Western Front Cape Lookout
by Skip Willits
Title
Western Front Cape Lookout
Artist
Skip Willits
Medium
Photograph - Epson Lustre Paper
Description
Fitted with a first order Fresnel lens when it was built in 1859, this beacon is 156 feet tall and marks the second most exposed cape of North Carolina�s famed outer banks. The First Order lens was quickly replaced with a Third Order one when confederates knocked the larger one out. The harbor protected by these southern �Banks� has provided safe anchorage to pirates (Blackbeard), the British during the Revolutionary War, and the US Navy during the two world wars.
The tower was painted in its distinctive diamond pattern in 1873, replacing the original tower (built in 1812) which was painted in red and white stripes.
Visitors must travel through Morehead City and Beaufort to Harkers Island where a ferry will carry them to the Barrier Island where this light is located. This is one of the more isolated of the outer banks chain of islands in North Carolina and a real treat to visit. The lady, who acted as the keeper of the light when we were there, told of her chores of maintaining watch over the light, handling the gift shop, and generally answering visitor�s questions. They stay at the light for a month at a time on a volunteer basis and get a real feel for what it must have been like a hundred years ago.
Uploaded
March 12th, 2013
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