Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How does the height of this lighthouse compare to others?
It is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Also, according to the National Maritime Preservation Initiative and F. Ross Holland, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse "…still may be the tallest brick lighthouse in the world.”
Q. Has it been in continuous service since 1803?
Yes and no. There has been an established light tower of some kind in service since 1803. However, like most Southern lighthouses, the light was extinguished during the Civil War.
Q. How far was the ocean when the lighthouse was built?
The 1870 lighthouse was built approximately 1,500 feet from the shoreline.
Q. How many bricks were used?
1,250,000 were ordered from a Baltimore firm; the exact number used is unknown, but this figure tallies closely with the engineering estimates. The brick was manufactured at a kiln on the James River in Virginia, for a Baltimore contractor. The bricks are not curved. Some extras went into the facade and walls of the 1871 Principal Keeper's Quarters (however, there are two kinds of brick in inside quarter’s walls. It is unknown if both are original).
Q. What other materials were used?
Black slate and white marble quarry tile were used on most floors (quarries unknown). The stairs and most other metal items are cast, rolled, or drawn iron. Bronze was used for more demanding situations, such as the lantern frame work. The roof is copper, lined with tin inside; the lightening rod is bronze with a platinum-clad tip. The storm doors at the top and bottom of the tower are plate iron and bronze respectively; the bottom doors were originally specified to be iron. The inner doors, removed long ago, were originally wood with glass lights. Cast iron lintels and corbels once graced landing windows, but deteriorated and were removed. The windows themselves are modern replacements for the original iron framed casem*nts.
Q. How deep is the foundation?
The original foundation was about 7-½' deep and was made of 6"x12"x12' crossed, yellow pine timbers submerged in water, topped with granite boulders cemented together. The foundation below the present lighthouse is a 60'x60'x4’ steel reinforced concrete pad, plus five feet of 147,000 high-density bricks and 1-½ to 2 feet of rock.
Q. How thick and solid are the walls?
The granite and brick base is virtually solid, but the tapered tower above is double-walled, with 12 hidden, full-length vertical ribs joining the two walls. The vertical ribs provide stiffness to the inner and outer walls. They act like the flying buttresses in gothic cathedrals. The double-walled design helps keep the tower rigid and the center of gravity low—which is located about a third of the way up. At its base, the tapered outer wall is 46-3/4" thick and the inner wall—a true cylinder—is 20" thick. 134' 4" above the ground (even with the top of the sixth landing window), the two walls merge. The brick inside the lantern housing (watch room and service room) was laid after the lantern was assembled and is less than two feet thick. At its bottom, the outer wall is 32' 5-1/2" in diameter and, at the bottom of the gallery brackets, it is 17' 2". The inside diameter of the stairwell is 11' 6" from top to bottom—there is no taper inside. The lower gallery deck, by the way, is 29' 10" in diameter.
Q. Who did the actual construction work?
The Lighthouse Board provided a Superintendent of Construction, Dexter Stetson, who hired and trained nearly 100 laborers locally, who received $1.50 a day. A number of the crew went on to assist on the Bodie Island Lighthouse project. Stetson also worked on the Cape Lookout Light.
Q. Who pays for repair work done to the lighthouse?
The National Park Service.
Q. Who has maintained the lighthouse through the years?
- 1802–1820: Department of the Treasury, Commissioner of the Revenue
- 1820–1852: Department of the Treasury, Fifth Auditor
- 1852–1903: US Lighthouse Board, Department of the Treasury
- 1903–1910: US Lighthouse Board, Department of Commerce and Labor
- 1910–1935: Bureau of Lighthouses, Department of Commerce and Labor
- 1950–Present: US Coast Guard
In 1936, the 1870 lighthouse was turned over to the National Park Service. Currently, under a Special Use Agreement, the US Coast Guard maintains the beacon and the NPS is responsible for the building itself. Twice a year, all four light bulbs are replaced, and the mechanism is inspected and lubricated.
Q. What has been removed, repaired, or replaced in the structure?
Much of the exposed ironwork of the lower gallery, some of the stairs and all their anchor bolts, and the windows are replacements. Lantern room glass has been replaced many times. The roof was rebuilt in 1992. The cast iron casem*nt window trim, and the weight set and its hardware are gone. A cabinet, a small desk, and a coal stove were once present in the watch room. A set of roller curtains (visible in old photos) that once kept the sun's rays out of the lens during the day are also gone. Inner wood doors with glass lights were removed from the top and bottom entries, along with glass transoms at the bottom; they were removed during the restoration and are said to be in storage by the USCG. Parts of the gear box and lens disappeared during WWII, along with the keepers’ tools. The vandalized Fresnel lens was removed in 1949 and stored. In October 2006, the lens’ pedestal and clockwork assembly were removed. After 57 years, the lens and pedestal assembly were reunited and can now be viewed at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, in Hatteras Village, just 10 miles to the southwest of the lighthouse.
