BODIE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE
Built in 1872, this is actually the third Bodie Island Lighthouse that has been constructed.
The first, lit in 1848, was very poorly constructed due to, what else, saving money! Listen to this, it was built with such a weak foundation that one side of it actually started sinking!
Whoops! They must have learned their lesson from that because the second one was built very sturdy.
So what happened? Well, the civil War happened and when the Confederates were forced to retreat, well, they blew it up, just so the Union Navy wouldn't be able to use it!
Talk about a temper tantrum! That was in 1861.
Here's a bit of trivia for you.
Bodie Island was said to have originally been named "Body" after the land owners, but some myths that are floating around say that it was named "Body" due to the many shipwrecks and the bodies that were seen in the waters. But that is not the only interesting thing about the Lighthouse. Not many people know that a huge flock geese crashed into the lens and they had to put a screen around it to protect it from additional bird collisions. Or that the spiral staircase had originally been attached to a metal rod that held a lantern that served as a lightning conductor. Can you guess what happened? One of the keepers was on the landing during a storm and received a shock, so strong that it actually left the lower part of his body numb! I know! It's amazing that he even survived!
He would tell stories about his childhood and how although his father lived at the lighthouse, his mother and the kids lived in Wanchese so the kids could go to school. But he did live at the lighthouse during vacations and in the summer. What a fun vacation spot!
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This lighthouse is also automated but because of it's need for renovation, visitors may not go inside or climb this lighthouse. There is a visitor's center where you can buy books and various items to remember your visit.
I heard an interesting story about a guide who really knew a lot about the Bodie Island Lighthouse. I found it amazing that his father, Vernon Gaskill, was the keeper of the lighthouse from 1919 to 1940!
