Oak Island Light facts for kids
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| Location | Oak Island, Cape Fear River, North Carolina |
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| Coordinates | 33°53′34″N 78°02′06″W / 33.8929°N 78.035°W |
| Year first constructed | 1957/8 |
| Year first lit | 1958 |
| Foundation | Concrete-filled steel pilings |
| Construction | Portland concrete |
| Tower shape | Cylindrical |
| Markings / pattern | Bottom third of tower gray, second third white, top third black |
| Height | 153 feet (47 m) |
| Focal height | 169 feet (52 m) |
| Range | 20.5 nautical miles (nominal) |
| Characteristic | Fl (4)W 10s |
The Oak Island Lighthouse stands tall in Caswell Beach, North Carolina. It's located near where the Cape Fear River meets the Atlantic Ocean. You can find it right next to the Oak Island Coast Guard Station. This lighthouse is on the eastern tip of Oak Island in Brunswick County. It looks out over the vast Atlantic Ocean.
The lighthouse has 16 bright LED lights. These lights flash four times for one second each, every 10 seconds. You can see its light from about 20.5 nautical miles away. That's almost 24 regular miles! The town of Caswell Beach has owned the lighthouse since 2004. A local group called Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse helps take care of it.
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History of the Oak Island Lighthouse
The Oak Island Lighthouse was built in May 1958. It took the place of an older lighthouse called the Cape Fear Light. That lighthouse was a tall steel tower on Bald Head Island. It was taken down in the same year the Oak Island Lighthouse opened.
The Cape Fear Light had started working in 1903. It had replaced an even older lighthouse, the 1817 Bald Head Light. That one is also known as Old Baldy. Old Baldy is still standing today and is a popular place for tourists to visit.
From 1958 to 1962, the Oak Island Lighthouse was the brightest lighthouse in the United States. Today, the Charleston Light in South Carolina holds that record.
Lighthouse Events and Changes
In February 2002, something big happened nearby. The Coast Guard Station next to the lighthouse caught fire. The station burned down completely. Luckily, the lighthouse itself was not damaged at all. A new Coast Guard station was built on the same spot. It looks very similar to the old one.
The next year, the lighthouse was marked as "extra" by the government. In 2004, the town of Caswell Beach took over ownership. They now own the lighthouse, the land around it, and the nearby beach. The agreement says the town must keep the area open for fun activities. The Coast Guard still operates the light itself.
In April 2007, the Oak Island Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical site. In 2016, the outside of the lighthouse got a big repair. The same company that moved the famous Cape Hatteras Light did the work.
New Lights for the Lighthouse
Before 2020, the lighthouse used four very powerful lights. These lights were called aerobeacon lenses. They were super bright! But the motor that made them spin sometimes had problems. When the motor failed, the lights had to be turned off.
The Coast Guard team that takes care of the light decided it was time for an upgrade. They chose to install new LED lights. This was the best and cheapest way to fix the problem. The new LED lights were put in and started working in December 2020.
These new lights are even brighter than the old ones. They are also better protected from bad weather. There are 16 new LED lights in total. They still spin and flash just like the original lights. You see four one-second flashes, then six seconds of darkness. These new lights can be seen from 20.5 nautical miles away.
How the Oak Island Lighthouse Was Built
The Oak Island Lighthouse was built between 1957 and 1958. It cost about $110,000 to build. It was one of the last lighthouses ever built in the United States.
The lighthouse stands on 24 strong pilings. These pilings go 67 feet deep into the ground until they hit solid rock. They are 10 inches wide and filled with concrete. On top of these pilings is a large concrete base. This base is 30 feet wide and 3 feet deep.
The main part of the lighthouse tower is 142 feet tall. It's made of poured concrete. The top 52 feet of the tower are black. The middle 50 feet are white. The bottom 40 feet are a cement gray color. What's cool is that these colors are not painted on! The colors were mixed into the concrete when the tower was built.
On top of the concrete tower sits an 11-foot-tall light room. This room is made of aluminum and glass. Inside, the tower is about 16 feet 4 inches wide. The outside concrete walls are 8 inches thick. The whole lighthouse structure is 153 feet tall. But it was built on a small hill. So, on maps, the light appears to be 169 feet above sea level.
Visiting the Oak Island Lighthouse
The land around the Oak Island Lighthouse is open to everyone all year. You can visit to look at the lighthouse and take pictures. There's parking for 30 minutes at the base of the tower from sunrise to sunset.
There's a path that leads to the beach. This path is a great spot to take photos of the lighthouse. Along the path, you'll find signs that tell you about the history of the area. They also describe the local animals and plants. The Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse group takes care of the lighthouse and this walkway.
Lighthouse Tours and Access
Before the Covid pandemic, you could go inside the lighthouse. People aged seven and older could take tours to the second level. This was just up twelve steps. These tours happened from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They were on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
If you were nine or older, you could even take a tour all the way to the top! The top of the lighthouse has an outside balcony. These tours were offered all year, except for a few major holidays. To get to the top, you had to climb 131 steps. These steps are not like a normal spiral staircase. They are straight but very steep sections. There are eight flat spots, or landings, along the way. This style of steps is called a 'ships ladder.'
You usually needed to book your tour at least two weeks ahead of time. In the summer, you needed to book four weeks in advance. You could make a reservation online through the Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse website.
