To warn mariners of the hazards of the "Horrible Headlands", officials petitioned for a lighthouse in early 1800, completing the tower in 1812. Workers erected a brick sentinel and encased it with a wooden exterior. As a daymark, Cape Lookout was a smashing hit. But in the early morning or late afternoon hours of misty fog, the beacon was all but obscured. Mariners complained of almost running aground because they couldn't see the light.

A new sentinel was completed in 1859 and a Fresnel lens transferred to the beacon. With a tower height of nearly 169 feet, Cape Lookout became the model for the tall, conical brick coastal lights.

Cape Lookout was automated in 1950 and serves as an active aid to navigation to this day. Its first order Fresnel lens was transferred to Block Island Southeast Light when workers installed the present DCB-24 optic. The Keeper's Quarters serve as a museum and the station is included on the North Carolina Registry of Natural Heritage.

Cape Lookout, NC Harbour Lights Great Lighthouses Of The World Item # HL441
The majestic beauty of North Carolina's Outer Banks is infamous to nature lovers, historians and mariners. The very same features that make the area picturesque - jagged headlands and
Price: $45.95