Bodie Island Lighthouse has been named one of 12 lighthouse finalists from among 49 nominees in the JELD-WEN® Reliable Lighthouse Restoration Initiative. The winner of the competition will win new JELD-WEN windows and doors.
This could be a boon to the lighttower which has been in need of substancial repair for several years. If voted the winner in the JELD-WEN initiative, eight windows and a door would be replaced.
And it is time for some good news for the historic landmark, say supporters.
Last year, with about 95 percent of the design work completed for the restoration of lightower, U.S. Rep. David Price, D-Winston-Salem prop
osed and sheparded through the US House budget process a $3 million appropriation in the House version of the omnibus budget, but the money was removed in the Senate-House conference committee. If the money had been forthcoming, bids were expected to be let in 2008.
Although the lighthouse continues to warn mariners of the dangers of the Graveyard of the Atlantic, it has had to weather its own turbulent history.
The current 156-foot structure first shone its beacon in 1872, thus becoming the third version of Bodie Island Lighthouse. The first 54-foot tower was built in 1847 and shortly thereafter began to lean. It was abandoned in 1859.
That same year, a replacement was completed but also was short-lived, because it was blown up by the Confederate Army so that it wouldn't fall into Union Army hands.
In 1871, construction began on the current tower and a First Order Fresnel Lens was installed. The lens is still in place and is considered the crowning jewel of the structure.
Until 1932, lighthouse keepers who lived in houses on the grounds kept the light burning. In 1932, the beacon was electrified by the Coast Guard, thus eliminating the need to employ keepers.
All of the light station's property except the tower was transferred to the National Park Service in 1953. The keeper's house has undergone two historic restorations, the last in May 1992. The building now serves as a ranger office and visitor center for Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Still a functioning U.S. Coast Guard navigational aid, the tower isn't open for climbing because of safety issues related to its deteriorating condition, however, the base is open to allow visitors to look inside.
In 2000, ownership of the tower transferred from US Coast Guard to the National Park Service.
