Bodie Island Light
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bodie Island Light | |
|---|---|
 Bodie Island Lighthouse |
|
| Location: | 4 miles (6 km) north of Oregan Inlet, Near Nags Head, North Carolina |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
|
| Year first lit: | 1872 |
| Automated: | 1940 |
| Foundation: | Timber, Granite, Rubble |
| Construction: | Brick, Cast Iron, Stone |
| Tower shape: | Conical |
| Markings/Pattern: | White and black bands with black lantern house |
| Height: | 156 feet (48 m) |
| Original lens: | First order Fresnel lens, 1872 |
| Range: | 18 nautical miles (33 km) |
| Characteristic: | White 2.5 seconds on, 2.5 seconds off, 2.5 seconds on, and 22.5 seconds eclipse with 2 cycles each minute |
The current Bodie Island Lighthouse is the third that has stood in this vicinity on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It is located on the Roanoke Sound side of the first island that is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Lighthouse is located just south of Nag's Head, a few miles before Oregon Inlet.
The preceding Bodie Island Lighthouses actually stood south of Oregon Inlet on Pea Island in an area now under water. The first was built in 1847 and then abandoned in 1859 due to a poor foundation. The second, built in 1859, was destroyed in 1861 by retreating Confederate troops who feared it would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War. The third and current Lighthouse, with its original first order Fresnel lens, was completed in 1872. In 1932, the light was upgraded to an electric lamp by using oil-fueled generators. In 1940, the Lighthouse was fully automated (no keeper). In 1953, it switched from the generators to the commercial electric grid for its power.
While some people (including North Carolinians not from the Outer Banks) pronounce the name with a long "o" sound, it is traditionally pronounced as body. This is derived from the original name of the area, which was "Bodies Island", after the Body family whom the land was purchased from. Folklore would have you believe it is due to the number of dead sailors washed ashore from this portion of the Atlantic Ocean, which is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Local gift shops sell maps of the shipwrecks on the ocean floor. An impressive array of ships have been sunk due to storms, shoals, or even German U-boats in World War II.
The lighthouse appears in the background of the 1963-1964 Federal Duck Stamp.
 The interior of the Lighthouse consists largely of a massive spiral staircase. |
 Bodie Island Lighthouse, view from NC 12, June 2007 |
 Bodie Island Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, July 2007 |
 The Watch Room Deck and Lantern of the Bodie Island Lighthouse |
[edit] History
From USCG Web site:
- 1847: The contractor on the first project was Mr. Francis Gibbons, of Baltimore, who would later become a prominent lighthouse builder on the West Coast. Cost was $5,000 but problems with location and design of the tower caused a ten-year delay in construction. The tower was highly unstable and soon after it was completed, it began to lean toward the sea.
- 1859: The Bodie Island Lighthouse had deteriorated and the Lighthouse Board secured a $25,000 appropriation from Congress to erect a new tower. This new tower was 80 ft (24 m). and its lantern was a third-order Fresnel lens.
- 1861: In the fall of 1861, Confederate troops stacked explosives inside the tower and blew it apart.
- 1871: A third Lighthouse was completed in 1871 partially with material left over from construction of a new tower at Cape Hatteras. The tower was 156 ft (48 m). with a first order Fresnel lens that made its light visible for 18 nautical miles (33 km). The Bodie tower is painted with white and black horizontal bands.
[edit] External links
- The Bodie Island Lighthouse, National Park Service
- USCG site
- LighthouseFriends.com
- Bodie Island Light on Federal Duck Stamp
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||
