Thirteen oil lamps produced a fixed white light that was supposed to be visible sixteen to eighteen miles out to sea, but in actuality it was visible only eleven miles in good weather, and less than that in bad. Because the tower was too low to be effective, mariners griped that seeking the light was more dangerous than braving the shoals. Lieutenant H. Additionally, the coast had eroded enough that the ocean was now dangerously close to the lighthouse, which was an important seacoast light that needed to be elevated to more properly assist mariners.
Standing feet tall, the graceful new tower was just over twenty-eight feet in diameter at its base with nine-foot thick walls. It was made of red brick and displayed the Fresnel lens from the old tower. At the new height, the fixed white light was visible for nineteen miles and could easily be seen above the almost opaque salt spray whipped up by fierce winds.
The old tower remained standing for several years and was converted into a residence. The new tower was not destined to be in peaceful service for long, however. Just eighteen months after its completion, North Carolina joined the Confederacy.
In the spring of , retreating Confederate troops attempted to blow up Cape Lookout Lighthouse. They were unsuccessful, but they did manage to damage the tower.
The lens had been removed from the tower the previous year and was eventually taken to Raleigh. A third-order lens was placed in the lantern room in , and the light was returned to service. Cape Lookout with and dwellings Photograph courtesy National Archives On April 3, , a small band of Confederates, armed with powder kegs, launched a raid to destroy Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Wooden steps were used to replace the damaged portion of the stairway.
After the war, the Lighthouse Board lost no time repairing the damages. The lens had been sent to its manufacturer in France for repairs in The year was a big one for Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Because the four tall towers on the Outer Banks were so similar, the Lighthouse Board designed striking patterns for each to make them easily distinguishable. Cape Lookout was painted with large, diagonal checkers that appear as alternating black and white diamonds.
The next few decades proved relatively uneventful, with only minor changes to the lighthouse. The price of whale oil became prohibitive, so in the lamps at Cape Lookout alternated between whale oil and kerosene, changing to only kerosene in In the years prior to this, the keeper and his two assistants had been sharing the dwelling, which made it impossible for their families to life with them. The Lighthouse Board started requesting funds in to remove this hardship, but Congress took a few years to provide the money.
In , a lightship , equipped with a steam fog signal, was stationed off the coast to provide additional help for mariners. Three of the sailors drowned, while the other two were rescued and placed back aboard the lightship. A bell buoy replaced Cape Lookout Shoals Lightship in In , the light exhibited from Cape Lookout Lighthouse was changed from fixed to flashing, through the installation of a three-mantle oil-vapor lamp with occulting screens.
By , war had again come within sight of Cape Lookout, as German submarines began plying the Atlantic. Two gasoline engines connected to electric generators were added to the station in to power a radiobeacon, whose antenna was suspended between the lighthouse and an eighty-foot steel tower located feet away. Sadly, they found it in the merchant-rich waters guarded by woefully ill-prepared Navy patrol vessels.
Although perfectly suited for the Coast Guard, the vessel was no match for the U-boats. Dire warnings as well as offers of help came from the British allies, who had developed successful convoy tactics and had broken the German code, but, inexplicably, America initially ignored them.
At one point, a tanker burned in Lookout Bight for three weeks. Aerial view of lighthouse in Photograph courtesy U. Both Union and Confederate reports indicate that the oil supply was destroyed. Physical and historical evidence indicates that the lower section of the iron spiral staircase was badly damaged. Due to iron shortages during the war, this section of stairs was replaced with wooden steps. On April 9 th , U. Rear-Admiral SP Lee requested additional troops in order to prevent another attack on the lighthouse by Confederate forces.
The temporary repairs that were made by the Union to mend the damages done during the Confederate raid of the lighthouse were completed on June 27, These repairs included the replacement of the damaged section of spiral iron stairs with wooden steps as well as repairs to the landings and the replacement of broken glass. General Sherman's troops captured the state capital of Raleigh on April 13, There Union troops found the Fresnel lenses of the majority of North Carolina's coastal lights--including the lens from Cape Lookout, which had been stored in the city since July 22, However, some of the hundreds of glass prisms which composed the first order lens were broken or missing.
After the Civil War had ended, the U. Light House Board decided that the lenses should be shipped to their original manufacturer in France to be checked and repaired. The Cape Lookout lens was among the first to be sent: it left the United States on November 28, and returned, completely restored and shipped to the Staten Island Depot, in mid-August of the following year. The lens was not the only part of the lighthouse in need of repairs after the war.
The temporary wooden stairs were replaced with iron steps and several other repairs were made to the lighthouse. The temporary wooden stairs are replaced when iron once again becomes available after the war. This wage does not change for the next 50 years.
The new keeper's quarters is completed. It eventually housed two assistant keepers and their families. This is the present Keeper's Quarters Museum. The lighthouse is painted with its distinctive diagonal black-and-white checkers to distinguish it as a day marker. Lack of confidence in shorebased lighthouses raises the recommendation for a lightship at the southern extremity of Cape Lookout Shoals.
This would protect the mariner in hazy weather when a vessel might be on the shoals before seeing the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Congress takes no action at this time.
A lightship is anchored on the shoals. The steam fog signal warns mariners away from the dangerous waters. Through the years, a lightship remains on station despite being torn from its moorings during storms. The Lighthouse Board is dissolved, and replaced by the Bureau of Lighthouses.
The lower gallery is widened to accommodate a storm entry over the external hatchway. The light source is changed from a wick lamp to a millimeter incandescent oil vapor lamp IOV. The change increases the light's brightness from 9, to 77, candlepower. An occulting device is also installed changing the light characteristic from a fixed white light to a "flashing" light.
The light now shows "31" three 9 second flashes of light, then one 9 second flash of light twice every ninety seconds. The installation of a radiobeacon and electric lighting equipment is completed. The millimeter incandescent oil vapor lamp is replaced with four watt T electric lamps bulbs , this change increases the candlepower from 77, to , Generators supply the electricity for the new equipment.
A hurricane striking the area opens the inlet between Core Banks and Shackleford Banks. The Bureau of the Lighthouses is incorporated into the U. Coast Guard. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse becomes automated--making it able to turn the light on and off as needed.
Electrical power is still provided by diesel powered generators, requiring someone to maintain and repair the generators. With the departure of the resident lightkeepers, the nearby Cape Lookout Coast Guard Station adds monitoring the lighthouse to its duties. The radiobeacon is moved from the lighthouse grounds to the Coast Guard station. The Fresnel lens is removed and replaced with two DCB aerobeacons.
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