Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

     Undeniably one of the most famous lighthouses, Cape Hatteras Light serves watch over the infamous Graveyard of the Atlantic and the treacherous Diamond Shoals.  Located on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks, the lighthouse was built in 1870.  The original lighthouse was built in 1803 but was later destroyed by Confederate troops during the Civil War.

     The present lighthouse stands 208 feet tall and is the tallest brick lighthouse in the country. Cape Hatteras Light has black and white spiral lines that distinguish her from Bodie Island Lighthouse, just a few miles north of Cape Hatteras. The lighthouse is now maintained by the park service of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the U.S Coast Guard.  The keeper's quarters are now a museum.

     This lighthouse has been in danger of being overtaken by the Atlantic Ocean for many years.  In 1999, the lighthouse was moved, intact, to a safer distance from the ocean.  A re-lighting ceremony was held in November of 1999, to celebrate the completion of the move.  This photograph was taken in the summer of 1998 before the historic move.

This original photograph, Cape Hatteras, is by Sherri Clark