NEWS RELEASE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
OUTER BANKS GROUP

For Immediate Release
For Information Contact
Robert E. Woody
(252) 473-2111x122

Bodie Island Lighthouse Transferred
to National Park Service

NAGS HEAD, NC—The U.S. General Services Administration officially transferred the horizontally banded black and white Bodie Island Lighthouse from the US Coast Guard (USCG) to the National Park Service (NPS) on July 13, 2000. Its structural preservation and potential visitor use will be the responsibility of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The USCG remains responsible for the maintenance of the navigational aid function of the lighthouse and any supportive equipment for that purpose.

“Although lesser known than its high-profile sister lighthouse to the south, the Bodie Island Lighthouse is an important part of the nation’s maritime history and of the story of man’s occupation along North Carolina’s coast,” said Outer Banks National Park Service Group Superintendent Francis A. Peltier.

“We completed restoration on the light station’s Double Keepers’ Quarters several years ago, and now that the lighthouse is part of the national seashore, we will turn our full attention to getting restoration work completed on the lighthouse proper. Our plan will be to open it up for public entry in the future. The First Order Fresnel lens at the top will be of particular interest to visitors.”

The conical lighthouse was constructed in 1872, the third of a series of “Bodie Island” lighthouses built along this stretch of the Outer Banks in an effort to warn seafarers of the dangers of navigating Cape Hatteras. The first lighthouse was abandoned in 1859 due to structural problems; the second was destroyed in 1861 by Confederate troops who did not want it to fall into Union hands. The present tower, constructed in 1872, has a timber/granite/rubble foundation and a brick/cast iron/stone tower. It stands 170 feet high with a focal plane of 156 feet.

Ocracoke Light Station was incorporated as part of the national park system when Congress passed Public Law 105-383 in 1998, officially transferring it from the USCG to Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse became part of the national park system in 1936 following the USCG abandonment of the structure due to erosion. It was included in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore when the park was established in 1953.