Q. What is the circular well at the bottom?
Minus the plastic netting and steel mesh floor, which are NPS visitor safety equipment, this was originally a sand pit that was provided in case the weight cable of the clockwork mechanism parted causing the weight to free-fall down the tower. The sand pit was much more forgiving and flexible than the slate and marble floor that surrounds the pit. The weight set could also be lowered into the pit to facilitate maintenance and repairs such as cable repair or replacement. The well is about 4 feet deep.
Q. What are the vertical rails in the central well?
Lacking the graceful design found in every other part of the lighthouse, these rails are a later addition, not shown on the working plans. Usually, in towers of this type the weights of the clockwork mechanism in the lens assembly would drop directly down the center of the tower, suspended from a wire cable. They were guided by “fairleads” that would control the descent. Differences in structural details of the Cape Hatteras tower required a system of T-rails to keep the weights from swinging excessively as they dropped down the tower.
Q. What were the alcoves on the first floor used for?
Originally, the lamp oil for the light was stored in large, round metal containers called oil butts. They were large brass or tin tanks that ranged in size from 50 to 100 gallons each. They stood upright and were set side by side on masonry or wooden elevated shelves in the alcoves. Each one had a petco*ck at the bottom from which the keeper would draw his daily supply of lamp oil into his oil can. He then carried the oil cans up the tower to fuel the lamps. The large, cubic 350 gallon tank at the base of the tower replaced numerous oil butts with one centralized storage tank. Other gear may have also been kept in the alcoves.
Q. What is the metal tank just above the first floor?
The large, square, 350-gallon tank was used for the storage of kerosene to light the lamp in the Fresnel lens.
Q. What are the numbers on the landing walls?
These numbers are called landing numbers. They are not original; the interior has been repainted several times. The 1992 restoration crew made them to mark the landings for easy identification.
Q. Wouldn't it have been easier to use a rope and pulley to haul up the oil ?
No and this practice was never allowed in US lighthouses. The fuel for the lamp was extremely valuable and, when it was being moved, the keeper was required to keep it in his possession. At any rate, it would not have been less work. A once-over pulley gives no mechanical advantage; it still takes 6000 ft-lbs. of work to raise a 5-gallon can of oil 150 feet, just as it would climbing with the oil. But in climbing, the legs do the work, not the arms. A twice-over pulley takes half as much effort, but takes twice as long. The can would have tended to sway, and possibly rupture or spill when it hit a beam or bolt head, or fell (oil usage was very closely monitored; the keeper was held accountable for waste). And he'd still have to climb all the way up anyway - so no point in going up empty handed.
Q. How many storms has it survived?
All of them! Seriously, no one knows; not all were recorded. About 150 hurricanes and countless nor'easters have affected the Outer Banks since 1548, since Europeans were here (who knows how many more before Europeans arrival). This would suggest about 40 hurricanes since the lighthouse was built. On April 17, 1879, lightning struck the tower; several months later, new shallow vertical cracks in the inner wall were ascribed to this by the keepers, but are now reliably attributed to thermal expansion of the structure. In the 1980s, studies of the cracks revealed movement with temperature variations. Later, the lighthouse also survived the Charleston earthquakes of August 31, 1886 (3 shocks up to 7.7 on the Richter Scale) and September 3, 1886, which was felt in Chicago.
Q. Why is the tower leaning?
It is not leaning significantly, though there seems to be such a rumor floating around. There is a deceptive optical illusion at certain angles of view, caused by the stripes, and sometimes enhanced by a backdrop of moving clouds. Hasbrouck & Hunderman found the appearance of a possible slight lean to the north or west, but could not rule out simple irregularities in construction.
Q. Why is there a lighthouse here?
Extending about 14-20 miles offshore from Cape Hatteras are the shallow, shifting Diamond Shoals—a hazard to nearby navigation. By day or night, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse provided a navigational bearing, enabling ships to avoid the treacherous shoals. In the 19th century, “coasting” (sailing along the coast) was a simple, reliable form of navigation; and in case of trouble, the shore was within easy reach. Along the North Carolina coast, shipping also made good use of favorable currents—the Labrador Current, flowing south near shore, and the Gulf Stream, flowing north a bit farther out—which provided additional speed. The Outer Banks of North Carolina are widely known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. One account says 230 ships of over 50 tons sank here from 1866 to 1945. Another says well over 2,200 ships have sunk off the Outer Banks since Europeans first arrived.
Q. How did the Diamond Shoals get their name?
It is not known where the actual name came from. The shoals are not a continuous mass, but are a series of three distinct shoals with channels between them. In 1948, the US Board of Geographic Names designated the entire series as Diamond Shoals and assigned names to the individual shoals and sloughs (the channels between the shoals). The innermost shoal is Hatteras Shoals, the middle section is Inner Diamond Shoals and the outer section is Outer Diamond Shoals. As for the sloughs - Hatteras Slough runs between Hatteras Shoals and Inner Diamond Shoals. The one that runs between the Inner Diamond Shoal and Outer Diamond Shoal is called the Diamond Slough.
