Cheryl Shelton Roberts

The feeling of quietude within the Currituck Beach Lighthouse complex is quickened by undertones of excitement as visitors anticipate climbing all the way up the towering lighthouse's spiral stairs and taking in an unforgettable panoramic view. This histonc northern Outer Banks site is steeped in history, architecture, romance, and mystery. Besides offering some of the best aerobics on the East Coast by climbing the tower, the Currituck Beach Light Station is part of an authentic living-history district.

Standing on "Shell Point," a spit of land at the tip of Harkers Island, one is embraced by the waters of Core Sound. Looking southeast, the Cape Lookout Lighthouse stands in solitude across a marsh-studded sound on South Core Banks, overlooking Lookout Bight on the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. These waters have carried the great people who have lived here: lighthouse keepers, life-saving surfmen, boatwrights, fishermen, net makers, whalers, and all those who formed independent communities that made a living from the sea.

The 1872 Bodie Island Lighthouse joined a valued network of navigational aids that guided mariners along an otherwise featureless and tricky coastline of North Carolina. The site was significant as witnessed in efforts by the U.S. Lighthouse Service that built three towers to mark the immediate area between 1848 and 1872. The first tower Was completed in 1848 but rendered useless due to an inadequate foundation; the second tower was built in 1859 but fell victim to the War Between the States in 1861.

Professor Joseph Henry was involved with the Light-House Board from its inception in 1852 and was an integral part of infusing science into the American lighthouse service. He was one of our country's first practicing enthusiasts for original and applied research. At the request of President Millard Fillmore, Henry Joined the Light-House Board. But, one must ask, why would a learned man like Joseph Henry, known as the "Great Old Man of Washington," serve as a volunteer for the Light-House Board?