattern. 



Building anything on the desolate stretches of 

 Outer Banks was complicated, as all materials had to 

 be hauled by barge from the mainland. For the light- 

 house job a special dock and railroad track were con- 



structed. A team of horses pulled a flatbed carrying 

 supplies from the dock to the site. According to 

 amateur historian Sallie Moore of Morehead City, one 

 of the stories that has been passed down through the 

 generations on the Outer Banks is that the brick- 

 work was done by a single Irish brickmason. The 

 story goes that the center stairway was built as the 

 brick was laid so that no outside scaffolding was 

 needed. 



The brick tower and the light were damaged by 

 Confederate troops before they surrendered the 

 Outer Banks to Federal troops in 1862. In 1863 the 

 original wooden stairway was recognized as a fire 

 hazard and replaced by a cast iron spiral stairway. 



The keeper's quarters that now stand between the 

 lighthouse and the inlet were built in 1873. A second 

 six-room frame house was constructed in 1907. This 

 building has since been moved to private property on 

 Core Banks. No one knows the exact construction 

 dates of the other buildings now standing on the 

 lighthouse property — a generator house or summer 

 kitchen, a coal and wood shed and a small cement 

 block oil house. But all of the buildings are believed to 

 have been completed by 1905. 



Wild ponies on Shackletord Banks. Herds of similar wild ponies used to roam Core Banks. 



Today personnel from the Coast Guard station on 

 Core Banks visit the lighthouse periodically to see 

 that the automatic equipment is functioning 

 properly. But until 1950 a keeper, and often two assis- 

 tants, were required to operate the lighthouse. They 

 were hired by the Lighthouse Bureau, which was 

 taken over by the Coast Guard in 1939. 



The job of the keepers was to make sure that the 

 light was functioning properly at all times and to 

 maintain the property. Lighthouse keepers also 

 remained in close contact with the men who manned 

 the nearby lifesaving station about a mile down the 

 beach. It was a peaceful, isolated life, with home and 

 work nearby. 



Willard Willis' father was an assistant keeper at 

 the lighthouse during the 1930s and early 1940s. To- 

 day Willis' barber shop in Beaufort is plastered with 

 photographs of Cape Lookout. He likes to reminisce 

 about idyllic summers on the island. 



"When I was a child, Core Banks was just as clean 

 and beautiful as it could be. There were cattle, horses 

 and sheep that kept it just like it had been mowed 

 every day. It was just a paradise, is what it was," he 

 says. 



Off the presses 



Here's an update on recent UNC Sea Grant 

 publications. Please include the publication numbers 

 with your request. Checks made payable to UNC Sea 

 Grant should accompany orders. Write: UNC Sea 

 Grant, Box 5001, Raleigh, N.C. 27650. 



Wreck Diving in North Carolina 



A directory of shipwrecks along the North Carolina 



By Dennis C. Regan and Virginia Worthington 

 UNC-SG-78-13 No charge. 



Storms, People and Property in Coastal North 

 Carolina 



Historical and meteorological data on North 

 Carolina's major coastal storms. Includes tips on 

 survival and safety. 

 By Simon Baker 

 UNC-SG-78-15 No charge. 



Estuarine Shoreline Erosion in North Carolina 



A series of five colorful posters depicting erosion in 

 four of the state's major estuaries: Core/Bogue 

 Sounds, Albemarle Sound, Pamlico River and 

 Neuse River. Each poster includes a map with a 

 description of shoreline types and erosion rates. 

 The fifth poster ("Cause and Effect") explains the 

 reasons for estuarine erosion. 

 By Stan Riggs, Mike O'Connor, Vince Bellis 

 No charge. Please specify which posters you want. 



Seafood Sourcebook 

 A consumer's guide to information on food from 

 our oceans and lakes. Bibliography. 

 Published by the New England Marine Advisory 

 Service, Sea Grant Program. 

 Available from UNC Sea Grant. No charge. 



Home Smoking and Pickling of Fish 

 A consumer's guide. 



Published by the University of Wisconsin Sea 

 Grant Program, with a special insert on smoking 

 North Carolina style. 



Available from UNC Sea Grant. No charge. 



The University of North Carolina Sea Grant College 

 Newsletter (ISSN 0161-8369) is published monthly ex- 

 cept July and December by the University of North 

 Carolina Sea Grant College Program, 105 1911 Building, 

 North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. 27650, 

 Vol. 6, No. 2, February, 1979. Dr. B. J. Copeland, direc- 

 tor. Written and edited by Karen Jurgensen, Mary Day 

 Mordecai and Virginia Worthington. Second-class 

 postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 27611. 



Second-class posti 



University of North Carolina UssX-raoi 



Sea Grant College Program 



105 1911 Building 



North Carolina State University 



Raleigh, N.C. 27650 



424 M7 jfll 



05/14/07 451 IB * ft 



