Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Outer Banks, Corolla, North Carolina
CURRITUCK BEACH LIGHT
Location: Outer Banks--Whale Bay, near village of Corolla
Station Established: 1873
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1875
Operational? YES
Automated? YES 1939
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: Timber & brick
Construction Materials: Brick
Tower Shape: Conical attached to "Repair Room."
Markings/Pattern: Natural red brick with black lantern
Relationship to Other Structure:
Characteristics: 20 second cycle-3 on, 17 off
Original Lens: First Order, Polygonal Fresnel, 1875
Historical Information:
- 1875:1 December: Beacon was first lit.
- 1876: The Victorian "stick style" keeper's house was completed.
- 1920: An 1870's dwelling was moved from the Long Point Lighthouse Station to the site as a smaller keeper's residence.
- 1939: Light was automated under USCG control.
- 2001: The Coast Guard determined the Currituck Beach Lighthouse to be excess. Currituck Light was among the first lighthouses to be excessed after the passage of National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (NHLPA).
- The Historical Services Administration deeded the keeper's house and the land around the house to the state of North Carolina. The lighthouse remained the property of the federal government. Keeper's house was empty, decaying and open to the elements for further deterioration and vandalism.
- The Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. signed a 50 year lease with the state of North Carolina to begin restoring the property. The lighthouse was reopened to the public. The Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. continued to maintain and restore the structures on the lighthouse property.
- On 17 October 2003 the deed to the lighthouse was transferred to the Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc., through the auspices of the NHLPA.
The historical information was researched and written by Diane Hackney, a Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society volunteer.