Q. How many lightships have there been at Diamond Shoals?
There were three lightships:
- 1st (1824–1827): destroyed by gale winds
- 2nd (1897–1918): the #69 Diamond was sunk by a German U-boat
- 3rd (1919–1967): replaced by the "Texas" tower
Q. What is the "Texas" tower?
In 1968, a “Texas" tower light station—a structure similar to an offshore oil rig—was completed out on the Diamond Shoals and called the Diamond Shoals Light Station. The light was located approximately 12.8 nautical miles or 14.7 statute miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. It was originally crewed by 6 people (4 on and 2 off) but was automated on September 7, 1977. The 1000-watt lamp was 125 feet above the water and was visible for 22 nautical miles. The Diamond Shoals Light Station was de-commissioned in 2002 and the light is no longer operational.
Q. Why are there so many lighthouses in North Carolina ?
Ideally, with lighthouses every 40 miles or so, one was nearly always visible to coasting ships. When one passed out of range, another would soon appear.
Q. Is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse still a functional navigational aid?
Yes, though it is now automated.
Q. With today's navigational technology, is it still a useful aid-to-navigation?
Yes, though not to the same extent it once was. It provides confirmation of modern navigational methods and a landmark for local boat traffic. Seen from a few miles out to sea, this coastline has few distinguishing features.
Q. Why is it painted with black & white stripes?
The stripes serve as a daytime identification aid—known as a daymark—allowing mariners to distinguish between the lighthouses
Along the Outer and Core Banks of North Carolina, the Currituck Beach Light is unpainted, red brick; Bodie Island is banded black and white; Cape Hatteras is black and white spiral stripes; Ocraco*ke is white; and Cape Lookout is black and white checkerboard. No evidence has been found to indicate that the checkerboard or diamond pattern was originally intended for the Cape Hatteras Light at Diamond Shoals, despite a popular folk story that some bureaucrat messed up the work order.
Q. What is meant by the term “daymark” and how does it apply to lighthouses?
All lighthouses are daymarks. The term simply means a fixed, constant, identifiable feature that can be used by a navigator during daylight hours to assist in determining a ship’s location along a coastline.
Generally, the shapes of the tower and dwelling, the advertised color and the geological background such as cliffs, rocks, hillsides, etc. provide adequate data to the mariner to assist with location determination. Towers can also be painted, often in solid colors that contrast with their natural backgrounds making them more visible. So, a lighthouse that is built of stone on a rocky island would most likely be painted white; a lighthouse near a town with numerous white buildings would probably be painted red.
However, problems can occur in areas such as the central/southern Atlantic coast of the United States. In general, the coast is topographically quite flat with few, if any, outstanding natural features to assist the mariner. Compounding this issue, the tall coastal towers, built primarily between the 1850s and 1870s, were virtually identical in appearance from a distance at sea. Therefore, to make them identifiable, they each received distinguishable daymarks—usually paint—though some towers were left unpainted. Only certain colors—black, white and red—were used because these are the ones that would stand out the best against the background. Therefore, along the Outer Banks, the tall coastal lighthouse daymarks are: Currituck Beach Light - unpainted red brick; Bodie Island - banded black and white; Cape Hatteras - black and white spiral stripes; and Cape Lookout - black and white checkerboard.
Q. Has the Cape Hatteras lighthouse always been black and white spiral striped?
No. This paint job did not exist until 1873.
The 1803 sandstone tower appeared to be white. This may have been due to the natural color of the stone or a whitewash coating. This changed when the tower was extended with a brick addition in 1854. The lower 70 feet of the tower remained white and the top 80 feet was red. It was probably red on top to contrast with sky and white on bottom to contrast with the vegetation. It was painted with a cement-based brick wash.
The 1871 Report of the Lighthouse Board indicates that, when it was first painted, the top part of the current tower was painted red and the bottom part white. Other reports say that the whole tower wasoriginally red. In any case, the stripes were painted in 1873. There are two black and white stripes on the tower, each stripe circles the lower tower 1-1/2 times, and all are wider on the bottom than on the top. It is not known exactly how the stripes were laid out, but it could have been done using a combination of pre-calculated dimensions, plumb bobs, and taut lines. Originally, the keepers painted the tower using bosun’s chairs, taking up to 4 months every 6–10 years. Modern painting contractors use a window washer type platform.
From 1936-1950, the official tower was a steel structure, though many mariners still used the 1870 lighthouse as a daymark.
Q. How can lighthouses be told apart at night?
Lights can be distinguished by their “characteristic” or nightmark. Their lights may appear to either glow constantly (fixed) or flash at different rates. Here, the rate is every 7-1/2 seconds, though it has varied over the years. Throughout the centuries, mariners have had lists of lights - tables that list the nation's navigational aids including the lighthouses with their exact positions, their daymarks, and their light characteristics.
