The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Since 1871 the Cape Hatteras lighthouse has been a welcome sight for sailors entering the treacherous region off North Carolina's Outer Banks known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. At 208 feet high, it is the tallest lighthouse in the country and one of the state's most famous landmarks. Through the years, it has withstood the ravages of both humans and nature, weathering numerous violent storms and two wars. But perhaps the gravest threat the structure faced in recent history was the erosion of several hundred yards of beach that once stood between it and the ocean. As powerful tides and rising sea levels increasingly endangered the lighthouse's future, North Carolinians debated fiercely over how best to save it, eventually deciding on a controversial plan to move the beacon inland to safety. First published by UNC Press in 1991, this book tells the story of the noble lighthouse from its earliest history to the present day. In this new edition, Dawson Carr details the recent relocation of the treasured landmark. For now, it seems, North Carolinians have succeeded in protecting their lighthouse, as it has protected them for over a century.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, standing 198.49 feet, is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. From 1803, when the first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was built, to today, it cast its light over the waters off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, also called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." Its history--stretching from Augustin-Jean Fresnel's lens laboratory in France to the beaches of Hatteras Island where the lighthouse keepers labored--includes war, shipwrecks, hurricanes, and cutting-edge technology. Due to politics, funding, and its precarious location, it took great effort to erect and protect a lighthouse built on a barrier island. The supporters and caretakers were many, including Alexander Hamilton in the 1700s and children donating coins to a statewide preservation campaign in 1982. In the 21st century, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse continues to send out its beam to mariners.

"Retraces the great writer's footsteps to Hemingway's special places and records the recollections and insights offered by some of the people who remembered his visits"--Cover.

A stunning, full-color celebration of some of the world’s most famous lighthouses, the shoreline they stand on, and the people who have worked to protect them The lore and history of North Carolina’s seafaring past comes to life in the text by Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and photographs by Bruce Roberts.

A history of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the United States and the second tallest lighthouse in the world.