Delayed once because of the weather, the 150th Anniversary of the lighting of Bodie Island Lighthouse Fresnel Lens is scheduled for next Saturday, November 12. There is a bit of iffiness about whether the second attempt to celebrate one of the iconic lighthouses of the Outer Banks will again be delayed by weather though.
There’s nasty little low the Hurricane Center is warning about due to form into a tropical system just north of the Bahamas sometime in the next. There’s still a lot of questions about how significant the system will be or even where it will be going.
As it stands right now, weather forecasts have been consistently calling for next Saturday to be overcast with intermittent rain and winds around 15mph. That’s not a great forecast by not all that bad either.
The Bodie Island Lighthouse that’s a little to the north of Oregon Inlet is actually the third Bodie Island Lighthouse. The first one was so poorly constructed that it barely lasted 10 years. The second one was far better constructed, but retreating Confederate forces blew it up in 1861 to proven the Union Army from using it as a lookout platform.
Anyone familiar with Outer Banks lighthouses will certainly notice how similar to the Hatteras Lighthouse it is—and for a good reason. Two good reasons really.
The Lighthouse Service, who oversaw construction and maintenance of the nation’s lighthouses at that time, used the same plans they used for the just completed Hatteras Lighthouse.
Just as importantly—maybe even more importantly, Dexter Stetson, the construction supervisor for Hatteras, wore the same hat at Bodie Island. It was Stetson who recommended the ingenious boating foundation of cross hatched logs for the Hatteras Lighthouse. The same foundation lies under Bodie Island.
There is no fee to climb the lighthouse on November 12. However, reservations are required. Click here for more information.
There is history and so much more to explore on the Outer Banks. Stop by for a while and be sure to stay in a Brindley Beach Vacations home.