Bodie Island Lighthouse Renovations

The striking black and white striped Bodie Island lighthouse provides one of the most distinctive and picturesque sceneries of the Outer Banks. Planning a visit to one of our OBX vacation rentals? Why not plan a trip to the newly renovated Bodie Island Lighthouse. Re-opening this spring, the tower is located on Bodie Island, just south of Nags Head. The 165 foot lighthouse that is standing today is actually the third attempt to illuminate the stretch of coastline between Currituck Beach and Cape Hatteras.

The planning and construction of the first Bodie Island lighthouse began in 1838 with the final completion occurring years later in 1847. The budget of the lighthouse was foreseen by the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury who was more concerned with saving money than with building a sound structure. Thus, the 54 foot tower was fraught with problems from the very beginning.The unsupported foundation developed cracks and leaks which caused the lighthouse to gradually sink and lean to one side. Because of its many issues, the first Bodie lighthouse was leveled after only 11 years. It certainly seemed that the second tower, which was completed in 1859 and designed by the Army Corps of Engineers, had procured a much more promising future. Unfortunately, however, the second tower also met an untimely and unfortunate end during the Civil War when the confederates succeeding in destroying the majestic 80 foot tower. 

The construction of the third and final Bodie Island Lighthouse began in July 1871 and was completed by the following year. Its existence, unlike its predecessors, was relatively peaceful for many quiet years. However, as the years went by, the structural preservation of the lighthouse seemed to be fading with time. In 2004 this became abundantly clear when two cast-iron chunks fell from the gallery atop the tower. The tower was then closed off to visitors because of safety hazards. Funding for the restoration of the lighthouse was removed from the federal budget and hopes for a restoration of the stately lighthouse began to fade. 

In the following years, faith prevailed and after years of postponement and diligently raising funds, work began briefly in January of 2010only to be cut short once again in August 2010.Further issues were found during the process and authorities still lacked the funds necessary to bring the lighthouse back to life. As the lighthouse and its supporters waited patiently and searched tirelessly for more funds, the arrival of Hurricane Irene in 2011 caused even more damage to the unfortunate structure. 

Thankfully, the story of the Bodie Island Lighthouse has a happy ending. We are happy to announce that visitors to our OBX vacation rentals in the upcoming seasons can certainly plan on taking a tour of the beautiful tower. In the past months, restoration work has been ongoing for the lighthouse and its renovations will be unveiledsoon inspring 2013. After that time, visitors and residents of the Outer Banks will now be allowed to climb its 214 steps to the top.Workers will have replaced existing windows that needed repair and installed a system to eliminate airborne particles that could be a health threat. They will also design and create metal patterns for parts in need of replacement, and design and place interior scaffolding that will allow them to reach inside parts of the tower for repainting. Always scenic, the BodieIsland Lighthouse is now in its prime once again. For those of our guests who will be staying in one of our OBX vacation rentals this spring and summer, why not plan a trip to theBodie Island Lighthouse and find out more about the fascinating history of this magnificent sentinel?